Rose City Reader

Opening Sentences of the Day: The Thunder Tree and To the Woods

2012-01-27T06:00:00.000-08:00

A green ravine creases northeast Seattle, draining into Lake Union near the University of Washington.

-- The Thunder Tree: Lessons From an Urban Wildland by Robert Michael Pyle, published by OSU Press.

From Library Journal:

"The Thunder Tree" was a huge, hollow old cottonwood in which the author and his brother once found shelter as children from a life-threatening hailstorm. The tree grew along the High Line Canal, built in the late 19th century as part of a grand plan to bring river water to the Western plains for irrigation. Only a portion of the canal was ever built, but that portion happened to run through the city of Aurora, Colorado, where the author lived as a child and young adult. This book is a collection of essays about the High Line Canal and the butterflies, magpies, cottonwoods, and other living things that existed nearby. Pyle's recollections about growing up in Aurora with his family and friends in the 1950s add a personal dimension. In a broader sense, this book is about the relationship between people and natural areas and how each affects the other. Pyle, who has a Ph.D. in ecology from Yale, is the author of Wintergreen as well as several guides to butterflies. - William H. Wiese, Iowa State Univ. Lib., Ames

In our mid-fifties, my husband and I left the toys and noise of urban society for the company of jumping mice, winter wrens, and dark nights full of stars and cricket song.

-- from the author's Preface to To the Woods: Sinking Roots, Living Lightly, and Finding True Home by Evelyn Searle Hess, also published by OSU Press.

I stumble groggily to the propane heater, match box in hand, twist open the tank valves, and depress the red button to the count of thirty.

-- from the opening chapter.

Publisher's Description:

To the Woods is a tale of adventure, inspiration, and living life in concert with nature. It is the true story of Evelyn Searle Hess, who, in her late fifties, walked away from the world of modern conveniences to build a new life with her husband on twenty acres of wild land in the foothills of Oregon’s coast range mountains. To the Woods describes Evelyn’s day-to-day struggles, failures, and discoveries. It tracks the natural history of place through the seasons. It wrestles with issues like human impact on the ecology of our planet.

A Few More Pages hosts Book Beginnings every Friday. The event is open for the entire week.

2011 Challenge: Battle of the Prizes, British Version, Wrap-Up

2012-01-26T06:00:00.001-08:00

2011 Battle of the Prizes, British Version: January 1, 2011 to January 31, 2012

This challenge pits winners of the English Man Booker Prize against winners of the Scottish James Tait Black Memorial Prize in a British Version of the Battle of the Prizes. Good thing it ran until the end of this month, so I could finish.

Click here for the 2012 Battle of the Prizes, British Version.

Click here for the 2012 Battle of the Prizes, American Version.

I read four books for the 2011 challenge, two Booker winners and two James Tait Black winners. I drew no big conclusions about the two prizes, other than the James Tait Black prize is no "me too" award -- it stands on its own. Both prizes have been around for many years, but only three books have won both. Also, I have a general, perhaps unsubstantiated, feeling that the Bookers get to be more famous but that the Blacks are undercover gems.

MY BOOKS

Wolf Hall by Hilary Mantel (Booker; reviewed here)

Brazzaville Beach by William Boyd (Black; reviewed here)

Sacred Hunger by Barry Unsworth (Booker; reviewed here)

The Mandelbaum Gate by Muriel Sparks (Black; reviewed here)

Opening Sentence: Living

2012-01-25T09:57:00.000-08:00

Bridesley, Birmingham.

-- Living by Henry Green.

I have a pet peeve about books that open with non-sentences punctuated like sentences. It's a very small pet, though, only a hamster-sized, or even goldfish-sized peeve. I can get over it.

The first real sentence is better:

Thousands came back from dinner along streets.

The opening scene is of all the workers returning to their factories after going home for lunch.

Living is one of Henry Green's three best-known novels, along with Loving and Party Going, compiled in my edition. Living contrasts the lives of factory workers and owners at an English iron foundry.

I am reading this for the Henry Green Week reading challenge, hosted by Winstonsdad's Blog.

Review: The Mandelbaum Gate

2012-01-25T06:00:00.000-08:00

There are plenty of great novels of ideas out there; books that cause a reader to question assumptions and wrestle with big issues. What makes The Mandelbaum Gate stand out is Muriel Spark's presentation of her ideas against the backdrop of early-1960s Jerusalem, a city recently divided between Israel and Jordon.

Barbara Vaughan is a British, half-Jewish, Catholic convert on a pilgrimage to Jerusalem, determined to see the holy sites on both sides of the divided city while she waits for her agnostic, archeologist boyfriend to secure an annulment of his first marriage from the Vatican and return to his archeological dig on the Jordanian side of the border. Aided by an amnesiac British diplomat, a Christian Arab merchant, and a family of charming and corrupt travel agents, Vaughan survives her adventures with a mix of stiff-upper-lip British fortitude and religious fatalism.

The dramatic setting if the perfect foil for Vaughan's struggle to unify the conflicting parts of her own identity. Her struggle, coupled with a little cloak and dagger espionage and mildly farcical sexual exploits, make for a compelling read. Anthony Burgess included The Mandelbaum Gate on his list of best novels, calling it "a well-wrought and stimulating novel hard to forget."

OTHER REVIEWS

If you would like your review of this or any other Muriel Spark book listed here, please leave a comment with a link and I will add it.

NOTES

This was the second James Tait Black Memorial Prize winner that I read for the 2011 Battle of the Prizes, British Version.

Teaser Tuesday: The Evolution of Shadows

2012-01-24T06:00:00.000-08:00

They have barely talked during the day, calling out to each other only when finding a skeleton. Each time Emil has hoped it would not be Gray, has hoped there is not a camera bag next to the skeleton.

-- The Evolution of Shadows by Jason Quinn Malott. This is a pretty intense story about three people trying to find their mutual friend, a news photographer who disappeared during the Bosnian war.

Teaser Tuesdays is hosted by Should Be Reading, where you can find the official rules for this weekly event.

2011 Challenge: Chunkster Challenge Wrap-Up

2012-01-23T06:10:00.000-08:00

Wendy at caribousmom hosted this fun challenge in 2011. Lucky for me, it ran through January 31, 2011.

Since I didn't reach my chunkster goal in 2010, I scaled down a bit in 2011 and signed up for the "Chubby Chunkster" level. That meant reading four books over 450 pages long.

I was so excited to complete the 2011 version that I signed up for even more for the 2012 Chunkster Challenge.

My Reviews

The Food of France by Waverley Root (reviewed here)

Cathedral by Nelson DeMille (reviewed here)

Worth Dying For by Lee Child (reviewed here)

Sacred Hunger by Barry Umsworth (reviewed here; winner of the Booker Prize)

Mailbox Monday

2012-01-23T06:00:00.000-08:00

Opening Sentence: Dracula

2012-01-22T06:00:00.000-08:00

How these papers have been placed in sequence will be made manifest in the reading of them.

-- Dracula by Bram Stoker.

The opening make sense when you realize that the novel is told through a series of documents -- journals, letters, telegrams, newspaper stories, etc.

This is excellent! I do not read any vampire books, as a rule, so maybe I am enjoying this one so much because it isn't a worn-out story for me. I am continually surprised by how fresh and modern the book feels, even though this one -- the original -- was published in 1897.

This counts as the "horror" choice for the Back to the Classic Challenge hosted by Sarah at Sarah Reads Too Much

Review: The Mysterious Affair at Styles

2012-01-21T06:00:00.000-08:00

The Mysterious Affair at Styles is Agatha Christie's first published novel and introduces readers to her famous hero, Hercules Poirot, along with a couple of his stalwart sidekicks, Detective Chief Inspector James Japp and Captain Arthur Hastings, who narrates.

Hastings – who fancies himself an amateur sleuth – happens to be visiting friends at Styles Court, their English country manor, when a mysterious death occurs. His friend Poirot, a WWI refugee from Belgium, happens to be billeted in the local village, et voilà, the two join forces to unravel the complicated mystery. With a dead matriarch, her shady younger husband, two step-sons, various dependants and family retainers, the enticing wife of a neighboring farmer, and assorted villagers, there are plenty of possible suspects.

At times, the long story gets a little too complicated, with red herrings swimming all over the place and clues overlapping every which way. But there are a few very good twists, some clever scenes, and many funny bits. The book proves Christie a master of the genre from the get go.

OTHER REVIEWS

dog eared copy

If you would like your review of this book listed here, please leave a comment with a link and I will add it.

NOTES

This was the first book I read for the 2012 Vintage Mystery Challenge hosted by Bev at My Reader's Block.

My Book Reviews by Title

2012-01-21T05:50:00.000-08:00

My book reviews, in alphabetic order by title. The title links go to the reviews.

AAAAAAAAAA

Abbeville by Jack Fuller
The Adventures of Augie March by Saul Bellow (National Book Award)
Advise and Consent by Allen Drury (Pulitzer Prize)
After Dinner Speaking by Fawcett Boom
The Age of Reagan, Vol. II by Steven F. Hayward
Alice Adams by Booth Tarkington
All Mortal Flesh by Julia Spencer-Fleming
All the King's Men by Robert Penn Warren (Pulitzer Prize)
All the Pretty Horses by Cormac McCarthy (National Book Award; NBCC Award)
American Lion: Andrew Jackson in the White House by Jon Meacham
An American Map by Anne-Marie Oomen
American Rust by Philip Meyer
American Terroir: Savoring the Flavors of Our Woods, Waters, and Fields by Rowan Jacobsen
Angler Management: The Day I Died While Fly Fishing and Other Essays by Jack Ohman
The Anti-Death League by Kinglsey Amis
Animal, Vegetable, Miracle by Barbara Kingsolver
Another Way the River Has by Robin Cody
Ambassadors, The by Henry James
The Amish Cook at Home by Lovina Eicher
America, America by Ethan Canin
The Assistant by Bernard Malamud
Au Revoir to All That by Michael Steinberger

BBBBBBBBBB

Bad Things Happen by Harry Dolan
Banker by Dick Francis
Basil's Dream by Christine Hale
Bech: A Book by John Updike
Beethoven Was One-Sixteenth Black by Nadine Gordimer
The Beggar by Naguib Mahfouz
Behind the Scenes at the Museum by Kate Atkinson (Costa BOTY)
Bel Canto by Ann Patchett (Orange Prize; PEN/Faulkner Award)
Burmese Lessons: A True Love Story by Karen Connelly
Black Boy (American Hunger) by Richard Wright
Blackbird, Farewell by Robert Greer
Black Jews, Jews, and Other Heroes by Howard Lenhoff
Blue Planet in Green Shackles by Vaclav Klaus
Blue River by Ethan Canin
The Bone People by Keri Hulme (Booker Prize)
Brazzaville Beach by William Boyd (James Tait Black)
Breathing Lessons by Anne Tyler (Pulitzer Prize)
The Brothers K by David James Duncan

CCCCCCCCCC

Carry Yourself Back to Me by Deborah Reed
Cathedral by Nelson DeMille
The Centaur by John Updike (National Book Award)
A Century of November by W. D. Wetherell
Changing Places by David Lodge
The Chatham School Affair by Thomas H. Cook (Edgar Award)
Citizen Vince by Jess Walter (Edgar Award)
City Limits: Walking Portland's Boundary by David Oates
Classic Spanish Cooking: Recipes for Mastering the Spanish Kitchen by Elisabeth Luard
Clown Girl by Monica Drake
Cold Comfort Farm by Stella Gibbons
Cold Mountain by Charles Frazier (National Book Award)
The Complete Short Stories by Ernest Hemingway
Corked by Kathryn Borel
Crescent City by Belva Plain
Crusader's Cross by James Lee Burke

DDDDDDDDDD

To Darkness and to Death by Julia Spencer-Fleming
Deaf Sentence by David Lodge
Death by the Glass by Nadia Gordon
Delights and Prejudices: A Memoir with Recipes by James Beard
Dreamers of the Day by Mary Doria Russell
Dress You Family in Corduroy and Denim by David Sedaris
Drood by Dan Simmons

EEEEEEEEEE

Echoes by Maeve Binchy
Eden Springs by Laura Kasischke
Empire Falls by Richard Russo (Pulitzer Prize winner)
English Major, The by Jim Harrison
Entre Nous: A Woman's Guide to Finding Her Inner French Girl by Debra Ollivier
Every Bitter Thing by Leighton Gage
Every Day Drinking by Kingsley Amis
Everything I Want To Do Is Illegal: War Stories From the Local Food Front by Joel Salatin
Ex Libris by Anne Fadiman

FFFFFFFFFF

The Farmer's Daughter by Jim Harrison
Fear of Flying by Erica Jong
Fer-de-Lance by Rex Stout
Finnegans Wake by James Joyce (notes, not a review)
The Fire by Katherine Neville
The Fixer by Bernard Malamud (National Book Award winner; Pulitzer Prize winner)
The Flâneur by Edmund White
The Floating Opera by John Barth
Food Lover's Guide to Portland by Liz Crain
The Food of France by Waverley Root

Forbidden Bread by Erica Johnson-Debeljak
Foreigners by Caryl Phillips
The Fortress of Solitude by Jonathan Letham
42 States of Grace: A Woman's Journey by Maureen Hovenkotter
The Fourth Hand by John Irving
Franklin and Lucy by Joseph Persico
Franny and Zooey by J.D. Salinger
Freddy and Fredericka by Mark Helprin

