Chèli's reading for 2014 Series 3

Hi, my name is Chèli and I am a bookaholic.



I'm still trying to reduce my TBRs and will try not to get too many more from the library for the remainder of this year. I'm doing pretty well on the list that I wanted to read this year, but the next few months have some real chunksters - hopefully I can get them done.
% indicates on my own shelves and ♫ audiobook,✔ I read it!


1898 : the birth of the American century
About Face %♫
Abyssinian
✔Acceptable Loss % ♫
Allergic to Death % 2015
✔All-Girl Filling Station's Last Reunion: A Novel %
America, 1908 : the dawn of flight, the race to the Pole, the invention of the Model T, and the making of a modern nation
✔American Passage, the history of Ellis Island
✔An Incomplete Revenge % ♫
✔An Honest President
And Then She Fell (Cynster Sisters Duo)2015
✔Anne of Green Gables β%
Arabian Nights β%..................in progress
Beastly Things
Bianca% 2015
Big Burn: Teddy Roosevelt & the Fire That Saved America%
Blackberry Pie Murder 2015
Blind Justice 2015
Blood of Tyrants 2015
Blood on the Water 2015
Blood Ties (SD)
Boleyn Deceit: A Novel%
Bonesetter's Daughter%
✔Bookmarked For Death %
✔Bookplate Special %
Bully Pulpit
✔By fire, by water : a novel
By Its Cover
Calligrapher's Daughter: A Novel%
✔Canterbury Tales β%..........................COMPLETED
Catching Fire β% 2015
Clash of Kings: A Song of Ice and Fire: Book Two% 2015
Cloud Atlas% 2015
Cocaine Blues%
✔Curse of the Pharaohs%
Dancing at Midnight% 2015
Days of Wine and Roquefort 2015
Dead Letters: A MUSEUM MYSTERY SHORT STORY 2015
Dead Politician Society (CAN)
Deadly Blessings%
✔Deadly Endplay%
✔Deadly Grind%
Deadly Sanctuary %
Death by the Dozen %
Delphi Deception%
Destroyer Angel 2015
Distant Hours
✔Dorothy and the Wizard in Oz%
Drawing Conclusions
Dressmaker%
Dyeing Shame: Death at the Beauty Box
✔Eat, Pray, Love%
✔Eggs in a Casket %
Elegy for Eddie%
Emerald Atlas β%
✔Emerald City of Oz%
Emperor's Tomb 2015
Everlasting%
✔Execution Dock %♫
Face of Deception
Faithful Place % 2015
✔Fer-de-Lance%
✔Final Sentence%
✔Freak of Freedom (San Marino)%
Garden Intrigue
Ghost a la Mode % 2015
✔Girl of His Dreams % ♫
Golden Compass %♫
Golden Door%
Golden Egg
Greatest Lover in All England%
Guest of honor : Booker T. Washington, Theodore Roosevelt, and the White House dinner that shocked a nation
Handle with Care (NB)%
Heretic's Daughter%
✔Home of the Braised (#7)
Hope Factory: A Novel%
House at Riverton % 2015
✔How the Light Gets In
I'll Be Seeing You%
✔Inherit the Word%
Irish Country Village% 2015
It Happened One Season
Lady Risks All
✔League of Delphi%
Leaving Everything Most Loved
Lesson in Secrets: Complete
✔Lies That Bind%
✔Likeness%
✔Little Ship of Fools
Love and Murder on the Queen Anne %
Ludwig Conspiracy
Lusitania Murders%
✔Madame Bovary β%
Mark of Athena%♫ 2015
✔Marvelous Land of Oz%
Middlemarch %
✔Mists of Avalon %♫
✔Mornings on horseback
✔Mrs Hudson's Case%
Murder on Cue %
Murder on the Cote d'Azure%
✔Murderous Glaze (VT)%
Night Like This
✔Ozma of Oz%
Packing for Mars%
Perfect Mistress
✔Peter and the Starcatchers%♫
Photographs : George Eastman House, Rochester, NY
Pillars of the Earth %
✔Presidency of Benjamin Harrison
✔President and the assassin : McKinley, terror, and empire at the dawn of the American century
Princess and the Horse β% 2015
✔Proposal
Question of Belief % ♫
Read It and Weep (#4) 2015
Red Velvet Revenge
✔Road to Oz%
Sabiel%♫
Secret Affair % 2015
Secret Mistress % 2015
Seraphina%
✔Shadow of Night%♫
Sherlock Holmes: The Montana Chronicles%
Ship to Remember: The Maine and the Spanish-American War
✔Silence of the Grave
Sisters (KY)%
Sisters brothers%
✔Snowman%
✔Something Old, Something New: A Blessings Novel %
Spoonful of Murder % 2015
✔State of Wonder%
✔Steeped in Evil (#15)
Summer Rental%
✔Sunless Sea%
Talk of the Ton%
Tiger's Wife: A Novel%
Warden%
✔War lovers : Roosevelt, Lodge, Hearst, and the rush to empire, 1898
✔Water for Elephants %♫
Wedding of the Season: Abandoned at the Altar%
We'll Always have parrots
✔Whole Enchilada
✔Wicked Slice%
✔Wish and a Prayer: A Blessings Novel%
✔Woggle-Bug Book%
✔Wonderful Wizard of Oz%

AHA!!!! I'm finally the first to visit a new thread. Enjoy you reading my sister.

Hi Cheli - I didn't catch the beginning confession "Hi, my name is Chèli and I am a bookaholic." until this thread. I think that you are in good company on LT, myself included. Happy new thread.

IT'S NATIONAL TEDDY BEAR DAY!!
Here's a picture of my best buddy - we watch the baseball, football and basketball games together throughout the year. He serves as arm rest in bed during the night and my companion during the day. He is a full fledged family member who even goes on trips with us when we don't fly. Tim gave him to me for our 18th anniversary and he's stayed close for the last 22 years.

