Paul C's a mellow fellow in 2015 - 19th; Close out Thread

A favourite walk of mine in my home West Yorkshire area

This week I am reading WH Auden's first collection. This is from a later collection Homage to Clio

The More Loving One

Looking up at the stars, I know quite well
That, for all they care, I can go to hell,
But on earth indifference is the least
We have to dread from man or beast.

How should we like it were stars to burn
With a passion for us we could not return?
If equal affection cannot be,
Let the more loving one be me.

Admirer as I think I am
Of stars that do not give a damn,
I cannot, now I see them, say
I missed one terribly all day.

Were all stars to disappear or die,
I should learn to look at an empty sky
And feel its total dark sublime,
Though this might take me a little time.

Books Read in 2015 - First Quarter

January

1. A Pale View of Hills by Kazuo Ishiguro (1982) 183 pp
2. The Photograph by Penelope Lively (2003) 236 pp
3. Best, Pele and a Half-Time Bovril by Andrew Smart (2014) 332 pp
4. The Ballad of the Sad Cafe by Carson McCullers (1951) 157 pp
5. The Volcano by Norman Dubie (2010) 79 pp
6. Wanting by Richard Flanagan (2008) 252 pp
7. The Bat by Jo Nesbo (1997) 425 pp
8. Talkative Man by R.K. Narayan (1986) 123 pp
9. Complete Poems by Basil Bunting (2003) 236 pp
10. Her by Harriet Lane (2014) 235 pp
11. How it all Began by Penelope Lively (2011) 248 pp
12. Winter King by Thomas Penn (2011) 378 pp
13. New and Selected Poems by Al Alvarez (2002) 73 pp
14. This Boy by Alan Johnson (2013) 286 pp
15. An Artist of the Floating World by Kazuo Ishiguro (1986) 206 pp
16. Watching the Dark by Peter Robinson (2012) 405 pp
17. Making Cocoa for Kingsley Amis by Wendy Cope (1986) 59 pp
Total Pages : 3,913

February
18. Farthing by Jo Walton (2006) 316 pp
19. Twirlymen by Amol Rajan (2011) 379 pp
20. A Handful of Dust by Evelyn Waugh (1934) 312 pp
21. Magician : Master by Raymond E. Feist (1982) 499 pp
22. Old Possum's Book of Practical Cats by T.S. Eliot (1939) 59 pp
23. What Maisie Knew by Henry James (1897) 309 pp
24. The Mirabelles by Annie Freud (2010) 62 pp
25. Morgan's Run by Colleen McCullough (2000) 890 pp
26. Affinity by Sarah Waters (1999) 352 pp
27. The Sense of Movement by Thom Gunn (1957) 55 pp
28. The Cast Iron Shore by Linda Grant (1996) 434 pp
29. 1222 by Anne Holt (2007) 352 pp
Total Pages : 4,019 (7,932 total)

March
30. Great Britain's Great War by Jeremy Paxman (2013) 288 pp
31. King Rat by China Mieville (1998) 421 pp
32. Racing Through the Dark by David Millar (2011) 346 pp
33. Jamaica Inn by Daphne Du Maurier (1936) 302 pp
34. Wessex Poems and Other Verses by Thomas Hardy (1898) 72 pp
35. Look Who's Back by Timur Vermes (2013) 367 pp
36. Zealot : The Life and Times of Jesus of Nazareth by Reza Aslan (2013) 216
Total Pages 2,012 pages (9.944 total)

Books Read in 2015 - 2nd Quarter

April
37. Death in the Olive Grove by Mario Vicchi (2008) 244 pp
38. Foundation by Peter Ackroyd (2011) 462 pp
39. The Magician by W. Somerset Maugham (1908) 233 pp
40. The Killing of Richard III by Robert Farrington (2013) 401 pp
41. Personal by Lee Child (2014) 460 pp
42. The Lost Leader by Mick Imlah (2008) 126 pp
43. Wise Children by Angela Carter (1991) 232 pp
44. The Round House by Louise Erdrich (2012) 374 pp
2,534 pages (12,476 pages total)