GGGGGGGGGG

G by John Berger (Booker Prize; James Tait Black Memorial Prize)
A Geography of Secrets by Frederick Reuss
George Passant by C. P. Snow
Gifted by Nikita Lalwani
Gilead by Marilynne Robinson (NBCC Award ; Pulitzer Prize)
The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo by Stieg Larsson
The Golden Bowl by Henry James
Goodbye, Columbus by Philip Roth (National Book Award)
Good for the Jews by Debra Spark
Gormenghast by Mervyn Peake
The Grail: A Year Ambling & Shambling Through an Oregon Vineyard in Pursuit of the Best Pinot Noir Wine in the Whole Wild World by Brian Doyle
A Grave Talent by Laurie King
Great Expectations by Charles Dickens
The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society by Mary Ann Shaffe

HHHHHHHHHH

The Hair of Harold Roux by Thomas Williams (National Book Award winner)
Hallam's War by Elisabeth Payne Rosen
Hard Times by Charles Dickens
Havoc in its Third Year by Ronan Bennett
High Fidelity by Nick Hornby
High Stakes by Dick Francis
Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy by Douglas Adams
Homer and Langley by E. L. Doctorow
The House of Mondavi by Julia Flynn Siler
How Far Can You Go? by David Lodge
How's Your Glass? by Kingsley Amis
How to Find Morels by Milan Pelouch
How to Save Your Own Life by Erica Jong
The Human Stain by Philip Roth (PEN/Faulkner Award)
Humbolt's Gift by Saul Bellow (Pulitzer Prize)

IIIIIIIIII

The Ice Chorus by Sarah Stonich
The Idea of Perfection by Kate Grenville (Orange Prize)
The I Hate to Cook Book by Peg Bracken
The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks by Rebecca Skloot
Incidents in the Rue Laguier by Anita Brookner
In Hovering Flight by Joyce Hinnefeld
Indian Summer by John Knowles
The Innocent by Ian McEwan
Inside the Red Mansion by Oliver August
The Islands of Divine Music by John Addiego
The Italian Lover by Robert Hellinga

JJJJJJJJJJ

The James Joyce Murder by Amanda Cross
The Jane Austen Book Club by Karen Joy Fowler
John Stuart Mill: Victorian Firebrand by Richard Reeves
Joker One by Donovan Campbell
Judgment Calls by Alafair Burke
Julie and Julia by Julie Powell
Juliet, Naked by Nick Hornby
Justice Denied by Marci A. Hamilton

KKKKKKKKKK

LLLLLLLLLL

The Last Chinese Chef by Nicole Mones
The Last Prince of the Mexican Empire by C.M. Mayo
Leaving Brooklyn by Lynn Sharon Schwartz
The Letter from Death by Lillian Moats
Let the Great World Spin by Colum McCann(National Book Award)
Life & Times of Michael K by J.M. Coetzee (Booker Prize winner)
Little Green Men by Christopher Buckley
Living the 7 Habits by Stephen Covey
Locations by Jan Morris
Look Great, Feel Great by Joyce Meyer
Lord of Misrule by Jaimy Gordon (National Book Award)
The Losing Role by Steve Anderson
Lost in Translation by Nicole Mones
Lunatic Express: Discovering the World . . . via Its Most Dangerous Buses, Boats, Trains, and Planes by Carl Hoffman

MMMMMMMMMM

The Magnificent Ambersons by Booth Tarkington (Pulitzer Prize winner)
The Man Who Loved China by Simon Winchester
Maps and Shadows by Krysia Jopek
March by Geraldine Brooks (Pulitzer Prize winner)
The Marmot Drive by John Hersey
Martin Dressler by Steven Millhauser (Pulitzer Prize winner)
Massacred for Gold by Gregory Nokes
The Mermaid and the Messerschmitt by Rulke Langer
Middle Passage by Charles Johnson (National Book Award)
Midnight's Children by Salman Rushdie (Booker Prize winner)
Missing Mom by Joyce Carol Oates
Moby Dick by Herman Melville
Money by Martin Amis
My Latest Grievance by Elinor Lipman
My Life in France Julia Child
The Mysterious Affair at Styles by Agatha Christie
My Uncle Oswald by Roald Dahl

NNNNNNNNNN

The Naked and the Dead by Norman Mailer
Native America Discovered and Conquered by Robert Miller
Nat Tate: An American Artist, 1928 – 1960, William Boyd
The New Confessions by William Boyd
New Orleans Mourning by Julie Smith
99 Novels: The Best in English Since 1939 by Anthony Burgess

OOOOOOOOOO

Olive Kitteridge by Elizabeth Strout (Pulitzer Prize)
On Beauty by Zadie Smith (Orange Prize)
On Chesil Beach by Ian McEwan
On Drink by Kingsley Amis
One City's Wilderness by Marcy Cottrell Houle

One Fat Englishman by Kingsley Amis
One Was a Soldier by Julia Spencer-Fleming

Origin by Diana Abu-Jaber

PPPPPPPPPP

The Palace Council by Stephen Carter
Paul Newman: A Life by Shaun Levy
Peaceful Places, New York City by Evelyn Kanter
The Photograph by Penelope Lively
Pilgrim at Tinker Creek by Annie Dillard
The Pirate's Daughter by Margaret Cezair-Thompson
A Plague of Secrets by John Lescroart
Play It As It Lays by Joan Didion
The Plot Against America by Philip Roth
The Polysyllabic Spree by Nick Hornby
A Portait of an Artist as a Young Man by James Joyce
Portland Noir, edited by Kevin Sampsell

QQQQQQQQQQ

RRRRRRRRRR

The Razor's Edge by Somerset Maugham
Real Cooking, by George! by George Jacobs
Real Women, Real Wisdom: A Journey into the Feminine Soul, edited by Maureen Hovenkotter
Rebecca by Daphne du Maurie
The Rebel Angels by Robertson Davies
Red Square by Martin Cruz Smith
The Reluctant Detective by Marth Ockley
Resistance Fighter by Jorgen Kieler
Restless by William Boyd
The Right Stuff by Tom Wolfe

SSSSSSSSSS

Sacred Hunger by Barry Unsworth (Booker Prize)
Saving Stanley: The Brickman Stories by Scott Nadelson
Scavenger Reef by Laurence Shames
Scratch Beginnings by Adam Shepard
The Sea by John Banville (Booker Prize)
The Sea, the Sea by Iris Murdoch (Booker Prize)
The Secret Scripture by Sebastian Barry (Costa BOTY)
Second Wind by Dick Francis
Secret Portland by Ann Carroll Burgess
7 Wheelchairs by Gary Presley
The Shack by William P. Young
The Shell Seekers by Rosamund Pilcher
Shipwrecks, Monsters, and Mysteries of the Great Lakes by Ed Butts
Siddartha by Hermann Hesse
The Silver Palate Cookbook by Sheila Lukins and Julie Russo
A Single Man by Christopher Isherwood
Sister Carrie by Theodore Dreiser
The Size of the World by Joan Silber
Slaughterhouse-Five by Kurt Vonnegut
A Small Fortune by Audrey Braun
Small Island by Andrea Levy (Costa BOTY; Orange Prize)
So Many Books, So Little Time by Sara Nelson
Sophie's Choice by William Styron (National Book Award)
The Sound and the Fury by William Faulkner
The Spirit of the Place by Samuel Shem
Started Early, Took My Dog by Kate Atkinson
The Stettheimer Dollhouse by Shiela Clark (Ed.)
The Stories of John Cheever by John Cheever (NBCC Award; Pulitzer Prize winner)
The Studs Lonigan Trilogy by James Farrell
Stylish Sheds and Elegant Hideaways by Debra Prinzing
A Summons to Memphis by Peter Taylor (Pulitzer Prize)

TTTTTTTTTT

The Tenderness of Wolves by Stef Penneyb (Costa BOTY)
Theirs Was the Kingdom by R.F. Delderfield
Therapy, David Lodge
Therese Raquin by Elim Zola
Thomas Paine by Craig Nelson
365 Thank Yous: The Year a Simple Act of Daily Gratitude Changed My Life by John Kralik
Three Loves by A. J. Cronin
The Tin Roof Blowdown by James Lee Burke
Titus Alone by Mervyn Peake
Titus Groan by Mervin Peake
The Top Ten Myths of American Health Care by Sally Pipes
Towers of Gold by Frances Dinkelspiel
The Tricking of Freya by Christina Sunley
The Truth About Obamacare by Sally Pipes

UUUUUUUUUU

Uncle Tom's Cabin by Harriette Beecher Stowe
Underworld by Don DeLillo
Up in the Old Hotel by Joseph Mitchell

VVVVVVVVVV

Valley of the Dolls by Jacqueline Susann
Very Bad Men by Harry Dolan
Venusberg by Anthony Powell

WWWWWWWWWW

The Wall in My Head: Words and Images from the Fall of the Iron Curtain published by Words Without Borders Anthologies
Wall Street by Steve Fraser
The War of the Worlds by H. G. Wells
Water the Bamboo, by Greg Bell
A Week in December by Sebastian Faulks
We Have Always Lived in the Castle by Shirley Jackson
The Well and the Mine by Gin Phillips
Where Angels Fear to Tread by E.M. Forster
Whitethorn Woods by Maeve Binchey
Wide Sargasso Sea by Jean Ryhs
The Wind in the Willows by Kenneth Grahame
The Winter of Frankie Machine by Don Winslow
Wolf Hall by Hilary Mantel (Booker Prize; NBCC Award)
Worth Dying For by Lee Child

XYZXYZXYZX

A Year in the World by Frances Mayes
A Yellow Raft in Blue Water by Michael Dorris

NOTES

Last updated on January 19, 2011.

If you would like your reviews of any of these books listed on my review post, please leave a comment on the review post itself, with a link, and I will add it.

My Book Reviews by Author

2012-01-21T05:45:00.000-08:00

My book reviews, in alphabetic order by author. The title links go to the reviews.

AAAAAAAAAA

Diana Abu-Jaber, Origin
Douglas Adams, Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy
John Addiego, The Islands of Divine Music
Kinglsey Amis, The Anti-Death League
Kingsley Amis, Every Day Drinking
Kingsley Amis, How's Your Glass?
Kingsley Amis, On Drink
Kingsley Amis, One Fat Englishman
Martin Amis, Money
Steve Anderson, The Losing Role
Kate Atkinson, Behind the Scenes at the Museum (Costa BOTY)
Kate Atkinson, Started Early, Took My Dog
Oliver August, Inside the Red Mansion

BBBBBBBBBB

John Banville, The Sea (Booker Prize)
Sebastian Barry, The Secret Scripture (Costa BOTY)
John Barth, The Floating Opera
James Beard, Delights and Prejudices: A Memoir with Recipes
Greg Bell, Water the Bamboo
Saul Bellow, The Adventures of Augie March (National Book Award)
Saul Bellow, Humbolt's Gift (Pulitzer Prize)
Ronan Bennett, Havoc in its Third Year
John Berger, G (Booker Prize; James Tait Black Memorial Prize)
Maeve Binchy, Echoes
Maeve Binchy, Whitethorn Woods
Fawcett Boom, After Dinner Speaking
Kathryn Borel, Corked
William Boyd, Brazzaville Beach (James Tait Black Memorial Prize )
William Boyd, Nat Tate: An American Artist, 1928 – 1960
William Boyd, The New Confessions
William Boyd, Restless
Peg Bracken, The I Hate to Cook Book
Audrey Braun, A Small Fortune
Anita Brookner, Incidents in the Rue Laguier
Geraldine Brooks, March (Pulitzer Prize)
Christopher Buckley, Little Green Men
Ann Carroll Burgess, Secret Portland
Anthony Burgess, 99 Novels: The Best in English Since 1939
Alafair Burke, Judgment Calls
James Lee Burke, Crusader's Cross
James Lee Burke, The Tin Roof Blowdown
Ed Butts, Shipwrecks, Monsters, and Mysteries of the Great Lakes

CCCCCCCCCC

Donovan Campbell, Joker One
Ethan Canin, America, America
Ethan Canin, Blue River
Stephen Carter, The Palace Council
Margaret Cezair-Thompson, The Pirate's Daughter
John Cheever, The Stories of John Cheever (NBCC Award; Pulitzer Prize)
Julia Child, My Life in France
Lee Child, Worth Dying For
Agatha Christie, The Mysterious Affair at Styles
Sheila Clark, The Stettheimer Dollhouse
Robin Cody, Another Way the River Has
J.M. Coetzee, Life & Times of Michael K (Booker Prize)
Karen Connelly, Burmese Lessons: A True Love Story
Thomas H. Cook, The Chatham School Affair (Edgar Award)
Stephen Covey, Living the 7 Habits
Liz Crain, Food Lover's Guide to Portland
A. J. Cronin, Three Loves
Amanda Cross, The James Joyce Murder