Hey, Bear, it's your day!

>4 cyderry: I have 2 or 3 "teddy bears." Technically only one is a "teddy bear." One is a huge polar bear. The other is a Boyds Bear that looks like the black bears of the Great Smoky Mountains National Park.

Hi, Chèli, happy new thread.

>4 cyderry: I must say, he looks well preserved for such a well-loved bear of his years.

From your previous thread, I see you've been going through the Oz books. There was one glorious summer when I had just finished my O-Levels and was therefore out of school a few weeks early, so I decided to read the whole Oz series, as the local library - which had a stock of them - was just a walk around the chalk quarry and down the hill.

Happy new thread, Cheli, and belated Happy Teddy bear day!

September 12th is NATIONAL STAND UP TO CANCER DAY. As a survivor, this one is close to my heart. Let's remember those that weren't as lucky as I am.

September 17th is National Citizenship Day. This day has special meaning for me because my grandfather, an immigrant in 1910, passed away on September 17th 45 years ago. He was so proud of his citizenship. So Grandpop, this is for you.

9/24 National Cherries Jubilee Day - YUM YUM!

>10 cyderry: I'm out of ice cream. I might have a can of cherry pie filling (or I might not), but it won't do me a bit of good without ice cream. (I ate the last of it last night.)

Happy Nes Thread, Chéli!

It's National Coffee Day!



Donut?

Well, September has come to an end and again I'm behind on my reviews. Got to work on them this week.

Reviews Due:

Bookplate Special
The Lies That Bind
The Mists of Avalon %♫
President and the assassin : McKinley, terror, and empire at the dawn of the American century
Mornings on Horseback
Gossamer Ghost
Island Girls

It's National Homemade Cookie Day!

Yum! Who has the milk?

Delish!

Are you serving, or do I have to make my own?

They're ready, come on over!

Watching the Orioles against the Tigers in the ALDS Game 1 - O's just put a snowman (8) up in the 8th inning! Lovin' it!

>15 cyderry: I can't believe I missed that day. I might have to celebrate it late.

Your O's have looked good. I was just telling someone that maybe the Cards could put up a snowman, too, and they just did it.

Congrats to the Orioles on advancing to the American League Championship!!

yes, 3 down, 8 more to go! maybe this is our year, I hope, I hope!

Challenge Book#70



In this third installment of the Booktown mysteries, Tricia Miles, the owner of the Haven't Got a Clue Mystery Bookstore, asks her college roommate, Pammy, after she wears out her welcome by stealing and forging a check as well as taking up more space than Tricia has to share. Unfortunately, at the end of the day Tricia finds Pammy dead and herself a prime suspect. However, rather than the sheriff from Hell who dislikes Tricia because of her tendency to get involved in police matters, the investigation this time has a hunky Capt. Grant Baker in charge.

It was fun to see Tricia and her staff interact and the characters themselves evolve.

TITLE: Bookplate Special ★★★½
AUTHOR: Lorna Barrett
GENRE: Cozy Mystery
SUBJECT: blackmail, Freegan, Food Bank
Setting: Stoneham, NH
CHARACTERS: Tricia Miles, Grant Baker, Pammy Fredericks, Libby Hirt
DATE READ: September 6 - September 8
NO. OF PAGES: 227
Challenges: 75, Category, TIOLI, MYSTERYCAT
SOURCE: NOOK stockpile

Challenge Book#71


Brooklyn Wainwright has returned to her job at the Bay Area Book Arts to teach a class on bookbinding but during a class recess she discovers her boss dead. BABA is hosting a fundraiser at the time and Brooklyn must keep things going while she helps(?) Inspector Derek Stone uncover the motive and murderer.

Loved it!

TITLE: The Lies That Bind ★★★¾
AUTHOR: Kate Carlisle
GENRE: Cozy Mystery
SUBJECT: bookbinding, business relationships
Setting: San Francisco, CA
CHARACTERS: Brooklyn Wainwright, Derek Stone, Layla Fontaine, Alice Fairchild
DATE READ: September 16 - September 20
NO. OF PAGES: 304
Challenges: 75, Category, TIOLI, MYSTERYCAT
SOURCE: stockpile

Challenge Book#72


This story was the start of the Arthurian tale - the marriage of Igraine of Avalon to Uther Pendragon. Igraine's daughter by a Roman duke, Morgaine is sent to Avalon while her son Arthur is guarded against injury so that he can grow to become the high king. An interesting concept of the myth.

TITLE: The Mists of Avalon ★★★½
AUTHOR: Marian Zimmer Bradley
GENRE: Fantasy
SUBJECT: Arthurian source
Setting: Avalon
CHARACTERS: Morgaine, Viviane, Arthur, Merlin, Uther Pendragon, Igraine
DATE READ: September 3 - September 23
NO. OF PAGES: 876
Challenges: 75, Category, TIOLI,
SOURCE: Audio stockpile

Challenge Book#73


Good book to cover both McKinley's life, administration, Spanish/American war and the assassination and aftermath.
I found it remarkable that McKinley was originally uninterested in anything related in any additional land acquisitions until he was forced into war with the Spanish and then he became very greedy trying to annex the Phillipines, Cuba, and other Pacific islands. This book also brought to my attention anarchists that were working during McKinley's administration - I never knew.

TITLE: The President and the Assassin: McKinley, Terror, and Empire at the Dawn of the American Century ★★★
AUTHOR: Scott Miller
GENRE: History
SUBJECT: Assassination, anarchists, war
Setting: Washington,DC; Buffalo, NY
CHARACTERS: William McKinley, Leon Czolgosz, Emma Goldman, Theodore Roosevelt
DATE READ: September 1 - September 28
NO. OF PAGES: 422
Challenges: 75, Category, TIOLI, USPC
SOURCE: Public Library

Challenge Book#74


This book was the start of my study of Teddy Roosevelt. It was the tale of his father and siblings and how they all interacted in his early life. With David McCullough as the storyteller, I couldn't go wrong.