DDDDDDDDDD

Roald Dahl, My Uncle Oswald
Robertson Davies, The Rebel Angels
Erica Johnson-Debeljak, Forbidden Bread
R.F. Delderfield, Theirs Was the Kindgom
Charles Dickens, Great Expectations
Charles Dickens, Hard Times
Joan Didion, Play It As It Lays
Don DeLillo, Underworld
Nelson DeMille, Cathedral
Annie Dillard, Pilgrim at Tinker Creek
E. L. Doctorow, Homer and Langley
Frances Dinklespiel, Towers of Gold
Harry Dolan, Bad Things Happen
Harry Dolan, Very Bad Men
Michael Dorris, A Yellow Raft in Blue Water
Brian Doyle, The Grail: A Year Ambling & Shambling Through an Oregon Vineyard in Pursuit of the Best Pinot Noir Wine in the Whole Wild World
Monica Drake, Clown Girl
Theodore Dreiser, Sister Carrie
Allen Drury, Advise and Consent (Pulitzer Prize)
Daphne du Maurie, Rebecca
David James Duncan, The Brothers K

EEEEEEEEEE

Lovina Eicher, The Amish Cook at Home

FFFFFFFFFF

Anne Fadiman, Ex Libris
James Farrell, The Studs Lonigan Trilogy
William Faulkner, The Sound and the Fury
Sebastian Faulks, A Week in December
E.M. Forster, Where Angels Fear to Tread
Karen Joy Fowler, The Jane Austen Book Club
Dick Francis, Banker
Dick Francis, High Stakes
Dick Francis, Second Wind
Steve Fraser, Wall Street
Charles Frazier, Cold Mountain (National Book Award)
Jack Fuller, Abbeville

GGGGGGGGGG

Leighton Gage, Every Bitter Thing
Stella Gibbons, Cold Comfort Farm
Nadine Gordimer, Beethoven Was One-Sixteenth Black
Jaimy Gordon, Lord of Misrule (National Book Award)
Nadia Gordon, Death by the Glass
Kenneth Grahame, The Wind in the Willows
Robert Greer, Blackbird, Farwell
Kate Grenville, The Idea of Perfection (Orange Prize)

HHHHHHHHHH

Christine Hale, Basil's Dream
Marci A. Hamilton, Justice Denied
Jim Harrison, The English Major
Jim Harrison, The Farmer's Daughter
Steven F. Hayward, The Age of Reagan, Vol. II
Robert Hellinga, The Italian Lover
Mark Helprin, Freddy and Fredericka
Ernest Hemingway, The Complete Short Stories
John Hersey, The Marmot Drive
Hermann Hesse, Siddartha
Joyce Hinnefeld, In Hovering Flight
Carl Hoffman, Lunatic Express: Discovering the World . . . via Its Most Dangerous Buses, Boats, Trains, and Planes
Nick Hornby, High Fidelity
Nick Hornby, Juliet, Naked
Nick Hornby, The Polysyllabic Spree
Marcy Cottrell Houle, One City's Wilderness
Maureen Hovenkotter, 42 States of Grace: A Woman's Journey
Maureen Hovenkotter (Ed.), Real Women, Real Wisdom: A Journey into the Feminine Soul
Keri Hulme, The Bone People (Booker Prize)

IIIIIIIIII

John Irving, The Fourth Hand
Christopher Isherwood, A Single Man

JJJJJJJJJJ

Shirley Jackson, We Have Always Lived in the Castle
George Jacobs, Real Cooking, by George!
Rowan Jacobsen, American Terroir: Savoring the Flavors of Our Woods, Waters, and Fields
Henry James, The Ambassadors
Henry James, The Golden Bowl
Charles Johnson, Middle Passage (National Book Award)
Erica Jong, Fear of Flying
Erica Jong, How to Save Your Own Life
Krysia Jopek, Maps and Shadows
James Joyce, A Portait of an Artist as a Young Man
James Joyce, Finnegans Wake

KKKKKKKKKK

Evelyn Kanter, Peaceful Places, New York City
Laura Kasischke, Eden Springs
Jorgen Kieler, Resistance Fighter
Laurie King, A Grave Talent
Barbara Kingsolver, Animal, Vegetable, Miracle
Vaclav Klaus, Blue Planet in Green Shackles
John Knowles, Indian Summer
John Kralik, 365 Thank Yous: The Year a Simple Act of Daily Gratitude Changed My Life

LLLLLLLLLL

Nikita Lalwani, Gifted
Rulke Langer, The Mermaid and the Messerschmitt
Stieg Larsson, The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo
Howard Lenhoff, Black Jews, Jews, and Other Heroes
John Lescroart, A Plague of Secrets
Jonathan Letham, The Fortress of Solitude
Andrea Levy, Small Island (Costa BOTY; Orange Prize)
Shaun Levy, Paul Newman: A Life
Elinor Lipman, My Latest Grievance
Penelope Lively, The Photograph
David Lodge, Changing Places
David Lodge, Deaf Sentence
David Lodge, How Far Can You Go?
David Lodge, Therapy
Elisabeth Luard, Classic Spanish Cooking: Recipes for Mastering the Spanish Kitchen
Sheila Lukins, The Silver Palate Cookbook

MMMMMMMMMM

Naguib Mahfouz, The Beggar
Norman Mailer, The Naked and the Dead
Bernard Malamud, The Assistant
Bernard Malamud, The Fixer (National Book Award; Pulitzer Prize)
Hilary Mantel, Wolf Hall (Booker Prize; NBCC Award)
Somerset Maugham, The Razor's Edge
Frances Mayes, A Year in the World
C.M. Mayo, The Last Prince of the Mexican Empire
Colum McCann, Let the Great World Spin (National Book Award)
Cormac McCarthy, All the Pretty Horses (National Book Award; NBCC Award)
Ian McEwan, The Innocent
Ian McEwan, On Chesil Beach
Jon Meacham, American Lion: Andrew Jackson in the White House
Herman Melville, Moby Dick
Joyce Meyer, Look Great, Feel Great
Philip Meyer, American Rust
Robert Miller, Native America Discovered and Conquered
Steven Millhauser, Martin Dressler (Pulitzer Prize)
Joseph Mitchell, Up in the Old Hotel
Lillian Moats, The Letter from Death
Nicole Mones, The Last Chinese Chef
Nicole Mones, Lost in Translation
Jan Morris, Locations
Iris Murdoch, The Sea, the Sea (Booker Prize)

NNNNNNNNNN

Scott Nadelson, Saving Stanley: The Brickman Stories
Craig Nelson, Thomas Paine
Sara Nelson, So Many Books, So Little Time
Katherine Neville, The Fire
Gregory Nokes, Massacred for Gold

OOOOOOOOOO

David Oates, City Limits: Walking Portland's Boundary
Joyce Carol Oates, Missing Mom
Martha Ockley, The Reluctant Detective
Jack Ohman, Angler Management: The Day I Died While Fly Fishing and Other Essays
Debra Ollivier, Entre Nous: A Woman's Guide to Finding Her Inner French Girl
Anne-Marie Oomen, An American Map

PPPPPPPPPP

Ann Patchett, Bel Canto (Orange Prize; PEN/Faulkner Award)
Mervyn Peake, Gormenghast
Mervyn Peake, Titus Alone
Mervin Peake, Titus Groan
Milan Pelouch, How to Find Morels
Stef Penney, The Tenderness of Wolves (Costa BOTY)
Joseph Persico, Franklin and Lucy
Caryl Phillips, Foreigners
Gin Phillips, The Well and the Mine
Rosamund Pilcher, The Shell Seekers
Sally Pipes, The Top Ten Myths of American Health Care
Sally Pipes, The Truth About Obamacare
Belva Plain, Crescent City
Anthony Powell, Venusberg
Julie Powell, Julie and Julia
Gary Presley, 7 Wheelchairs
Debra Prinzing, Stylish Sheds and Elegant Hideaways

QQQQQQQQQQ

RRRRRRRRRR

Deborah Reed, Carry Yourself Back to Me
Richard Reeves, John Stuart Mill: Victorian Firebrand
Frederick Reuss, A Geography of Secrets
Marilynne Robinson, Gilead (NBCC Award; Pulitzer Prize)
Waverley Root, The Food of France
Elisabeth Payne Rosen, Hallam's War
Philip Roth, Goodbye, Columbus (National Book Award)
Philip Roth, The Human Stain (PEN/Faulkner Award)
Philip Roth, The Plot Against America
Salman Rushdie, Midnight's Children (Booker Prize)
Mary Doria Russell, Dreamers of the Day
Julie Russo, The Silver Palate Cookbook
Richard Russo, Empire Falls (Pulitzer Prize)
Jean Ryhs, Wide Sargasso Sea

SSSSSSSSSS

Joel Salatin, Everything I Want To Do Is Illegal: War Stories From the Local Food Front
J.D. Salinger, Franny and Zooey
Kevin Sampsel, Editor, Portland Noir
Mary Ann Shaffe, The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society
Lynn Sharon Schwartz, Leaving Brooklyn
David Sedaris, Dress You Family in Corduroy and Denim
Laurence Shames, Scavenger Reef
Samuel Shem, The Spirit of the Place
Adam Shepard, Scratch Beginnings
Joan Silber, The Size of the World
Julia Flynn Siler, The House of Mondavi
Dan Simmons, Drood
Rebecca Skloot, The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks
Julie Smith, New Orleans Mourning
Martin Cruz Smith, Red Square
Zadie Smith, On Beauty (Orange Prize)
C. P. Snow, George Passant
Debra Spark, Good for the Jews
Julia Spencer-Fleming, All Mortal Flesh
Julia Spencer-Fleming, To Darkness and to Death
Julia Spencer-Fleming, One Was a Soldier
Michael Steinberger, Au Revoir to All That
Susan Stonich, The Ice Chorus
Rex Stout, Fer-de-Lance
Harriette Beecher Stowe, Uncle Tom's Cabin
Elizabeth Strout, Olive Kitteridge (Pulitzer Prize)
William Styron, Sophie's Choice (National Book Award)
Christina Sunley, The Tricking of Freya
Jacqueline Susann, Valley of the Dolls

TTTTTTTTTT

Booth Tarkington, Alice Adams (Pulitzer Prize)
Booth Tarkington, The Magnificent Ambersons (Pulitzer Prize)
Peter Taylor, A Summons to Memphis (Pulitzer Prize)
Anne Tyler, Breathing Lessons (Pulitzer Prize)

UUUUUUUUUU

Barry Unsworth, Sacred Hunger (Booker Prize)
John Updike, Bech: A Book
John Updike, The Centaur (National Book Award)

VVVVVVVVVV

Kurt Vonnegut, Slaughterhouse-Five

WWWWWWWWWW

Jess Walter, Citizen Vince (Edgar Award)
Robert Penn Warren, All the King's Men, (Pulitzer Prize)
H. G. Wells, The War of the Worlds
W. D. Wetherell, A Century of November
Edmund White, The Flâneur
Thomas Williams, The Hair of Harold Roux (National Book Award)
Simon Winchester, The Man Who Loved China
Don Winslow, The Winter of Frankie Machine
Tom Wolfe, The Right Stuff
Words Without Borders Anthologies (publisher), The Wall in My Head: Words and Images from the Fall of the Iron Curtain
Richard Wright, Black Boy (American Hunger)

XYZXYZXYZX

William P. Young, The Shack
Emil Zola, Therese Raquin

NOTES

Last updated on January 19, 2011.

If you would like your reviews of any of these books listed on my review post, please leave a comment on the review post itself, with a link, and I will add it.

Opening Sentence of the Day: The Evolution of Shadows

2012-01-20T06:00:00.000-08:00

Lian hears the wind in the trees outside and the creak of the house as its timbers contract in the cool night.

-- The Evolution of Shadows by Jason Quinn Malott. This is a novel about the Bosnian war, so it is pretty intense.

A Few More Pages hosts Book Beginnings every Friday. The event is open for the entire week.

Review: Sacred Hunger

2012-01-19T06:00:00.000-08:00

Barry Unsworth won the 1992 Booker Prize for Sacred Hunger, his incredible novel about independence, madness, duty, dominance, justice, suicide, loyalty, greed, hope, commerce, power, family, culture, desire, violence, education, marriage, politics, philosophy, self-doubt, government, fatherhood, adventure, friendship, and pride.

And slavery. Specifically, British slave trade in the 1700s. William Kemp stakes his failing fortunes on a slave ship to ply the "Triangle Trade" of selling English manufactured goods to African slavers, slaves to Jamaican sugar plantations, and sugar to England. He installs his nephew, Matthew Paris, a heretical and bereaved scientist seeking to escape his tragic past, as the ship's physician.

When things go horribly wrong with Kemp's plan, his son Erasmus vows to restore the family fortunes and good name, culminating in his obsessive journey to the swamps of colonial Florida to find a rumored Utopian society of ex-slaves and sailors, governed, he fears, by his hated cousin.

Whew! There is a lot going on in the 600+ pages of this gorgeous and horrible and wonderful story. To say that Sacred Hunger is engrossing barely touches the surface. True, Unsworth's main characters live in their heads more than their hearts – little is shown about their emotions beyond anger or pride. Instead, Unsworth focuses on the doubts and hopes that drive William, Erasmus, and Matthew, explaining that "doubt is the ally of hope, not its enemy, and together they made all the blessing" these men had in their tragic lives.

Sacred Hunger is a book that will keep any reader thinking for a long time after the amazing plot concludes.

OTHER REVIEWS

Hotchpot Cafe

If you would like your review of this or any other Barry Unsworth book listed here, please leave a comment with a link and I will add it.

NOTES

Sacred Hunger counts as one of my Booker Prize choices for the 2011 Battle of the Prizes, British Version and as my final book for the 2011 Chunkster Challenge.

2012 Challenges: Books Published in the First Years of My Life and the Birth Year Reading Challenge

2012-01-18T06:00:00.000-08:00

Emma at Words and Peace is hosting the Books Published in the First years of My Life Challenge.

It is sort of like the Birth Year Reading Challenge that Hotchpot Cafe hosted, but with more years. If Hotchpot hosts the Birth Year challenge again in 2012, these will overlap.

I am signing up for the Toddler level to read three books published in the first three years of my life.

Click on the button or the link above to go to the main challenge page for details and to sign up.

MY BOOKS

I am leaning towards the following three books, although I may change my mind:

The Comedians by Graham Green (which I am reading for the Graham Greene Challenge)

The Instrument by John O'Hara

The Confessions of Nat Turner by William Styron (which would count as one of my Pulitzer Prize choices for the Battle of the Prizes, American Version)

Teaser Tuesday: Side Trips from Cowboy

2012-01-17T06:00:00.000-08:00

When the strings start popping and the package we have wrapped in our denial and delusions starts to come undone and chaos begins to spread as it does on sinking ships and airplanes falling out of the sky, even the most atheistic person on board says, "Oh, God!" And so did I.

-- Side Trips from Cowboy: Addiction, Recovery and the Western American Myth, by Sandy Compton. This is a book of personal essays that follow the author on his adventures through the Mountain States and his own 12 steps. It's good.

Compton is the author of the novel, Archer MacClehan & the Hungry Now, sort of a contemporary Western adventure, and Jason's Passage: From the Blascomb Family Chronicles, a collection of three related short stories.

Teaser Tuesdays is hosted by Should Be Reading, where you can find the official rules for this weekly event.

Mailbox Monday

2012-01-16T06:00:00.000-08:00

Thanks for joining me for Mailbox Monday! MM was created by Marcia at A girl and her books (fka The Printed Page), who graciously hosted it for a long, long time, before turning it into a touring meme (details here).

Alyce at At Home With Books is hosting in January. Please stop by her wonderful blog!

I got a stack of books last week:

Wild in the City: Exploring the Intertwine: The Portland-Vancouver Region's Network of Parks, Trails, and Natural Areas by Michael C. Houck and M. J. Cody (a good inspiration to get out there and do some hiking; from OSU Press)

Light on the Devils: Coming of Age on the Klamath by Louise Wagenknecht (from OSU Press and a good pick for the Memorable Memoirs challenge)

Just My Type: A Book About Fonts by Simon Garfield (thanks go to Amused By Books because I won this in her December giveaway)

I got a stack of books from Second Glance Books to fill in a couple Santa forgot to bring:

Death at the President's Lodging by Michael Innes (a new to me author; this is the first in his Inspector Appleby series and perfect for the Vintage Mystery challenge)

A Comedy of Terrors by Michael Innes (the 6th Appleby mystery)

Arthur & George by Julian Barnes

My Life As a Man by Philip Roth

She Stoops to Conquer by Oliver Goldsmith (in a nice, but very plain, boxed edition with illustrations; this will be my "classic play" choice for the Back to the Classics challenge; it is on the Easton Press Greatest 100 list)

Review: High Stakes

2012-01-15T06:00:00.000-08:00

High Stakes is a particularly good Dick Francis book, which says a lot, since they are all first-rate. It follows the tried and true Francis formula of a hero who is successful in a particular profession, has a connection with horse racing, and gets drawn in to solve a crime.

In this case, Steven Scott is the inventor of a popular line of mechanical children's toys who used his wealth to buy racehorses. But Scott's lack of hands-on involvement makes him a sitting duck for a shady trainer working a con on gullible owners.

High Stakes is more of a caper than Francis's usual, more straightforward who-done-it. Scott figures out the con early on and puts together his own, elaborate sting to catch the bad guys. This involves recruiting a mishmash team of amateurs, all with particular skills or connections, a horse-buying trip to Florida, and a love affair with a firecracker American gal.

It's no spoiler to say that the good guys prevail and the bad guys get their comeuppance. But, like always, it’s a great ride.

OTHER REVIEWS

If you would like your review of this or any other Dick Francis book listed here, please leave a comment with a link and I will add it.

NOTES

This is my first book for the European Reading Challenge and counts as my UK choice. What country will I visit next? Probably Italy, when I participate in the Venice in February Challenge.

2012 Challenge: What's in a Name?

2012-01-14T06:00:00.000-08:00

This is my first year to sign up for the popular What's in a Name Challenge, now hosted by Beth Fish Reads. Click the button or the link for more details and to sign up.

Here's How It Works

Between January 1 and December 31, 2012, read one book in each of the following categories:

A book with a topographical feature (land formation) in the title

A book with something you'd see in the sky in the title

A book with a creepy crawly in the title

A book with a type of house in the title

A book with something you'd carry in your pocket, purse, or backpack in the title

A book with a something you'd find on a calendar in the title

My Books

Here are some possibilities from my TBR shelves:

TOPOGRAPHICAL:

Swan Peak by James Lee Burke
Nickel Mountain by John Gardner

SKY:

CREEPY CRAWLY:

The Ghost Writer by Philip Roth
Ghosts of Belfast by Stuart Neville

HOUSE:

Out of the Shelter by David Lodge
The Gate House by Nelson DeMille
Home Truths by David Lodge

CARRIED:

The Gun Seller by Hugh Laurie
The Black Book by Ian Rankin
The People of the Book by Geraldine Brooks

CALENDAR:

The Year of the French by Thomas Flanagan
A Month of Sundays by John Updike

State of the Blog: Part Two, the Authors

2012-01-13T06:00:00.001-08:00

Four times a year, I do a review of the books I've read so far. In January, that review covers all the books I read the last calendar year.

This is the second of my quarterly blog assessment posts. This one takes a look at my author lists over in the right-hand column. The first part addressed my lists. Part Three will deal with the challenges I joined this year.

NOTE: If you are systematically reading the books of any of these authors, please leave a comment here or on the post for the author's list (click on the title below or in the right-hand column) and leave a link to any related post. I will add the links on the author's list post.

I recently split my author list into two parts: General favorites and Mystery favorites. See here for discussion.

In 2011, I read 40 books by my favorite authors. For the list of all 116 books I read in 2011, go here.

GENERAL FAVORITES

Kingsley Amis

The Crime of the Century
The Anti-Death League(reviewed here; a Burgess favorite; read for the Birth Year Reading Challenge.

Maeve Binchy

Evening Class (1996)

William Boyd

Brazzaville Beach (reviewed here; read for my 2011 Battle of the Prizes, British Version, challenge);
Nat Tate: An American Artist 1928-1960 (reviewed here)

Nick Hornby

Shakespeare Wrote for Money

Elinor Lipman

Then She Found Me

David Lodge

Therapy (reviewed here)

Ian McEwan

Solar

Philip Roth

The Human Stain (reviewed here)

C. P. Snow

George Passant (originally titled Strangers and Brothers) (reviewed here)

Anne Tyler

Breathing Lessons (reviewed here; read for my 2011 Battle of the Prizes, American Version challenge)

John Updike

Beck: A Book (reviewed here)

P. G. Wodehouse

MYSTERY FAVORITES

Kate Atkinson

When Will There Be Good News?
Started Early, Took My Dog (reviewed here)

Lee Child

Dick Francis

P. D. James

Donna Leon

Death in a Strange Country

John Lescroart

A Plague of Secrets (reviewed here);
Treasure Hunt

Helen MacInnes

The Hidden Target

Ian Rankin

Dorothy L. Sayers

Clouds of Witness (reviewed here)
Unnatural Death

Julia Spencer-Fleming

One Was a Soldier (2009) (reviewed here)

Opening Sentence of the Day: Side Trips From Cowboy

2012-01-13T06:00:00.000-08:00

It's July 9, about half-way through the process of writing this book and nearly a year since Margetty and I went to the Big Hole and retrieved the black amulet.

-- Side Trips from Cowboy: Addiction, Recovery and the Western American Myth, by Sandy Compton. That's an opener to catch my attention, although the title already did that.

Compton is the author of the novel, Archer MacClehan & the Hungry Now, sort of a contemporary Western adventure, and Jason's Passage: From the Blascomb Family Chronicles, a collection of three related short stories.

A Few More Pages hosts Book Beginnings every Friday. The event is open for the entire week.

State of the Blog: Part One, the Lists

2012-01-12T06:00:00.000-08:00

Four times a year, I review the books I've read to that point and see what kind of progress I've made on my books lists and reading projects. This winter review session is always my favorite because it is a wrap up of the books read by the end of the last calendar year.

This is the first of three quarterly blog assessment posts. This first part addresses the book lists. Part Two, coming soon, will take a look at the author lists. Part Three will deal with the challenges I joined this year.

My book lists are over in the right-side column. These are now divided into Prize Winners and "Must Reads" and include lists of books I have read or intend to read for some reason or another. Also in the right-side column are lists of my favorite authors. I add to these lists of lists from time to time.

NOTE: If you are working on any of these lists, please leave a comment here or on the post for the list (click on the title below or in the right-hand column) and leave a link to any related post. I will add the links on the list post.

In 2011, I read 47 books from my book lists. The list of all 115 books I read in 2011 is here.

THE PRIZE WINNERS

COSTA BOOK OF THE YEAR

Books read in 2011: none

EDGAR AWARD

Books read in 2011: The Chatham School Affair by Thomas H. Cook (reviewed here).

JAMES TAIT BLACK MEMORIAL PRIZE

Books read in 2011:

G by John Berger (reviewed here; read for my 2010 Battle of the Prizes, British Version, challenge);
Brazzaville Beach by William Boyd (reviewed here; read for my 2011 Battle of the Prizes, British Version, challenge).

MAN BOOKER PRIZE

Books read in 2011:

G by John Berger (reviewed here; read for my 2010 Battle o f the Prizes, British Version, challenge);
Wolf Hall by Hilary Mantel (reviewed here; read for my 2011 Battle of the Prizes, British Version, challenge)

NATIONAL BOOK AWARD

Books read in 2011:

Lord of Misrule by Jaimy Gordon (reviewed here; read for my 2010 Battle of the Prizes, American Version, challenge);
Cold Mountain by Charles Frazier (reviewed here; read for my 2011 Battle of the Prizes, American Version, challenge);
The Hair of Harold Roux by Thomas Williams (reviewed here; read for my 2011 Battle of the Prizes, American Version, challenge)

NATIONAL BOOK CRITICS CIRCLE AWARD

Books read in 2011:one, Wolf Hall by Hilary Mantel (reviewed here; read for my 2011 Battle of the Prizes, British Version, challenge).

NOBEL LAUREATES

Books read in 2011: none.

ORANGE PRIZE

Books read in 2011: one, On Beauty by Zadie Smith (reviewed here)

PEN/FAULKNER

Books read in 2011: one, The Human Stain by Philip Roth (reviewed here)

PULITZER PRIZE

Books read in 2011:

Breathing Lessons by Anne Tyler (reviewed here; read for my 2011 Battle of the Prizes, American Version, challenge);
All the King's Men by Robert Penn Warren (reviewed here; read for my 2011 Battle of the Prizes, American Version, challenge);
Tinkers by Paul Harding (read for Book Club)

THE "MUST READS"

1899 TOP 100

Books read in 2011: one, Uncle Tom's Cabin by Harriet Beecher Stowe (reviewed here)

ALL-TIME TOP 100

Books read in 2011: All the King's Men by Robert Penn Warren (reviewed here; read for my 2011 Battle of the Prizes, American Version, challenge)

ANTHONY BURGESS

This list is from 99 Novels: The Best in English Since 1939 by Anthony Burgess, which I finally read this year. My review is here.

Books read in 2011:

George Passant, the first volume of C. P. Snow’s 11-volume Strangers and Brothers series (reviewed here);
Wise Blood by Flannery O'Connor;
The Rebel Angels (Cornish Trilogy, No. 1) by Robertson Davies (reviewed here)
The Anti-Death League by Kingsley Amis (reviewed here)

BBC'S BIG READ

Books read in 2011: one, Far From the Madding Crowd by Thomas Hardy.

BOOK CLUB

Books read in 2011:

Honolulu by Alan Brennert;
The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks by Rebecca Skloot (reviewed here);
The Elegance of the Hedgehog by Muriel Barbery;
Tinkers by Paul Harding (Pulitzer winner)

COLLEGE BOARD

Books read in 2011:

The Portrait of a Lady by Henry James.;
Uncle Tom's Cabin by Harriet Beecher Stowe (reviewed here)

COOKBOOK LIBRARY

Books read in 2011:

Classic Spanish Cooking: Recipes for Mastering the Spanish Kitchen by Elisabeth Luard (reviewed here)
With a Jug of Wine by Morrison Wood (discussed here)

I've read many foodie books that weren't cookbooks. I think I'll start a new list.

EASTON PRESS

Books read in 2011:

The Portrait of a Lady by Henry James.;
Uncle Tom's Cabin by Harriet Beecher Stowe (reviewed here)

ERICA JONG

Books read in 2011:

Wise Blood by Flannery O'Connor;
We Have Always Lived in the Castle by Shirley Jackson (reviewed here);
The Autobiography of Alice B. Toklas by Gertrude Stein.