TITLE: Mornings on Horseback ★★★¼
AUTHOR: David McCullough
GENRE: History
SUBJECT: Early family life of T Roosevelt
Setting: Washington DC, Oyster Bay, NY;
CHARACTERS: Theodore Roosevelt, Edith Carow Roosevelt, Roscoe Conkling, Cornelius Roosevelt, Elliott Roosevelt, Emein Roosevelt, FDR, Sara Delano Roosevelt
DATE READ: September 24 - September 30
NO. OF PAGES: 445
Challenges: 75, Category, TIOLI, USPC
SOURCE: Public Library

my favorite day of the year - National PASTA Day!

I'll have one from column A, 2 from B, and all the ones in C. BUt where are my bucatini?

I don't see gnocchi either.

I think technically, gnochhi isn't considered a "pasta" - it's a potato dumpling dish.

*waving* at Cheli

>29 tututhefirst: What's a bucatini, Tina?

Cheli, have you read the Teddy Roosevelt book about TR and the dinner with Booker T. Washington? The other day, when I was doing some bookshelf tidying, I came upon that book and hope to get to it soon. I think it's called Guest of Honor.

>33 lindapanzo: a buccatini is a long strand of hollow tubed pasta..think elbow macaroni that hasn't been chopped into little bends. it soaks up sauce really well and is quite hearty.

Challenge Book#75


What better place to celebrate Halloween than in New Orleans with Carmela and her voodoo friend Ava? Carmela finds the proprietor in the shop next door to Memory Mine dead. When Carmela learns that the death mask of Napoleon may be involved, she accepts the shop assistant's request to help find the murderer.

The Halloween backdrop and the events involved - zombie walk, Ghost train - just add to the story and the fun of the mystery.

TITLE: Gossamer Ghost ★★★¾
AUTHOR: Laura Childs
GENRE: Cozy Mystery
SUBJECT: historical antiques
Setting: New Orleans,LA
CHARACTERS: Carmela Bertrand, Ava Gruiex, Det Babcock, Marcus Joubert, Mavis Sweet, Titus Duval
DATE READ: September 29 - October 3
NO. OF PAGES: 309
Challenges: 75, Category, TIOLI,
SOURCE: Author ARC

Challenge Book#76

Rory Randall decides to add a bit of manipulation to his final will and testament by making it a condition of their inheritance that his 3 daughters (by different mothers) spend the summer at the Nantucket house together. What results are basic family issues revealed and nothing really special.

TITLE: Island Girls ★★★
AUTHOR: Nancy Thayer
GENRE: Fiction
SUBJECT: Dysfunctional families
Setting: Nantucket
CHARACTERS: Arden Randall, Meg, Randall, Jenny Randall
DATE READ: October 3 - October 5
NO. OF PAGES: 302
Challenges: 75, Category, TIOLI,
SOURCE: LT ER

>34 tututhefirst: That sounds tasty, Tina.

Yeah, you reached 75 books. Congratulations!

Congrats!

Yea! 75! A great accomplishment considering everything else going on.

Challenge Book#77

What I love about the Blessings books are the characters - they're funny and heartwarming with just a touch whimsy.

In this installment we have a pre-teen foster child adapting to his new family, a young woman who'd sworn off men taking a chance on love, and a giant hog on trial for murder. Add in the town's very own American Idol Show and you are set to be entertained.

The stories intertwine and keep the reader enthralled until the very end. Can't wait for the next one!

TITLE: A Wish and A Prayer ★★★★
AUTHOR: Beverly Jenkins
GENRE: Fiction
SUBJECT: family life
Setting: Henry Adams, KS
CHARACTERS:
DATE READ: October 5 - October 6
NO. OF PAGES:
Challenges: 75, Category, TIOLI,
SOURCE: Nook stockpile

Challenge Book#78

The story lines are great, I can't say it any different.

The Rose Harbor Inn is the gather spot for two different romances - the Porters who are trying to keep their marriage together and Ellie Reynolds who is finally spreading her wings and meeting her Internet boyfriend. Both are full of surprises!

TITLE: Love Letters ★★★★
AUTHOR: Debbie Macomber
GENRE: Romance
SUBJECT: Internet relationships, widowhood
Setting: Cedar Cove, WA
CHARACTERS: Jo Marie Rose, Mark Taylor, Ellie Reynolds, Maggie Porter, Roy Porter
DATE READ: October 7 - October 12
NO. OF PAGES: 304
Challenges: 75, Category, TIOLI,
SOURCE: LT ER

Challenge Book#79


I probably wouldn't have ever read this book it it hadn't been for the GEOCAT, but I'm glad I did.

Anders Eckman had been set to the Amazon to locate and check on the progress of a special drug development by Dr. Swenson, but when the Pharmaceutical company who employed him receives a letter telling of death, Dr. Marina Singh is coerced into following his steps and completing the assignment.

What results is a fascinating tale.

TITLE: State of Wonder ★★★½
AUTHOR: Ann Patchett
GENRE: Fiction
SUBJECT: Drug development, Amazon Jungle
Setting: Amazon Jungle
CHARACTERS: Marina Singh, Anders Eckman, Annick Swenson, Easter, Lakashi tribe
DATE READ: October 2 - October 19
NO. OF PAGES: 526
Challenges: 75, Category, TIOLI, GEOCAT
SOURCE: audio stockpile

Challenge Book#80


Frankenstein is not the monster's name but it is what causes most people to picture the monster. Victor Frankenstein, a young scientist, who works at creating new life but when he is successful, he tries to abandon his creation. The story tells of Victor's discomfort with the monster and the monster's anger at Victor.