FRENCH CONNECTION

Books read in 2011:

The Food of France by Waverley Root (reviewed here);
Claude & Camille: A Novel of Monet by Stephanie Cowell;
The Autobiography of Alice B. Toklas by Gertrude Stein;
Meet Me in Venice by Elizabeth Adler;
The Elegance of the Hedgehog by Muriel Barbery;
French Spirits: A House, a Village, and a Love Affair in Burgundy by Jeffrey Greene

GUILT LIST

Books read in 2011:

One City's Wilderness by Marcy Cottrell Houle (reviewed here); and
Maps and Shadows by Krysia Jopek (reviewed here);
Started Early, Took My Dog (Jackson Brodie, No. 4) by Kate Atkinson (4/5; reviewed here);
Because You Might Not Remember by Don Colburn;
The Losing Role by Steve Anderson (reviewed here);
Spinning the Law: Trying Cases in the Court of Public Opinion by Kendall Coffey;
Real Women, Real Wisdom: A Journey into the Feminine Soul, edited by Maureen Hovenkotter (reviewed here)
Very Bad Men by Harry Dolan (reviewed here);
Carry Yourself Back to Me by Deborah Reed (reviewed here);
42 States of Grace by Maureen Hovenkotter (reviewed here)

LT EARLY REVIEWERS

Books read in 2011:

Shipwrecks, Monsters, and Mysteries of the Great Lakes by Ed Butts (reviewed here);
Nat Tate: An American Artist: 1928-1960 by William Boyd (reviewed here);
The Reluctant Detective by Martha Ockley (reviewed here);
One Was a Soldier by Julia Spencer-Fleming (reviewed here;
American Terroir by Rowan Jacobsen (reviewed here);
The Hair of Harold Roux by Thomas Williams (4/5; reviewed here)

MLA'S 30

Books read in 2011: none.

MODERN LIBRARY

Books read in 2011: zero (finished this list a couple of years ago).

OBSERVER'S TOP 100

Books read in 2011:

The Portrait of a Lady by Henry James; and
Wise Blood by Flannery O'Connor.

OREGON BOOKS

Books read in 2011: none.

RADCLIFFE'S TOP 100

Books read in 2011:

The Portrait of a Lady by Henry James;
The Autobiography of Alice B. Toklas by Gertrude Stein;
All the King's Men by Robert Penn Warren (reviewed here; read for my 2011 Battle of the Prizes, American Version, challenge)

ROSE CITY READER'S TOP 10

Books read in 2011: none so far. Who knows if the list will change this year.

VENICE BOOKS

This is a new list that I just created in 2011. I plan to make more progress in 2012 when I participate in the Venice in February Challenge.

Books read in 2011:

Death in a Strange Country by Donna Leon;
Meet Me in Venice by Elizabeth Adler

WELL-STOCKED BOOKCASE

Books read in 2011: All the King's Men by Robert Penn Warren (reviewed here; read for my 2011 Battle of the Prizes, American Version, challenge)

2012 Challenge: Henry Green Week

2012-01-11T06:00:00.000-08:00

Stu at Winstonsdad's Blog is hosting a challenge-type event called Henry Green Week from January 23 to 29, 2012. Click on the button or the link for more details or to sign up.

I read Green's best-known book, Loving, because it was on the modern Library's Top 100 list. It didn't knock my socks off, but I've been meaning to give him another chance. So this event may be just what I need to find the inspiration to continue with the trilogy.

I have the second and third books of the trilogy, Living and Party Going, on my TBR shelf. I am going to read Living for this event.

Teaser Tuesday: Soldiers in Hiding

2012-01-10T06:00:00.000-08:00

Just then Kazuko came back carrying the ingredients for tea on a flat wooden tray. She pushed the tray into the room as a woman in a restaurant might and then slid in after it.

-- Soldiers in Hiding by Richard Wiley. This is the story of a Japanese-American jazz musician trapped in Tokyo after Pearl Harbor and drafted into the Japanese Army. It takes place 30 years after the war, as he struggles with his own war guilt.

Soldiers in Hiding won the 1987 PEN/Faulkner Award. This edition is published by Hawthorne Books, with a new preface by the author.

Teaser Tuesdays is hosted by Should Be Reading, where you can find the official rules for this weekly event.

2011 Challenge: Vintage Mystery Challenge, Wrap Up

2012-01-09T12:25:00.000-08:00

The Vintage Mystery Reading Challenge is hosted by My Reader's Block. The goal is to read mysteries written before 1960. I signed up at the "In a Murderous Mood" level with the goal of reading four to six books, by at least two different authors, by the end of the year.

I finished the challenge, but I only reviewed one, for some reason.

It was one of my very favorite challenges and I signed up for the 2012 version, with the goal of reading at least eight books by woman authors. I also plan on reviewing more of them!

BOOKS READ

A Study in Scarlet by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle

The League of Frightened Men by Rex Stout

The Sign of the Four by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle

Clouds of Witness by Dorothy L. Sayers (reviewed here)

Unnatural Death by Dorothy L. Sayers

The Secret of Chimneys by Agatha Christie

Mailbox Monday

2012-01-09T06:00:00.000-08:00

Thanks for joining me for Mailbox Monday! MM was created by Marcia at A girl and her books (fka The Printed Page), who graciously hosted it for a long, long time, before turning it into a touring meme (details here).

Alyce at At Home With Books is hosting in January. Please stop by her wonderful blog!

Here is a short list of books I got last week:

Glow by Jessica Maria Tuccelli. This looks like it is going to be really good. Amazon describes it as "A breathtaking Georgia-mountain epic about the complex bond of mothers and daughters across a century." Wow.

This could be a pick for the Southern Literature Reading Challenge, once I finally get my sign up post up.

Thanks go to intrepid book publicist, Mary Bisbee-Beek, for getting me an early copy of Glow.

Mary also got me a copy of Midnight Sun, Arctic Moon: Exploring the Wild Heart of Alaska by Mary Albanes (see trailer here).

This one has huge appeal for me right now because I am in Anchorage this week, where it is 0 degrees, snowing, and there is no "midnight sun" because there is really no sun at all -- 3 hours in midday, but with the snow, it's hard to see.

The Devil's Elixir by Raymond Khoury. This looks like a real rip-roarer. Pure fun.

Books Read in 2011

2012-01-08T06:00:00.000-08:00

This is the list of the 116 books I read in 2011, in the order that I read them.

Looking back, I am pleased to see that I read a mix I am happy with -- I read some of my favorite authors, some books I've been meaning to get to for a long time, a couple of big classics, some vintage mysteries, plenty of prize winners, and some that were just pure fun.

There is not much rhyme or reason to whether I review a book or not. Some of my favorite books go without a review. For an explanation of my rating system, see here.

If you have reviewed any of the book I reviewed, and you would like your review listed on mine, please leave a comment on my review post for that book with a link to your review and I will add it.

2011 BOOKS

The Human Stain by Philip Roth (4.5/5; reviewed here)

The Portrait of a Lady by Henry James (3/5)

A Study in Scarlet by (Sherlock Holmes, No. 1) Sir Arthur Conan Doyle (4/5)

When Will There Be Good News? (Jackson Brodie, No. 3) by Kate Atkinson (4/5)

A Mind to Murder (Adam Dagliesh, No. 2) by P. D. James (3.5/5)

Lord of Misrule by Jaimy Gordon (4/5; reviewed here)

Strangers and Brothers (aka George Passant) (Strangers and Brothers, No. 1) by C. P. Snow (3.5/5; reviewed here)

By the Rivers of Babylon by Nelson DeMille (3.5/5)

365 Thank Yous: The Year a Simple Act of Daily Gratitude Changed My Life by John Kralik (3.5/5; reviewed here)

10 Lb. Penalty by Dick Francis (3/5)

Claude & Camille: A Novel of Monet by Stephanie Cowell (3/5)

G by John Berger (2/5; reviewed here)

The Beautiful Things That Heaven Bears by Dinaw Mengestu (3/5)

Shipwrecks, Monsters, and Mysteries of the Great Lakes by Ed Butts (3.5/5; reviewed here)

Breathing Lessons by Anne Tyler (3/5; reviewed here)

Death in a Strange Country (Commissario Guido Brunetti, No. 2) by Donna Leon

99 Novels: The Best in English Since 1939 by Anthony Burgess (4.5/5; reviewed here)

Wolf Hall by Hilary Mantel (4/5; reviewed here)

Blindfold Game by Dana Stabenow (3/5)

Bech: A Book by John Updike (4/5; reviewed here)

Bolt by Dick Francis (3.5/5)

Bad Things Happen (David Loogan, No. 1) by Harry Dolan (4/5; reviewed here))

Maps and Shadows by Krysia Jopek (3/5; reviewed here)

The Food of France by Waverley Root (4/5; reviewed here)

The League of Frightened Men (Nero Wolf, No. 2) by Rex Stout (3/5)

Indiscretions of Archie by P. G. Wodehouse (3/5)

The Girl Who Kicked the Hornet's Nest (Millennium Trilogy, No. 3) by Stieg Larsson (3.5/5)

Honolulu by Alan Brennert (3/5)

Wise Blood by Flannery O'Connor (4/5)

Strip Jack (John Rebus, No. 4) by Ian Rankin (3.5/5)

The Sign of the Four (Sherlock Holmes, No. 2) by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle (3.5/5)

The Warden (Chronicles of Barsetshire, No. 1) by Anthony Trollope (4/5)

The Marvelous Album of Madame B: Being the Handiwork of a Victorian Lady of Considerable Talent by Elizabeth Siegel (4/5; reviewed here)

Started Early, Took My Dog (Jackson Brodie, No. 4) by Kate Atkinson (4/5; reviewed here)

One Small Step Can Change Your Life: The Kaizen Way by Robert Maurer (3.5/5)

My Cousin Rachel by Daphne du Maurier (3.5/5)

Then She Found Me by Elinor Lipman (3/5)

Because You Might Not Remember by Don Colburn (4/5)

The Losing Role by Steve Anderson (3.5/5; reviewed here)

Cold Mountain by Charles Frazier (3/5; reviewed here)

Knots and Crosses (John Rebus, No. 1) by Ian Rankin (3.5/5)

Cause Celeb by Helen Fielding (3.5/5)

Banker by Dick Francis (4/5; reviewed here)

Clouds of Witness (Lord Peter Wimsey, No. 2) by Dorothy L. Sayers (4/5; reviewed here)

A Plague of Secrets (Dismas Hardy, No. 13, or San Francisco, No. 17) by John Lescroart (3.5/5; reviewed here))

The Master Butchers Singing Club by Louise Erdrich (3.5/5)

We Have Always Lived in the Castle by Shirley Jackson (4/5; reviewed here)

The Crime of the Century by Kinglsey Amis (3/5)

The Autobiography of Alice B. Toklas by Gertrude Stein (2.5/5)

Meet Me in Venice by Elizabeth Adler (3/5)

Brazzaville Beach by William Boyd (4/5; reviewed here)

The James Joyce Murder (Kate Fansler, No. 2) by Amanda Cross (3/5; reviewed here)

Marrying the Mistress by Joanna Trollope (3.5/5)

The Chatham School Affair by Thomas H. Cook (3/5; reviewed here)

The Bookman's Promise by John Dunning (3/5)

Knockdown by Dick Francis (3.5/5)

Far From the Madding Crowd by Thomas Hardy (4/5)

The Hidden Target by Helen McInnes (3/5)

Break In by Dick Francis (3.5/5)

Supreme Courtship by Christopher Buckley (3.5/5)

Evening Class by Maeve Binchy (3.5/5)

Spinning the Law: Trying Cases in the Court of Public Opinion by Kendall Coffey (2.5/5)

Locations by Jan Morris (4/5; reviewed here)

The Rebel Angels (Cornish Trilogy, No. 1) by Robertson Davies (4/5; reviewed here)

Treasure Hunt (Wyatt Hun, No. 2, or San Francisco, No. 18) by John Lescroart (3/5)

American Terroir: Savoring the Flavors of Our Woods, Waters, and Fields by Rowan Jacobsen (4/5; reviewed here)

Everything Is Illuminated by Jonathan Safran Foer (3/5)

A Friend From England by Anita Brookner (3.5/5)

Decider by Dick Francis (3.5/5)

42 States of Grace: A Woman's Journey by Maureen Hovenkotter (3.5/5; reviewed here)

Very Bad Men (David Loogan, No. 2) by Harry Dolan (4/5; reviewed here)

Uncle Tom's Cabin by Harriet Beecher Stowe (4/5; reviewed here)

Hide and Seek (John Rebus, No. 2) by Ian Rankin (3.5/5)

One Was a Soldier (Clare Fergusin, No. 7) by Julia Spencer-Fleming (3.5/5; reviewed here)

Everything I Want To Do Is Illegal: War Stories From the Local Food Front by Joel Salatin (3.5/5; reviewed here)

On Beauty by Zadie Smith (3/5; reviewed here)

Unnatural Death (Lord Peter Wimsey, No. 3) by Dorothy L. Sayers (3.5/5)

Don't Vote It Just Encourages the Bastards by P. J. O’Rourke (3.5/5)

The Secret of Chimneys by Agatha Christie (4/5)

Unnatural Causes (Adam Dagliesh, No. 3) by P. D. James (3.5/5)

The Reluctant Detective (Faith Morgan, No. 1) by Martha Oakley (3/5; reviewed here)

Nat Tate: An American Artist, 1928 – 1960 by William Boyd (3.5/5; reviewed here)

The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks by Rebecca Skloot (2.5/5; reviewed here)

The Omnivore's Dilemma: A Natural History of Four Meals by Michael Pollan (4.5/5)

Barchester Towers by Anthony Trollope (4/5)

Past Perfect by Susan Isaacs (3/5)

Speak, Memory: An Autobiography Revisited by Vladimir Nabokov (3.5/5)

Nine Simple Patterns for Complicated Women by Mary Rechner (3.5/5; reviewed here)

The Elegance of the Hedgehog by Muriel Barbery (2/5)

Carry Yourself Back to Me by Deborah Reed (4/5; reviewed here)

Girl from the South by Joanna Trollope (3/5)

Real Women, Real Wisdom: A Journey into the Feminine Soul, edited by Maureen Hovenkotter (4/5; reviewed here)

The Anti-Death League by Kingsley Amis (2.5/5; reviewed here)

Shakespeare Wrote for Money by Nick Hornby (3.5/5)

Drood by Dan Simmons (3/5; reviewed here)

4 Blondes by Candace Bushnell (3/5)

The Finishing School by Muriel Spark (3.5/5)

Solar by Ian McEwan (3.5/5)

The Girl on the Boat by P. G. Wodehouse (3/5)

Cathedral by Nelson DeMille (4.5/5; reviewed here)

All the King's Men by Robert Penn Warren (4.5/5; reviewed here)

French Spirits: A House, a Village, and a Love Affair in Burgundy by Jeffrey Greene (3/5)

With a Jug of Wine by Morrison Wood (3.5/5)

61 Hours (Jack Reacher, No. 14) by Lee Child (3.5/5)

Odds Against by Dick Francis (3.5/5)

Crooked House by Agatha Christie (3.5/5)

Therapy by David Lodge (3.5/5; reviewed here)

The Hair of Harold Roux by Thomas Williams (4/5; reviewed here)

Tooth and Nail (John Rebus, No. 3) by Ian Rankin (2.5/5)

Bleak House by Charles Dickens (4/5)

Delights and Prejudices: A Memoir with Recipes by James Beard (5/5; reviewed here)

The Man Who Knew Too Much by G. K. Chesterton (3/5)

Dear Money by Martha McPhee (3.5/5)

Worth Dying For (Jack Reacher, No. 15) by Lee Child (3.5/5; reviewed here)

Tinkers by Paul Harding (2.5/5)

An Unsuitable Job for a Woman (Cordelia Gray, No. 1) by P. D. James (3.5/5)

2012 Challenge: Memorable Memoirs

2012-01-07T06:00:00.000-08:00

Melissa at The Betty and Boo Chronicles is hosting the 2012 Memorable Memoirs Reading Challenge. I am signing up at the Autobiographer level to read five to nine memoirs in 2012, although I think I will be closer to five than nine.

One of my general reading goals for this new year is to read more of the non-fiction books on my TBR shelves. This challenge dovetails with the Non-Fiction, Non-Memoir Challenge I am also doing.

Click the button or the link above to go to the challenge post for details and to sign up.

MY BOOKS

I am not sure yet which books I will read for this challenge, but some possibilities include:

The Innocents Abroad by Mark Twain (which I started this weekend)

Reading Lolita in Tehran: A Memoir in Books by Azar Nafisi

Witness by Whittaker Chambers

Greene on Capri by Shirley Hazzard

Out of Africa by Isak Dinesen

Books by Larry McMurtry

The Tuscan Year: Life and Food in an Italian Valley by Elizabeth Romer

Shaken and Stirred: Through the Martini Glass and Other Drinking Adventures by William L. Hamilton

My Grandfather's Son by Clarence Thomas

The Sharper Your Knife, the Less You Cry: Love, Laughter, and Tears in Paris at the World's Most Famous Cooking School by Kathleen Flinn

There is a lot of crossover possibility with this list. All will crossover with the TBR challenges I joined, and others will count for the Foodie's Challenge, the Chunkster Challenge, or the European Reading Challenge.

Opening Sentence of the New Year: Soldiers in Hiding

2012-01-06T06:00:00.000-08:00

It gives me pleasure to hinder American tourists occasionally.

-- Soldiers in Hiding by Richard Wiley.

A Bambara proverb goes thus: "go to the village where you don't have a house, but take your roof with you."

-- from the new Introduction by Wole Soyinka, winner of the 1986 Nobel Prize for Literature.

Soldiers in Hiding won the 1987 PEN/Faulkner Award. This edition is published by Hawthorne Books & Literary Arts, with a new preface by the author.

A Few More Pages hosts Book Beginnings every Friday. The event is open for the entire week.

2012 Challenge: TBR Pile Challenge

2012-01-05T06:00:00.000-08:00

I've already signed up for two TBR challenges for 2012: the Mt. TBR Challenge hosted by Bev at My Reader's Block and the Off the Shelf challenge hosted by the team at Bookish Ardour.

Adam at Roof Beam Reader is hosting a similar challenge he calls the TBR Pile Challenge. This is for books that have been on your TBR shelf for more than a year -- since before January 1, 2011.

I am signing up because I like the commitment demanded of participants, who must pick 12 books to read and review. I plan to use this challenge to finally read some books that I have been meaning to read for many years. And I plan to maximize crossover with other challenges.

Click the button or the link above for details and to sign up.

MY BOOKS

The date after the book is when I added the book to my TBR shelf -- not when it was published.

The Innocents Abroad by Mark Twain (2001) (Non-Fiction, Non-Memoirs Challenge; Back to the Classics Challenge)

Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Spy by John LeCarre (1982) (European Reading Challenge)

A Bell for Adano by John Hersey (2003) (a Pulitzer winner for the Battle of the Prizes, American Version)

Friends and Lovers by Helen McInnes (2007) (Vintage Mystery Challenge)

The Comedians by Graham Greene (1998) (Books Published in the First years of My Life Challenge)

On the Town in New York by M. Batterberry (2004) (Non-Fiction, Non-Memoirs Challenge)

How To Read and Why by Harold Bloom (2009) (Non-Fiction, Non-Memoirs Challenge)

Mr. Sammler's Planet by Saul Bellow (2009) (What's in a Name Challenge)

Oscar and Lucinda by Peter Carey (2001) (a Booker winner for the Battle of the Prizes, British Version)

World Without End by Ken Follett (2010) (Chunkster Challenge; Tea & Books Reading Challenge)

Lonesome Dove by Larry McMurtry (1992) (Chunkster Challenge; Tea & Books Reading Challenge)

Redemption by Leon Uris (2007) (Chunkster Challenge)

TWO ALTERNATES

Witness by Whittaker Chambers (2009) (Chunkster Challenge; Memorable Memoirs Reading Challenge)

Personal History by Katharine Graham (2007) (Chunkster Challenge; Memorable Memoirs Reading Challenge)

Review of the Day: Worth Dying For

2012-01-04T06:00:00.000-08:00

Worth Dying For is Lee Child’s 15th book featuring ex-military cop, Jack Reacher. This one has Reacher fighting the bad guys in Nebraska farm country, 60 miles from the nearest local police.

All Reacher books could have the same review: “A breakneck thriller that will keep you up late turning pages.” These books are all about action, excitement, and plot. Not that the plots are complex, but there is always a lot going on. The central story is always Beowulf fighting Grendel – the big, strong, stranger who sweeps in to protect the townsfolk from a monster.

And it works. Over and over. These books are paperback crack.

OTHER REVIEWS

If you would like your review of this, or any other Lee Child book, listed here, please leave a comment with a link and I will add it.

NOTES

This counts as one of my books for the 2011 Chunkster Challenge. Although, I have to say that these 525 or so pages went by a lot faster than most. 500+ pages of the adventures of Jack Reacher aren't like reading The Adventures of Augie March, for example. No criticism intended for either Child or Bellow.

2012 European Reading Challenge: Review List

2012-01-03T14:16:00.000-08:00

The European Reading Challenge
January 1, 2012 to January 31, 2013

THIS IS THE PAGE TO LIST YOUR REVIEWS.

TO SIGN UP, GO TO THE MAIN CHALLENGE PAGE, HERE,

OR CLICK THE BUTTON ABOVE.

When you review a book for the 2012 European Reading Challenge, please add it to this list using the linky widget below. Please link to your review post, NOT the main page of your blog.

Please put your name or the name of your blog, the name of the book you reviewed, and the country of the book or author. For example: Rose City Reader, Doctor Zhvago, Russia.

If Mr. Linky acts up, please leave a comment with a link to your review and I will figure out how to add it.

LIST YOUR REVIEWS HERE

MORE ABOUT THE CHALLENGE

The European Reading Challenge lets participants tour Europe through books. For all the details and to sign up, please visit the main challenge page.

Teaser Tuesday: The Leaves of Fate

2012-01-03T06:00:00.000-08:00

The next day, my crew well armed, I informed Hunt that I was to sail that week. "Our preparations mostly done, you can stay and finish salting the fish and then sail to Spain and sell the good, Poor John having a ready market there."

-- The Leaves of Fate by George Robert Minkoff.

This is the third volume of Minkoff's In the Land of Whispers trilogy about Jamestown and America's earliest days. I haven't read the first two, The Weight of Smoke and The Dragons of the Storm, but I this one is good on its own.

It takes a while to get into because it is written the way they talked in the 1700s. But it is a great yarn once you get into it.

Teaser Tuesdays is hosted by Should Be Reading, where you can find the official rules for this weekly event.

Mailbox Monday

2012-01-02T06:00:00.000-08:00

Thanks for joining me for Mailbox Monday! MM was created by Marcia at A girl and her books (fka The Printed Page), who graciously hosted it for a long, long time, before turning it into a touring meme (details here).

Alyce at At Home With Books is hosting in January. Please stop by her wonderful blog!

Last week, I was still celebrating and didn't post the list of books I got for Christmas. Here they are.

Hubby came through with some very nice book presents. He got me six P. G. Wodehouse books, in the cool Collector's Editions published by Overlook Press.

The Man with Two Left Feet
Big Money
Service With a Smile
Jill the Reckless
The Coming of Bill
Mr. Mulliner Speaking

He also scored big with an older set of Robert Louis Stevenson books. They all have the same plain, dark green cover, and the 10-volume set includes:

The Black Arrow
The Dynamiter
The Master of Ballantrae
The Merry Men
New Arabian Nights
Prince Otto
The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde and Kidnapped
Virginibus Puerisque
Treasure Island
A Child’s Garden of Verses

And, finally, he got me Tony Blair's autobiography, A Journey: My Political Life.

One of my book-ish friends gave me a lovely copy of The Fine Art of Italian Cooking by Giuliano Bugialli.

My law partner gave me Poems and Prose by Gerard Manley Hopkins.

And my associate gave me Left Coast Libations: The Art of West Coast Bartending: 100 Original Cocktails by Ted Munat, Michael Lazar, Jenn Farrington (Photographer). I think it is a hint to start offering more than ice as a mixer.

Happy New Year!

2012-01-01T06:00:00.000-08:00

Here's to another happy year of reading good books!

2012 Challenges: Back to the Classics and A Classics Challenge

2012-01-01T05:50:00.000-08:00

There are a couple of "classics" challenges I want to participate in in 2012. These go right along with some of the TBR challenges I've signed up for, as well as my Battle of the Prizes Challenges, both American and British, and the European Reading Challenge.

BACK TO THE CLASSICS

Sarah at Sarah Reads Too Much is hosting the Back to the Classics Challenge again this year and this time around, I am signing up. Click on the button or the above link to go to the main challenge post for details and to sign up.

The idea is to read a "classic" from each of the following nine categories:

Any 19th Century classic

Any 20th Century classic

Reread a classic of your choice

A classic play

A classic mystery/horror/crime fiction

A classic romance

A classic that has been translated from its original language to your language

A classic award winner

A classic set in a country that you (realistically speaking) will not visit during your lifetime -- countries that no longer exist or have never existed count.

A CLASSICS CHALLENGE

I am going to do the Back to the Classics Challenge in combination with Katherine's 2012 A Classics Challenge at November's Autumn.

A Classics Challenge will be very fun because it has a blog hop spin. Katherine will post a "prompt" on the 4th of each month, inviting posts related to the classic books participants are reading at the time. The goal is to read seven "classics" and participate in at least three monthly prompts.

MY BOOKS

I am going to pick nine books now, one for each of Sarah's categories. These may change as I go along. As with all my challenges, I am going to try to read books that are currently on my TBR shelf. Although, in this case, I include my virtual TBR shelf -- the audiobooks that have been on my iPod for a long, long time.

The Innocents Abroad by Mark Twain (19th Century)

Lonesome Dove by Larry McMurtry (20th Century)

The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde by Robert Louis Stevenson (re-read)

A Doll's House by Henrik Ibsen or She Stoops to Conquer by Oliver Goldsmith (play)

Dracula by Bram Stoker (horror)

Doctor Zhivago by Boris Pasternak (romance)

Kristin Lavransdatter by Sigrid Undset (translation)

One of Ours by Willa Cather (award winner -- Pulitzer)

Quo Vadis by Henryk Sienkiewicz (unvisited country -- Roman Empire)

This 1899 list of the Daily Telegraph's Best 100 Novels in the World is also full of ideas.