It didn't really do it for me.

TITLE: Frankenstein ★★★
AUTHOR: Mary Shelley
GENRE: Fiction
SUBJECT: creation of life
Setting: Europe
CHARACTERS: Victor Frankenstein, Monster, Robert Walton
DATE READ: October 19 - October 20
NO. OF PAGES: 319
Challenges: 75, Category, TIOLI, LILIES
SOURCE: Library

Congrats on reaching 75 books, Cheli

Challenge Book#81

Dorothy takes a walk and when the terrain changes so does the destination. Dorothy meets Shaggy Man and then Button Bright and they somehow wander into Fairyland where they meet PolyChrome - the daughter of the rainbow. New areas of the Fairyland are shown in their travels - Fox Village, Donkey Village, and the deadly desert.

Once everyone reaches Oz we see a great celebration for Ozma's birthday including guests Sana Claus and Glenda the good Witch.

TITLE: The Road to Oz ★★★
AUTHOR: L Frank Baum
GENRE: children's fiction
SUBJECT: finding your way
Setting: Oz
CHARACTERS: Dorothy, Toto, Shaggy Man, Button Bright, Polychrome
DATE READ: October 23 - October 25
NO. OF PAGES: 74
Challenges: 75, Category, TIOLI,
SOURCE: Nook

Congrats on reaching 75! Good job.

Hi Cheli, I never realized that The Road to Oz was actually a book. I guess if you see a movie as a kid it's a movie and it cannot be anything else. I like to read it sometimes, because I've been told adults can read this book on a different level. Would you agree or is this just an "adults trying to be smart"-thing?

YUM, YUM! November 5th is National Doughnut Day!

>>48 Trifolia: There were a few areas that if you thought about it, could have been taken in a deeper manner.

>49 cyderry: I may have to go see if they have a donut back in the cafe with my name written on it! I'm hoping that chocolate covered one is like a Boston Cream Donut at Dunkin. That's the one I'd pick.

I just loved the L. Frank Baum books--I read them all, in paper form (Books of Wonder). The books are just gorgeous, and I may have to get my own set. I would definitely reread them.

Oh my gosh, those doughnuts up above look great!

Karen O.

>49 cyderry: I love donuts. They are my downfall.

I've decided to postpone Donut Day to Friday since I go right past Dunkin' Donuts on Friday. I' just have to get myself one of this Boston Creme donuts - thanks Lori, for reminding me how much I love those!

>54 cyderry: What's not to love about a Boston Creme donut from Dunkin? ;-)

Challenge Book#82



The story of a young woman who is filled with romantic dreams and discontent over the how her life has transpired.

I didn't care for the story or the characters. It may have been about the period that it was written in.

TITLE: Madame Bovary ★★½
AUTHOR: Gustave Flaubert
GENRE: Classic
SUBJECT: romanticism, discontent
Setting: France
CHARACTERS: Emma Bovary, Charles Bovary
DATE READ: October 21 - October 29
NO. OF PAGES: 576
Challenges: 75, Category, TIOLI,
SOURCE: my shelves

Challenge Book#83

This book delves into the interactions of Teddy Roosevelt and Henry Cabot Lodge vs. William Randolph Hearst and their viewpoints about the American need to go to war against Spain in the late 19th century.

Factual but hard to get into.

TITLE: The War Lovers: Roosevelt, Lodge, Hearst, and the Rush to Empire, 1898 ★★★
AUTHOR: Evan Thomas
GENRE: History
SUBJECT: Spanish American war, politics
Setting: USA
CHARACTERS: Teddy Roosevelt, William Randolph Hearst, Henry Cabot Lodge
DATE READ: October 21 - October 30
NO. OF PAGES: 413
Challenges: 75, Category, TIOLI,
SOURCE: public library

Challenge Book#84

Aunt Em and Uncle Henry's farm is going to foreclosure so Dorothy has Ozma transport them all to Oz.

Dorothy takes her relarives on a tour of the different regions and they meet Rigamaroles, Flutterbudgets, and other interesting creatures. Meantime, the Nome King has decided that he wants his Magic Belt back and drafts a new general to recruit help from the Whimsies, Growley Wogs, and the Phanfasms.

Fun story with a really cute ending.

TITLE: The Emerald City of Oz ★★★½
AUTHOR: L. Frank Baum
GENRE: Classic
SUBJECT: revenge, relocation
Setting: Oz
CHARACTERS: Dorothy, Aunt Em, Uncle Henry, Ozma, Nome King
DATE READ: October 31 - November 3
NO. OF PAGES: 111
Challenges: 75, Category, TIOLI,
SOURCE: Nook stockpile

Challenge Book#85


Being a baseball fan as well, it was great to see this side of such a great writer.
The stories brought back memories of my childhood - the disappointments as well as victories.

TITLE: Wait Till Next Year ★★★¼
AUTHOR: Doris Kearns Goodwin
GENRE: Memoir
SUBJECT: baseball, Brooklyn Dodgers
Setting: Brooklyn, NY
CHARACTERS: Doris Kearns, Jackie Robinson, Gil Hodges
DATE READ: November 1 - November 10
NO. OF PAGES: 276
Challenges: 75, Category, TIOLI,
SOURCE: Audio stockpile

Challenge Book#86


Yolande d'Aragon, after waiting 9 years for her betrothed, wed Louis II d'Anjou and supposedly ended the conflict over the succession to the kingdoms of Naples, Sicily, and Jerusalem. Their marriage, which turned into a love match, produced 5 children but more importantly, help to maintain the French monarchy at the time of the Hundred Years War with England.

Yolande (Duchess of Anjou, Countess of Maine, Countess of Provence and Forcalquier, Countess of Piedmont, and Titular Queen Consort of Naples, Sicily, and Jerusalem) utilized diplomacy and cunning in support of the French helping to unite the French factions of Burgundy and Armagnacs so that together they could defeat the English. Yolande as regent in Anjou, lent their army of support Jeanne d'Arc and eventually see the Dauphin crowned.

I have always had a fascination with royalty but usually I tend toward British. This is my first look into the French side and I found it completely captivating.

TITLE: The Queen of Four Kingdoms ★★★★
AUTHOR: HRH Princess Michael of Kent
GENRE: Historical Fiction
SUBJECT: Yolande d'Aragon
Setting: France, Anjou, Provence
CHARACTERS: Yolande d'Aragon, Louis II d'Anjou, Charles VII of France, Jeanne d'Arc
DATE READ: October 26 - November 12
NO. OF PAGES: 443
Challenges: 75, Category, TIOLI,
SOURCE: LT ER

Challenge Book#87



I can honestly say that I have read The Arabian Nights. I'm sure that at the time of publication the stories were fascinating, however, in this day and age when many of the individual tales have been adapted to the silver screen, the stories have lost their luster. Some I had never heard before , others far too many times.

TITLE: Arabian Nights ★★★¼
AUTHOR: Anonymous
GENRE: Historical Fiction
SUBJECT: morality tales
Setting: Baghdad, Middle East
CHARACTERS: Scheherazade, Sinbad, Ali Baba
DATE READ: January 15 - November 13
NO. OF PAGES: 765
Challenges: 75, Category, TIOLI,
SOURCE: Nook Stockpile

>60 cyderry:...can you mark this one that Tutu would like - not right away, but maybe next year. Sounds really fascinating.

Saw this and had to share....

WHY ENGLISH IS SO DIFFICULT ---
We'll begin with a box, and the plural is boxes;
but the plural of ox became oxen not oxes.
One fowl is a goose, but two are called geese,
yet the plural of moose should never be meese.
You may find a lone mouse or a nest full of mice;
yet the plural of house is houses, not hice.
If the plural of man is always called men,
why shouldn't the plural of pan be called pen?
If I spoke of my foot and show you my feet,
and I give you a boot, would a pair be called beet?
If one is a tooth and a whole set are teeth,
why shouldn't the plural of booth be called beeth?
Then one may be that, and three would be those,
yet hat in the plural would never be hose,
and the plural of cat is cats, not cose.
We speak of a brother and also of brethren,
but though we say mother we never say methren.
Then the masculine pronouns are he, his and him,
but imagine the feminine, she, shis and shim.
Some reasons to be grateful if you grew up speaking English;
1) The bandage was wound around the wound.
2) The farm was used to produce produce.
3) The dump was so full that it had to refuse more refuse.
4) We must polish the Polish furniture.
5) He could lead if he would get the lead out.
6) The soldier decided to desert his dessert in the desert.
7) Since there is no time like the present, he thought it was
time to present the present.
8) At the Army base, a bass was painted on the head of a bass
drum.
9) When shot at, the dove dove into the bushes.
10) I did not object to the object.
11) The insurance was invalid for the invalid.
12) There was a row among the oarsmen about how to row.
13) They were too close to the door to close it.
14) The buck does funny things when the does are present.
15) A seamstress and a sewer fell down into a sewer line.
16) To help with planting, the farmer taught his sow to sow.
17) The wind was too strong to wind the sail.
18) After a number of Novocain injections, my jaw got number.
19) Upon seeing the tear in the painting I shed a tear.
20) I had to subject the subject to a series of tests.
21) How can I intimate this to my most intimate friend?
22) I spent last evening evening out a pile of dirt.
Screwy pronunciations can mess up your mind! For example...
If you have a rough cough, climbing can be tough when going
through the bough on a tree!
Let's face it - English is a crazy language.
There is no egg in eggplant nor ham in hamburger; neither apple
nor pine in pineapple. English muffins weren't invented in
England.
We take English for granted. But if we explore its paradoxes, we
find that quicksand can work slowly, boxing rings are square and
a guinea pig is neither from Guinea nor is it a pig. And why is
it that writers write but fingers don't fing, grocers don't groce
and hammers don't ham?
Doesn't it seem crazy that you can make amends but not one amend?
If you have a bunch of odds and ends and get rid of all but one
of them, What do you call it?
If teachers taught, why didn't preachers praught?
If a vegetarian eats vegetables, what does a humanitarian eat?
Sometimes I think all the folks who grew up speaking English
should be committed to an asylum for the verbally insane.
In what language do people recite at a play and play at a
recital?
Ship by truck and send cargo by ship?
Have noses that run and feet that smell?
How can a slim chance and a fat chance be the same, while a wise
man and a wiseguy are opposites?
You have to marvel at the unique lunacy of a language in which
your house can burn up as it burns down, in which you fill in a
form by filling it out and in which an alarm goes off by going
on.

>63 cyderry: What a great way of showing how convoluted English really is!

# 63 LOL - having read that, I find it amazing that non-native speakers are able to express themselves in English (and now I presume there are at least three mistakes in every sentence I write).

>63 cyderry: Great and so true. As a non-native speaker I encounter most of those difficult things in the English language, but I think I'm doing reasonably okay ;-))

>>66 connie53: you do just fine, I had no idea that you were a non-native speaker.

Thanks Cy!. I'm Dutch and I wanted to be an English teacher when I was much younger. But due to my mother's illness and her dying when I was in secondary school ans since I was the oldest of four children I stayed home after my graduation and took care of the household and my sisters and brother. And I never got around to going back to college. But I really like the English language and I learn things every day.