2012 Challenge: Chunkster and Tea & Books Challenges

2011-12-31T06:00:00.000-08:00

Wendy at Caribousmom and Vasilly at 1330V have teamed up to host the 2012 Chunkster Reading Challenge.

This is the third year I've participated in this challenge. In 2010, I bit off more than I could chew, signing up for six books and only finishing four. So I scaled back in 2011 to the "Chubby Chunkster" four-book level. I am still reading my third and fourth books for 2011 (the challenge ends on January 31, 2012).

Despite my less than stellar performance in years past, I am signing up for the Do These Books Make my Butt Look Big? option to read SIX chunksters from the following categories: two books 450 - 550 pages; two books 551 - 750 pages; and two books longer than 750 pages.

One of the reasons I upped the pressure is because, for the first time, collected editions of essays or short stories count. That increased my options.

The other reason I'm in for six books is because I can overlap with the Tea & Books Challenge hosted by Birgit at The Book Garden. I am signing up at the Berry Tea Devotee level to read four books longer than 700 pages. If I really get on a roll, I'll upgrade to the 6-book level.

POSSIBILITIES

I figured out how to sort the TBR books in my LibraryThing library by the number of pages, so I can check that list for inspiration. Here are some possibilities:

World Without End by Ken Follett (1,024 pages)

Lonesome Dove by Larry McMurtry (960)

More Matter: Essays and Criticism by John Updike (928)

Anna Karenina by Leo Tolstoy (862)

Redemption by Leon Uris (848)

The Charm School by Nelson DeMille (816)

Witness by Whittaker Chambers (808)

Ancient Evening by Norman Mailer (800)

The Gate House by Nelson DeMille (800)

Personal History by Katharine Graham (642)

The Life of Noel Coward by Cole Lesley (608)

Opening Sentence of the Day: The Leaves of Fate

2011-12-30T06:00:00.000-08:00

By what consequence am I foretold!

-- The Leaves of Fate by George Robert Minkoff.

This is the third volume of Minkoff's In the Land of Whispers trilogy about Jamestown and America's earliest days. I haven't read the first two, The Weight of Smoke and The Dragons of the Storm, but I understand that this one is good on its own.

This holiday week is always a great time to cuddle in with an absorbing novel.

A Few More Pages hosts Book Beginnings every Friday. The event is open for the entire week.

2012 Challenge: Audio Book Challenge

2011-12-29T06:00:00.000-08:00

Teresa at Teresa's Reading Corner is hosting the 2012 Audio Book Challenge. Click on the button or the link to go to the main challenge page for more details.

I signed up for the "Married" level to read (with my ears) 40 audio books.

"Married" is a pick-your-own-number level (over 25). I listened to roughly 50 audio books in 2011, so 40 is probably a little low, but I am hoping that joining this challenge will inspire me to write more reviews of the audio book I listen to.

MY BOOKS

The Coffee Trader by David Liss

High Stakes by Dick Francis (reviewed here)

The Mysterious Affair at Styles by Agatha Christie (reviewed here)

Dracula by Bram Stoker

NOTES

Last updated on January 23, 2012.

2012 Challenge: Vintage Mystery Challenge

2011-12-28T06:00:00.000-08:00

Bev at My Reader's Block is hosting the Vintage Mystery Challenge again in 2012. This was one of my favorite challenges in 2011.

The idea is to read mysteries by more than one author, all published before 1960.

This year, Bev has several "vintage themes" ot choose from or invites participants to make up their own theme.

Click the button or the link above to go to the main challenge post for more details.

I am using one of Bev's suggested themes, signing up for the Golden Age Girls category, to read eight books by female authors or featuring female detectives.

I have in mind reading more Agatha Christie, because I read a couple in 2011 and loved them. My plan is to start with this:

Murder on Board, an omnibus edition of three novels by AC: The Mystery on the Blue Train, Death in the Air, and What Mrs. McGillicuddy Saw.

Another possibility include a couple of pre-1960 Helen McInnes books, perhaps Assignment in Brittany (1942). Friends and Lovers (1947), Rest and be Thankful (1949), or North from Rome (1958), all on my TBR shelf now.

And I hope to read at least one more Lord Peter Wimsey book by Dorothy L. Sayers. The Unpleasantness at the Bellona Club (1928) is next up for me and I have it on my TBR shelf as well.

Teaser Tuesday: Jumptown

2011-12-27T06:00:00.000-08:00

Action central was Williams Avenue, an entertainment strip where you could find jazz twenty-four hours a day.

-- Jumptown: The Golden Years of Portland Jazz 1942-1957 by Robert Dietsche, published by the OSU Press. Great cover. And great Portland history.

There is an interesting story about where Dietsche came up with the Jumptown title. The Portland Trailblazers adopted it, but it's not as historically authentic as it sounds.

Teaser Tuesdays is hosted by Should Be Reading, where you can find the official rules for this weekly event.

2012 Challenge: European Reading Challenge (My Challenge List)

2011-12-26T06:15:00.000-08:00

TAKE THE GRAND TOUR

January 1, 2012 to January 31, 2013

This is my sign up page for the European Reading Challenge. Please see the main challenge page for more details or to sign up.

The gist: The idea is to read books by European authors or books set in European countries (no matter where the author comes from). The books can be anything – novels, short stories, memoirs, travel guides, cookbooks, biography, poetry, or any other genre. You can participate at different levels, but each book must be by a different author and set in a different country – it's supposed to be a tour.

It's my challenge, so I am signing up at the highest level, the Five Star (Deluxe Entourage) level, to read at least five books by different European authors or books set in different European countries.

I originally thought I'd go for the Agritourisimo version for foodie readers – to read food-related books written by European authors or about European food, cooking, restaurants, culinary traditions, farming, winemaking, etc. This would be a good tie-in with the Foodies Read 2 Challenge. But I didn't see enough qualifying books from different countries on my TBR shelf, and my main goal for 2012 is to climb Mt. TBR.

So I am not sure yet what books I will read, but some possibilities from my TBR shelves include:

A Thousand Days in Venice by Marlena de Blasi (American; Italy)

Catherine the Great: Portrait of a Woman by Robert K. Massie (American; Russia)

The Twin by Gerbrand Bakker (Dutch; Holland)

Quo Vadis by Henryk Sienkiewicz (Polish; Nobel)

Death in the Truffle Wood by Pierre Magnan (French; France)

If on a Winter's Night a Traveler by Italo Calvino (Italian)

Out Stealing Horses by Per Petterson (Norwegian; Norway)

The Tin Drum by Gunter Grass (German; Germany)

Kristin Lavransdatter by Sigrid Undset (Norwegian; Norway)

How German Is It = Wie Deutsch Ist Es by Walter Abish (Germany; PEN/Faulkner)

I, the King by Frances Parkinson Keyes (American; Spain)

Doctor Zhivago by Boris Pasternak (Russian; Russia)

Mailbox Christmas Monday!

2011-12-26T06:00:00.000-08:00

Santa brought me a lot of books, much to my delight. But I am too busy celebrating to post them yet. They'll be posted in my first Mailbox Monday of the new year!

Merry Christmas!

2011-12-25T06:00:00.000-08:00

1 Day to Christmas!

2011-12-24T06:00:00.000-08:00

2012 Challenge: Graham Greene Reading Challenge

2011-12-24T05:50:00.001-08:00

Carrie at Books and Movies is hosting the Graham Greene Reading Challenge in 2012, to encourage people to read more of his books.

I am signing up for the "Getting Your Feet Wet" level to read two GG books in 2012.

I already planned to read The Comedians for the Birth Year Reading Challenge, so that will be my first choice.

I am not sure yet which my second book will be, but I'm going to maximize crossover with other challenges, like the Mt. TBR Challenge and my European Reading Challenge.

The following are also on my TBR shelf already, so it will be one of these:

The End of the Affair (1951)

Travels With My Aunt (1969)

Doctor Fischer of Geneva or the Bomb Party (1980)

Getting to Know the General: The Story of an Involvement (1984)

The Tenth Man (1985)

I am also going to get a GG post up with a list of all his books. He is a favorite of mine, so he should go on my list of favorites.

2 Days to Christmas!

2011-12-23T06:00:00.001-08:00

Opening Sentence of the Day: Jumptown

2011-12-23T06:00:00.000-08:00

When most people think of the origins of jazz, Portland, Oregon, is not the first place that comes to mind.

-- from Jim Swenson's Foreword to Jumptown: The Golden Years of Portland Jazz 1942-1957 by Robert Dietsche.

Inland seaports with good railroads make for great jazz, especially during wartime, when there is an acceleration of fresh ideas and fashions from the thousands of servicemen and defense workers arriving.

-- from "The Dude Ranch: Where Jump Was a Noun," the first chapter.

This is another great book published by the Oregon State University Press.

Hubby is a huge classic jazz fan, so most of what we listen to is jazz from this era. I got this out to keep him entertained over the upcoming family visit.

A Few More Pages hosts Book Beginnings every Friday. The event is open for the entire week.

3 Days to Christmas!

2011-12-22T06:00:00.000-08:00

2012 Challenge: Mt. TBR & Off the Shelf Challenges

2011-12-22T05:50:00.000-08:00

Bev at My Reader's Block is hosting the 2012 Mt. TBR Challenge. I am signing up at the Mr Kilimanjaro level to read 50 books off my TBR shelves in 2012.

The team at Bookish Ardour is hosting a similar TBR challenge called Off the Shelf. I am signing up for the 50-book On a Roll level.

Click the buttons or the links above to go to the main challenge pages for details.

According to LibraryThing, there are currently 1,284 books on my groaning TBR shelves. So I have plenty to choose from.

Here is a picture of my TBR fiction wall. These challenges were made for me!

4 Days to Christmas!

2011-12-21T06:00:00.000-08:00

2011 Challenge: Foodie's Reading Challenge -- Wrap Up Post

2011-12-21T05:50:00.000-08:00

Margot at Joyfully Retired hosted one of my favorite challenges in 2011: The Foodie's Reading Challenge! I am looking forward to the 2012 Foodies Read 2 Challenge.

I love reading books about food. I often read cookbooks cover-to-cover, like a narrative book. I had a lot of fun reading the books for this challenge.

I signed up at the "Bon Vivant" level to read four to six books. I stuck with books already on my TBR shelves.

My Reviews

The Food of France by Waverley Root (reviewed here)

American Terroir: Savoring the Flavors of Our Woods, Waters, and Fields, Rowan Jacobsen (reviewed here)

Everything I Want To Do Is Illegal: War Stories From the Local Food Front by Joel Salatin (reviewed here)

The Onmivore's Dilemma: A Natural History of Four Meals by Michael Pollan (which I didn't review, but discussed here)

With a Jug of Wine: An Unusual Collection of Cooking Recipes by Morrison Wood (reviewed here, with a recipe)

James Beard on Food Delights and Prejudices by James Beard (reviewed here, with a recipe)

5 Days to Christmas!

2011-12-20T06:00:00.001-08:00

Teaser Tuesday: The Oregon Experiment

2011-12-20T06:00:00.000-08:00

As he turned towards the courthouse and drove along Central Park, a figure shot out in front of him. He slammed on the brakes as the hooded man punched down on the front of the car and rolled on one hip up and over the fender, then sprinted off between two houses.

-- The Oregon Experiment by Keith Scribner, published by Alfred A. Knopf. This is quite a story about a professor and his wife who move to Oregon and he gets involved with an anarchist group.

Jeff Baker wrote a terrific profile and interview of Scribner for The Oregonian.

Teaser Tuesdays is hosted by Should Be Reading, where you can find the official rules for this weekly event.

6 Days to Christmas!

2011-12-19T06:00:00.000-08:00

Mailbox Monday

2011-12-19T05:50:00.000-08:00

Thanks for joining me for Mailbox Monday! MM was created by Marcia at A girl and her books (fka The Printed Page), who graciously hosted it for a long, long time, before turning it into a touring meme (details here).

Lady Q at Let Them Read Books is hosting in December. Be sure and visit her terrific blog!

I got two books last week:

Alfred Edelman: Urban Compositions, photos by Alfred Edelman, essay by Kathleen Dean Moore, poetry by Paulann Petersen (Oregon's poet laureate), published by Pacific Northwest College of Arts.

Edelman was a Portland-based architect, photographer, and founder of Hotlips Pizza (yummmmmmmmm). This beautiful books features Edelman's photographs of urban fragments, coupled with Peterson's poems. It is lovely.

Urban Compositions is available at The Gallery at Museum of Contemporary Craft in Portland (or on line), Broadway Books, or directly from Jeana Edelman.

Murder on Board, three novels by Agatha Christie, an omnibus edition containing The Mystery on the Blue Train, Death in the Air, and What Mrs. McGillicuddy Saw.

This one is going to kick off my Vintage Reading Challenge. I still need to do my sign up post, but I am going to sign up to read 8 pre-1969 mysteries by women authors.