Tuesday is Mickey Mouse's Birthday!

My sweet angel of a granddaughter in her pre-school holiday pageant.

>70 cyderry: What a sweet little angel you have there.

>70 cyderry: Oh, how very precious!!!!!

Thinking of you Cheli and sending love1

I'm keeping cheese and crackers in my car at all times from now on!

>73 cyderry: Someone has a great sense of humour!

Challenge Book#88


This book was the story of the US Forest Service and how the debate regarding the fight over land for development and protection of huge forests was answered by Mother Nature with a huge fire that wiped out vast tracks of trees. The "Big Burn" brought conversation back to the public eye and helped to preserve many of our natural resources.

TITLE: The Big Burn: Teddy Roosevelt & the Fire That Saved America ★★★¼
AUTHOR: Timothy Egan
GENRE: History
SUBJECT: US Forest Service
Setting: US midwest forests
CHARACTERS: Teddy Roosevelt, William H Taft, John Muir, Gifford Pinchot
DATE READ: November 11 - November 15
NO. OF PAGES: 324
Challenges: 75, Category, TIOLI,
SOURCE: Audio Stockpile

Challenge Book#89


This book tells the tale of the Pilgrims - their reasons for seeking a new home, their trip across the Atlantic, and their efforts to settle what was to become known as the Plymouth Colony in current day Massachusetts. The statics of their survival was very enlightening as well as the clarification of the Thanksgiving myth.

TITLE: A Great and Godly Adventure: The Pilgrims and the Myth of the First Thanksgiving ★★★
AUTHOR: Godfrey Hodgson
GENRE: History
SUBJECT: Plymouth Colony
Setting: Massachusetts, Holland, England
CHARACTERS: William Brewster, William Bradford, Thomas Weston, Samoset, Squanto
DATE READ: November 14 - November 18
NO. OF PAGES: 193
Challenges: 75, Category, TIOLI,
SOURCE: Public Library

Challenge Book#90


In this third installment of the Tourist Trap Mystery series, as the Christmas season approaches, Jill Gardner is coordinating not only the interns for all the Main Street merchants in a work program but also an impromptu investigation into the murder of the work program director.

New merchants have moved into South Cove. Could they be at the center of the murder?

The reader hears more about the core characters as they broaden out and become people you'd like to visit.

Hoping the next one is out soon.

TITLE: If the Shoe Kills ★★★½
AUTHOR: Lynn Cahoon
GENRE: Cozy Mystery
SUBJECT:
Setting: Massachusetts, Holland, England
CHARACTERS: Jill Gardner, Greg King, Toby, Killian, Marie Jones, Regina Hendricks
DATE READ: November 18 - November 22
NO. OF PAGES: 216
Challenges: 75, Category, TIOLI,
SOURCE: NetGalley

Challenge Book#91

Having watched the movie and knowing the story didn't make this children's book any less enjoyable. Seeing the little boy and his desire to believe that Santa is real makes this story touch even the heart of those older.

The love of Christmas and belief in Santa will always make this story a classic.

TITLE: Polar Express ★★★★★
AUTHOR: Chris Van Allsburg
GENRE: Children's
SUBJECT: Santa
Setting: North Pole
CHARACTERS: Santa, Conductor, little Boy
DATE READ: November 29 - November 29
NO. OF PAGES: 32
Challenges: 75, Category, TIOLI,
SOURCE: Public Library

Challenge Book#92

Suzanne along with her two partners, Toni and Petra, run the Cackleberry Club. On a rare afternoon off, Suzanne is at the town hair salon, when the building next door goes up in flames, killing a friend of Petra's. With pleas from her friends, Suzanne sets out to find the reason for the fire and why the victim died.

In the meantime, Suzanne is also caring for a baby owl, preparing for the County fair, and the Dinner Theatre that will be at the Cackleberry Club.

The story is fun, keeping the reader entertained, solving the mystery as well as seeing our favorite characters grow.

TITLE: Scorched Eggs ★★★★
AUTHOR: Laura Childs
GENRE: Cozy Mystery
SUBJECT: murder , arson, wildlife
Setting: Kindred, MN
CHARACTERS: Suzanne Dietz, Toni Garrett, Sam Hazelet, Hannah Venable, Bruce Winthrop, Darrel Fuhrman, Sheriff Doogie, Kit Kaslik, Ricky Wilcox
DATE READ: November 23 - November 29
NO. OF PAGES: 291
Challenges: 75, Category, TIOLI,
SOURCE: ARC from Author, signed

Challenge Book#93


Kate, Michael and Emma have a special destiny and when their young lives become imperiled they are sent away to an orphanage unknowing what the future holds for them. 10 years later after having being sent from orphanage to orphanage, they arrive in Cambridge Falls and their adventures begin.

Kate has a unique connection to the "Emerald Atlas" which allows her to time travel. The children use this special ability to go back in time to save a town and its people.

Magic, time traveling, dwarfs, hidden tunnels and more made this book a thoroughly entertaining experience and had me running to the bookstore for the next in the series.

TITLE: Emerald Atlas ★★★★
AUTHOR: John Stephens
GENRE: Young Adult
SUBJECT: magical powers
Setting: Cambridge Falls
CHARACTERS: Kate , Michael, and Emma Wibberly, Dr. Stanislaus Pym, Gabriel, Wallace, Capatain Robbie, Countess
DATE READ: November 29 - December 7
NO. OF PAGES: 432
Challenges: 75, Category, TIOLI,
SOURCE: Nook stockpile

Challenge Book#94


The British Secret Service enlist Maisie's unique talents in this installment sending her to teach at a college that stresses pacifism. Before she is even settled in the head of the college is found dead Maisie is forced to walk a tight line between assignment for the Secret Service and the murder investigation.