Review of the Day: Delights and Prejudices

2011-12-18T10:49:00.000-08:00

James Beard was the "Dean of American Cuisine." Before Alice Waters was even born, he was championing regional, seasonal cooking. Long before his buddy Julia Child, he had a televised cooking program -- the first ever, starting in 1946, when home televisions were a great rarity and most of audience was men in bars (his show came on after the boxing match).

He wrote more than 20 cookbooks and became famous for his New York cooking schools. After his death in 1985 at age 81, Julia Child wanted to preserve his home, school, and memory, leading to the creation of the James Beard Foundation, still located in his Greenwich Village brownstone. Every year the foundation honors cookbook authors, chefs, restaurateurs, food writers, and other culinary professionals with the James Beard Award.

Beard published Delights and Prejudices: A Memoir with Recipes 1964 to explain his own food loving history from toddler-hood to his New York cooking school days. He bounces around from his childhood in Portland to Les Halles in Paris to Mid-Century Manhattan and beyond.

It is absolutely wonderful, particularly for a Portlander like me. Beard highlights Portland's rich culinary roots, with lengthy chapters on the farmers' markets, local procuce, and abundant seafood that we here in the Rose City still enjoy. His remembrances of childhood weeks spent in Gearhart on the Oregon coast would make anyone want to head for the drizzly beach, build a huge bonfire, and roast oysters and Dungeness crabs.

What makes the book stand out is that Beard's bigger than life, kind of oddball personality shows through. For instance, despite launching his career with a catering company featuring canapes and the resultant first cookbook, Hors D'oeuvre and Canapes, he was ambivalent about finger food, coining the name "doots" for all little passed tidbits. Doots? Now, that's funny.

He had strong opinions about food and cooking -- many inherited from his strong-willed mother -- and laid them all out. For example, he hated chicken livers, but loved gizzards (and included plenty of recipes to prove it). He was an ardent Francophile and particularly favored bistro cooking, but could not stand Caribbean food.

When it came to holiday traditions, he loved his mother's Christmas fruitcakes (made a year in advance), but thought cranberries were an "abomination," homemade candy "really unsavory," and Christmas cookies only good if you make them yourself and eat them right away, exhorting well-wishers to "have pity on us, all you bakers -- the spirit of Christmas notwithstanding -- and deliver us from cookies that have crumbled or gone stale."

Delights and Prejudices is outstanding among food memoirs because James Beard is a giant and, therefore, learning what shaped his talent is fascinating, but also because it inspires an examination of your own food delights and prejudices and where they came from.

RECIPE

Huckleberry Cake

(Beard, like most Oregonians, loved the wild, dark huckleberries that grow here, particularly those that grow in the hills near the Oregon coast.)

Cream 1 cup butter and 1 cup granulated sugar together until the mixture is very light. Add 3 eggs, one by one, beating after each addition. Sift two cups flour and save 1/4 cup to mix with 1 cup huckleberries. Add to the rest 2 teaspoons baking powder and a pinch of salt, and fold this into the egg mixture. Add 1 teaspoon vanilla and, lastly, fold in the floured huckleberries. Pour the batter into a buttered, floured 8-inch-square baking tin. Bake at 375º for 35 to 40 minutes or until the cake is nicely browned, or when a tester inserted comes out clean.

Serve the cake hot with whipped cream, or cold.

OTHER REVIEWS

If you would like your review of this or any other James beard book listed here, please leave a comment with a link and I will add it.

NOTES

This is my sixth and final book for the 2011 Foodie's Reading Challenge. I can't wait to sign up again for the 2012 version.

WEEKEND COOKING

Hosted by Beth Fish Reads

7 Days to Christmas!

2011-12-18T06:00:00.000-08:00

2012 Challenge: Non-Fiction Non-Memoir

2011-12-17T06:15:00.000-08:00

Julie at My Book Retreat is hosting her first challenge, geared towards reading more nonfiction. To make it more of a challenge, her Non-Fiction Non-Memoir Reading Challenge will exclude memoirs, which seem to be the most read type of nonfiction among the book blogs she follows. Instead, the focus is on learning about a variety of different topics and discovering new facts. The challenge will run from January 1, 2012 through December 31, 2012.

What Counts:
- Books can be any format (bound, ebook, audio) but must be written for adults or young adults.
- Books can cover many different topics, including science, technology, religion, sociology, business, biography, politics, economics, history, food, art/design, etc.
- How-to, self-help and travel books are permitted, as long as you actual read them cover to cover, and don't just use them as a reference.
- Crossovers with other challenges are permitted.

What Does Not Count:
- Reference books, cookbooks and instruction manuals that are not meant to be read cover to cover
- Essays and articles (individual -- bound collections count)
- How-to, self-help or travel books that are not read cover to cover
- Memoirs, journals and autobiographies
- Books written for children
- Re-reads don't count since the point is to learn something new

Levels:

Elementary - 5 nonfiction books
Diploma - 10 nonfiction books
Bachelor's Degree - 15 nonfiction books
Master's Degree - 25 nonfiction books

Details:

See Julie's challenge post.

MY SIGN UP AND LIST OF POSSIBILITIES

I am going to sign up for the Diploma level. I thought I read a lot of qualifying books in 2011, but when I go back and look, sure enough, most were memoirs.

I am going to stick with books on my TBR shelf, to maximize cross-over potential with the Mt. TBR Challenge. Possibilities, in no kind of order, include:

The Raw Milk Revolution: Behind America's Emerging Battle Over Food Rights by David E. Gumpert (a Foodie Challenge book)

The Well-Educated Mind: A Guide to the Classical Education You Never Had by S. Wise Bauer

On the Town in New York by M. Batterberry (a Chunckster Challenge book)

Because He Could by Dick Morris

Roads to Santiago: Detours and Riddles in the Lands and History of Spain by Cees Nooteboom (which could count either as my Spain book or my Holland book for my European Reading Challenge)

Oscar Wilde: A Certain Genius by Barbara Belford (a UK book for my European Reading Challenge)

The Skeptical Environmentalist: Measuring the Real State of the World by Bjørn Lomborg (which I've been meaning to read forever, would count as one of my Chunkster Challenge books, and is another possible Holland book for my European Reading Challenge)

Frank Lloyd Wright by Ada Louise Huxtable

French Women Don't Get Fat: The Secret of Eating For Pleasure by Mireille Guiliano (a Foodie Challenge book)

Ronald Reagan and Margaret Thatcher: A Political Marriage by Nicholas Wapshott (a possible UK book for my European Reading Challenge)

Alice Waters and Chez Panisse: The Romantic, Impractical, Often Eccentric, Ultimately Brilliant Making of a Food Revolution by Thomas McNamee (a Foodie Challenge book)

How To Read and Why by Harold Bloom

Feng Shui Your Life by Jayme Barrett

Brunelleschi's Dome: How a Renaissance Genius Reinvented Architecture by Ross King (an Italy book for my European Reading Challenge)

Silent Spring by Rachel Carson

Working with Emotional Intelligence by Daniel Goleman

The Map That Changed the World: William Smith and the Birth of Modern Geology by Simon Winchester (a UK book for my European Reading Challenge)

Godless: The Church of Liberalism by Ann Coulter

The City in History: Its Origins, Its Transformations, and Its Prospects by Lewis Mumford

The Journalist And The Murderer by Janet Malcolm

Voodoo Vintners: Oregon's Astonishing Biodynamic Winegrowers by Katherine Cole (a Foodie Challenge book)

Uncommon Arrangements: Seven Portraits of Married Life in London Literary Circles 1910 - 1939 by Katie Roiphe (a UK book for my European Reading Challenge)

Epicurean Delight: The Life and Times of James Beard by Evan Jones (a Foodie Challenge book)

8 Days to Christmas!

2011-12-17T06:00:00.000-08:00

9 Days to Christmas!

2011-12-16T06:00:00.001-08:00

Opening Sentence of the Day: The Oregon Experiment

2011-12-16T06:00:00.000-08:00

Naomi awoke to mint.

-- The Oregon Experiment by Keith Scribner, published by Alfred A. Knopf. I don't really know what to expect from this new novel, but it looks intriguing. Naomi was a "nose" for perfume makers, but had lost her sense of smell in an accident. So smelling mint is a big deal.

Read the Kirkus Reviews review of The Oregon Experiment.

A Few More Pages hosts Book Beginnings every Friday. The event is open for the entire week.

Opening Sentence of the Day: Sacred Hunger

2011-12-15T08:08:00.000-08:00

The ship he meant was the Liverpool Merchant, Captain Saul Thurso, and he had never seen her, though she carried the seeds of all his dreams in her hold.

-- Sacred Hunger by Barry Unsworth.

This sprawling novel about the British slave trade in the 1700s won the Booker Prize in 1992.

I am reading it as my second Booker winner for the 2011 Battle of the Prizes, British Version. It also counts as one of my Chunkster Challenge books.

10 Days to Christmas!

2011-12-15T06:00:00.000-08:00

11 Days to Christmas!

2011-12-14T06:00:00.000-08:00

12 Days to Christmas!

2011-12-13T06:00:00.001-08:00

Teaser Tuesday: The Luminist

2011-12-13T06:00:00.000-08:00

He returned to Dimbola to find Catherine in Holland House with Sir John, sipping tepid tea and bemoaning the imperfections in her photographic plates. White lines had mysteriously appeared across some of the prints.

-- The Luminist by David Rocklin. This is a really wonderful historic novel set in 19th Century Ceylon (now Sri Lanka). As a bonus, it is one of the beautiful editions with French flaps published by Hawthorne Books.

Rocklin is on tour with this book, in New York this week:

Wednesday, 14 December (check website to confirm time)
192 Books: 192 10th Avenue, at 21st Street, New York

Teaser Tuesdays is hosted by Should Be Reading, where you can find the official rules for this weekly event.

Mailbox Monday

2011-12-12T08:36:00.000-08:00

Thanks for joining me for Mailbox Monday! MM was created by Marcia at A girl and her books (fka The Printed Page), who graciously hosted it for a long, long time, before turning it into a touring meme (details here).

Lady Q at Let Them Read Books is hosting in December. Be sure and visit her terrific blog!

Thanks to Mary Bisbee-Beek, book publicist extraordinaire, I got a timely Christmas book. It is darling!

The Lighthouse Santa by Sara Hoagland Hunter (author) Julia Miner (illustrator).

13 Days to Christmas!

2011-12-12T06:00:00.000-08:00

14 Days to Christmas!

2011-12-11T06:00:00.000-08:00

Opening Sentence of the Day: Delights and Prejudices

2011-12-10T09:27:00.000-08:00

When Proust recollected the precise taste sensation of the little scalloped madeleine cakes served at tea by his aunt, it led him into his monumental remembrance of things past.

-- Delights and Prejudices by James Beard.

Proust's madeleine is such a cliche now that I was a little disappointed with this opening sentence. But maybe back in 1964 when Beard wrote this memoir, the Proust reference was fresher.

My disappointment disappeared in an instant because by the second sentence, Beard is deep into his own food history and the book is a real delight from then on. He bounces around from his childhood in Portland to Les Halles in Paris and beyond.

I love it! Particularly the parts about Portland's rich culinary history.

His chapter on his family's holiday traditions, which I just read this morning, is wonderful. He describes many delights, including his mother making fruitcakes a year in advance and a ginger shortbread recipe (see below) that sounds amazing, but he also had a lot of holiday prejudices, like thinking cranberries were an "abomination," homemade candy "really unsavory," and Christmas cookies only good if you make them yourself and eat them right away, exhorting well-wishers:

But have pity on us, all you bakers -- the spirit of Christmas notwithstanding -- and deliver us from cookies that have crumbled or gone stale.

Amen!

Ginger Cakes

Mix 2 cups sifted flour, 1 firmly packed cup brown sugar, 1 tablespoon ginger and 1 teaspoon soda thoroughly, and then combine them with 1 cup butter until the ingredients are well blended and crumbly. In 6- to 8- inch layer cake pans, put 1/2-inch thickness of the mixture and bake in a 325[degree] oven for 45 minutes to 1 hour. Cut the ginger cake into finger-shaped pieces while it is still warm. Remove the pieces carefully with a spatula and store them in covered tins.

This is my sixth and final book for the 2011 Foodie's Reading Challenge. I can't wait to sign up again for the 2012 version.

WEEKEND COOKING

Hosted by Beth Fish Reads

15 Days to Christmas!

2011-12-10T06:00:00.000-08:00

16 Days to Christmas!

2011-12-09T06:00:00.001-08:00

Opening Sentence of the Day: The Luminist

2011-12-09T06:00:00.000-08:00

The noised outside her window were of wind and the near sea, of clay chimes kilned to crystalline tones.

-- The Luminist by David Rocklin. Illicit love and photography in 19th century Ceylon -- sounds good to me!

Photography in its infancy was a dangerous game.

-- from the Introduction by Jacquelyn Mitchard, author of The Deep End of the Ocean. One of the many things I love about these beautiful Hawthorne Books editions, in addition to the fancy French covers, is that they commission famous authors to write really good introductions.

Rocklin is on tour with this book, with the following appearances scheduled for next week:

Monday, 12 December 2011 (check website to confirm time)
The Makeout Room with The Rumpus: 3225 22nd Street, San Francisco

Wednesday, 14 December (check website to confirm time)
192 Books: 192 10th Avenue, at 21st Street, New York

A Few More Pages hosts Book Beginnings every Friday. The event is open for the entire week.