Maisie is also juggling her relationships with her assistant Billy (trying to get him to accept help for his young family), Sandra (a former servant for the Comptons who has been widowed my murder), and her own relationship with James Compton. The interactions are cleverly woven throughout the story.

I'm ready for the next one!

TITLE: A Lesson in Secrets ★★★½
AUTHOR: Jacqueline Winspear
GENRE: Mystery
SUBJECT: Education, pacificism
Setting: England
CHARACTERS: Maisie Dobbs, Robbie MacFarlane, Greville Liddicotte, Francesca Thomas, Rosemary Linden,
DATE READ: November 29 - December 7
NO. OF PAGES: 461
Challenges: 75, Category, TIOLI,
SOURCE: Audio - Public Library

Challenge Book#95


Sequels of great books of the past rarely live up to the original, however, I truly believe that Charles Dickens would have been proud of the portrayal of Tim Cratchit in this book and the revival of the spirit of the redeemed Ebenezer Scrooge.

Tim Cratchit is a grown man, a doctor, who in the past had given his time and talents helping the poor but in the past few years he had gotten away from aiding the unfortunate and concentrated on his wealthier clientele. Several weeks before Christmas, Dr Cratchit has a impoverished young woman appear at his Harley Street office needing help for her sick child. We see again the small Tiny Tim and how generosity can cure not just the spirit but the body as well.

The story that continues is worthy of Dickens' character and the holiday season.
I loved the story and the characters and would happily recommend this book to everyone for the holidays!

TITLE: Tim Cratchit's Christmas Carol ★★★★★
AUTHOR: Jim Piecuch
GENRE: fiction
SUBJECT: generosity, compassion, Christmas
Setting: London, England
CHARACTERS: Dr. Tim Cratchit, Jane Crompton, Ginny Whitson, Jonathan Whitson, Dr. Eustace
DATE READ: December 8 - December 10
NO. OF PAGES: 272
Challenges: 75, Category, TIOLI,
SOURCE: NetGalley

>78 cyderry: I love both the movie and book of The Polar Express. Thank you from the bottom of my heart -- you know why!

You have a very lovely granddaughter, Chèli!

I hope you and your family have a Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year!

>70 cyderry: You have a lovely little grand-angel there, Cheli! How adorable!

>73 cyderry: Love it!

>78 cyderry: The Polar Express is a favorite of mine, too. When my son was little, the school had a Polar Express event for the kindergarten when they all dressed in jammies and slippers and had a reading of the book and watched the movie.

Cheli, I hope it's been a good and HEALTHY year for you. It's Chrismas Eve's eve, and so I am starting the rounds of wishing my 75er friends the merriest of Christmases or whatever the solstice celebration of their choice is.

>>86 ronincats: Roni thanks for your kind wishes.

2014 hasn't been the best year for me health wise. I tore my miniscus a second time in January and had to have surgery again. My back continues to deteriorate but I know that I am truly best because I have the most kind and sensitive husband who understands about pain and supports me on those days when I just want to sit and cry. My knee is doing much better now that I am not climbing in and out of the tub (the new walk-in tub has been a godsend) so in the beginning of 2015, I'm hoping to see if I can get some improvement for my back.

I hope that you and yours have a great "solstice celebration" as well.

Merry Christmas Cheli

The best of the Holiday Season to you, Cheli!

Challenge Book#96


Commissario Brunetti is caught in two mysteries - one at the office when another officer is found dead (supposedly suicide) and a woman who fascinates Guido because she is not only beautiful with a unique aspect to her face due to plastic surgery but she reads the classics - Cicero and Ovid.

The interwoven story is a page-turner moving along to a satisfactory conclusion for all.

TITLE: About Face ★★★
AUTHOR: Donna Leon
GENRE: mystery
SUBJECT: toxic dumping
Setting: Venice, Italy
CHARACTERS: Guido Brunetti, Paola Brunetti, Lorenzo Vianello, Filipo Guarino, Stefano Ranzato, Count Orazio Falier, Franca Marinello
DATE READ: December 8 - December 13
NO. OF PAGES: 427
Challenges: 75, Category, TIOLI,
SOURCE: audio stockpile

Challenge Book#97

Angela Curtis is called back to Maine when her mother's body is finally found after 19 years. On her arrival, she learns that her grandmother started a business with her fellow needlepoint enhusiasts but now she has a problem - the man who was suppose to sell their products is unreachable. Angela offers to help since she has some skills having worked for a PI previously.

Successfully locating the salesman, Jacques Lattimore, and bringing him back to a meeting of the Mainely Needlepointers, everyone is stunned when he falls ill and then dies. They are all suspects.

The investigation and conclusion were interesting and well thought out.

Lots of fun!

TITLE: Twisted Threads ★★★½
AUTHOR: Lea Wait
GENRE: Cozy mystery
SUBJECT: fraud, embezzlement
Setting: Haven Harbor, Maine
CHARACTERS: Angela Curtis, Charlotte Curtis,Lauren Greene Decker, Jacques Lattimore, Joe Greene
DATE READ: December 11 - December 16
NO. OF PAGES: 272
Challenges: 75, Category, TIOLI,
SOURCE: NetGalley

Looking forward to reading the Lea Wait book. I love her long-running main series.

Challenge Book#98


Lacey Washburn is ready for the grand opening of her Bed and Breakfast but all does not go well especially when a dead body is found at the bottom of the stairs the first night. Feeling that she needs to solve the apparent murder to protect her investment, Lacey with her sister Charlotte work to find the murderer.

A cute little start for a new series.

TITLE: Death Checks Inn ★★★
AUTHOR: Sara Robbins
GENRE: Cozy mystery
SUBJECT: fraud
Setting: Elkville, CO
CHARACTERS: Lacey Washburn, Charlotte Washburn, Wyatt Graves, Heather Mason, Det. Peterson
DATE READ: December 16 - December 17
NO. OF PAGES: 104
Challenges: 75, Category, TIOLI,
SOURCE: NetGalley

Challenge Book#99


This installment takes Maisie back to her roots when she is enlisted by some of the men she's known since childhood to investigate the supposedly accidental death of Eddie Pettit. We see Maisie as she interacts with characters that she has known for years.

A very touching character study.

TITLE: Elegy for Eddie ★★★½
AUTHOR: Jacqueline Winspear
GENRE: Cozy mystery
SUBJECT: political manipulation
Setting: England
CHARACTERS: Maisie Dobbs, Maude Pettit, Eddie Pettit, Billy Beale, Sandra Tapley, James Compton
DATE READ: December 18 - December 22
NO. OF PAGES: 452
Challenges: 75, Category, TIOLI,
SOURCE: library Overdrive

Challenge Book#100


Belonging to 3 book groups I couldn't resist this one. Hazel belongs to a Book Group that also has members that include several of her friends as well as Carlene, the current wife of her first husband. A bit creepy but it gets worse when Hazel finds Carlene dying of cyanide poisoning.

As suspect along with the other group members, Hazel works to determine who killed Carlene.

Fun book, glad it's not my Book Group.

TITLE: Murder at the Book Group ★★★
AUTHOR: Maggie King
GENRE: Cozy mystery
SUBJECT: jealousy, obsessions
Setting: Richmond, VA
CHARACTERS: Hazel Rose, Lucy Hooper, Carlene Arness, Evan Arness, Helen Adams, Vince Castrelli
DATE READ: December 17 - December 25
NO. OF PAGES: 400
Challenges: 75, Category, TIOLI,
SOURCE: NetGalley

Challenge Book#101


This book was filled with entertainment - Bertha drowning in the Matzoh Ball soup, hiring a burglar to search for evidence and more.

The mystery was light but still full of fun.


TITLE: Mrs. Kaplan and the Matzoh Ball of Death ★★★
AUTHOR: Mark Reutlinger
GENRE: Cozy mystery
SUBJECT: friendship, old age
Setting:
CHARACTERS: Hazel Rose, Lucy Hooper, Carlene Arness, Evan Arness, Helen Adams, Vince Castrelli
DATE READ: December 26 - December 27
NO. OF PAGES: 188
Challenges: 75, Category, TIOLI,
SOURCE: NetGalley

Challenge Book#102


There are murder mystery weekends where the attendees try to solve the murder well, this was a road rally with the same idea. Clues were spread throughout 4 countries and islands and the participants have time trials getting from one site to the next.

The concept sounds like a blast until there is a real murder. Then everyone is trying to solve the murder to save one of their own.

TITLE: Toured to Death ★★★½
AUTHOR: Hy Conrad
GENRE: Cozy mystery
SUBJECT: perfect crime, murder mystery rally
Setting: Europe
CHARACTERS: Amy Abel, Otto Ingo, Marcus Alvarez, Jolynn Mrozek, Georgianna Davis
DATE READ: December 27 - December 29
NO. OF PAGES: 320
Challenges: 75, Category, TIOLI,
SOURCE: NetGalley

YEAH!!! I got all my reviews done before the ball drops!

RECAP coming.

Congrats on getting reviewlets finished.

2014 Recap

When I started to total up my reading numbers for 2014, I was very surprised at some of the numbers that I got.

Number of books read that were on my original list at the beginning of the year ..........63/102

First books in a series:............................................18
Second books in a series:..........................................7
Third books in a series:.............................................8
More books in a series (beyond the third):.................21

Number of series brought current:..............................6

I really thought I had done better.

Books abandoned:..............4

CLASSICS:........................................6
ROMANCE:........................................7
FICTION:......................................... 11
HISTORY:..........................................9
MEMOIR:...........................................2
COZY MYSTERY:...............................30
MYSTERY:........................................20
CHILDREN/YOUNG ADULT/FANTASY....17

Where did my books come from?

Library books______________12
E-books - my Nook or Kindle__43
ARDs (actual books)_________19
Audiobooks________________28


Progress on Challenges:
75 Book Challenge..................................102/75
Category Challenge..................................98/98
European Challenge.................................19/49
US state challenge...................................42/51
TIOLI Challenges..................................102/102
MysteryCAT..............................................22
GEOCAT...................................................8
ROOT Challenge......................................86/84
Gastro Challenge.....................................3

Total books read in 2014:................102
Total pages read in 2014:............34,677
READ OUR OWN TOMES Challenge.....86
Total ARC/ER books read:.................27
Total books read in 2014 for Euro Challenge = 2
Total books read in 2014 for US State Challenge = 2
Presidential Challenge = 6

Best of the Year:........How the Light Gets In
Worst of the Year........Anne of Green Gables
The book that kept me breathless: ........The Likeness
The mystery that I enjoyed reading the most: ........Terminal City
Book that gave the most smiles/laughs: ........ Where'd You Go, Bernadette?
Book I wish I'd read sooner: ........Emerald Atlas
Best Recommended book: ........Where'd You Go, Bernadette?
The book with the most surprises: ........Mists of Avalon
Most thought provoking book: ........State of Wonder
Series book that has me wanting the next one NOW!: ........ Blessings series - A Wish and a Prayer
Best Audio book: ........ Where'd You Go, Bernadette?
Book I am still working on: ........Bully Pulpit
Book I'm glad I finished: ........Arabian Nights

TBRs 1/1/2014 419
Books read from TBR: 86
Books added to TBR: 84
Books moved from TBR: 78

Balance:.....339 I actually reduced my TBRs!


Library books/borrowed Books read: 15
Free Books Read: 8
Group Reads 4

Prettiest Cover Emerald Atlas