May
45. Jacobs Beach: The Mob, the Fights, the Fifties by Kevin Mitchell (2009) 288 pp
46. The Millstone by Margaret Drabble (1965) 167 pp
47. Fiere by Jackie Kay (2011) 64 pp
48. Lionel Asbo : State of England by Martin Amis (2012) 276 pp
49. The Purity of Vengeance by Jussi Adler-Olsen (2012) 584 pp
50. The Gingerbread House by Carin Gerhardsen (2013) 385 pp
51. Cinderella Girl by Carin Gerhardsen (2014) 362 pp
52. The Marco Effect by Jussi Adler-Olsen (2013) 576 pp
53. All Russians Love Birch Trees by Olga Grjasnowa (2012) 324 pp
54. The Puzzleheaded Girl by Christina Stead (1967) 278 pp
3,304 pages (15,780 total)

June
55. Kaddish for an Unborn Child by Imre Kertesz (1990) 120 pp
56. Master Georgie by Beryl Bainbridge (1998) 212 pp
57. Waterloo : Four Days, Three Battles and Three Armies by Bernard Cornwell (2014) 340 pp
58. Outrage by Arnaldur Indridason (2007) 398 pp
59. Black Skies by Arnaldur Indridason (2008) 451 pp
60. The Gaffer by Neil Warnock (2013) 354 pp
61. The Story of Mankind by Hendrik Willem Van Loon (2014) 748 pp (updated edition)
62. Napoleon Symphony by Anthony Burgess (1974) 390 pp
63. This Great Unknowing by Denise Levertov (1999) 68 pp
3,081 pages (18,861 total)

Books Read in 2015 - Third Quarter

July
64. Christie Malry's Own Double-Entry by B.S. Johnson (1973) 187 pp
65. The Killer's Art by Mari Jungstedt (2006) 423 pp
66. The Churchill Factor by Boris Johnson (2014) 359 pp
67. Coming Out to Play by Robbie Rogers (2014) 222 pp
68. Russian Roulette by Giles Milton (2013) 342 pp
69. The Burning Perch by Louis MacNeice (1963) 47 pp
70. Mister Pip by Lloyd Jones (2006) 219 pp
71. The Search Warrant by Patrick Modiano (1997) 137 pp
72. Seven Days by Deon Meyer (2012) 396 pp
73. A Wizard of Earthsea by Ursula Le Guin (1968) 187 pp
74. Family Life by Akhil Sharma (2014) 210 pp
75. Mrs. Dalloway by Virginia Woolf (1925) 213 pp
2,942 pages (21,803 total)

August
76. The Last Champions by Dave Simpson (2012) 388 pp
77. Children of the New Forest by Frederick Marryat (1847) 408 pp
78. Handwriting by Michael Ondaatje (1998) 75 pp
79. Angelica's Smile by Andrea Camilleri (2010) 279 pp
80. The Dead of Summer by Mari Jungstedt (2008) 380 pp
81. The Ministry of Fear by Graham Greene (1943) 221 pp
82. The Nice and the Good by Iris Murdoch (1968) 362 PP
83. The Thirteenth Tale by Diane Setterfield (2006) 456 pp
2,569 pages (24,372 total)

September
84. Comanche Moon by Larry McMurtry (1997) 752 pp
85. The Last Lullaby by Carin Gerhardsen (2010) 326 pp
86. God Bless You, Mr. Rosewater by Kurt Vonnegut (1965) 167 pp
87. Sailing Close to the Wind by Dennis Skinner (2014) 317 pp
88. Grimus by Salman Rushdie (1975) 314 pp
89. Angry White Pyjamas by Robert Twigger (1997) 316 pp
90. Enemies : A Love Story by Isaac Bashevis Singer (1966) 226 pp
91. Rain by Don Paterson (2009) 61 pp
92. The Long Song by Andrea Levy (2010) 398 pp
2,877 pages (27,249 total)

BOOKS READ IN 2015 - FOURTH QUARTER

October
93. The Song of Lunch by Christopher Reid (2009) 66 pp
94. The Siege by Helen Dunmore (2002) 291 pp
95. Everything That Rises Must Converge by Flannery O'Connor (1965) 269 pp
96. The Bone Clocks by David Mitchell (2014) 613 pp
97. The Fatal Shore by Robert Hughes (1986) 603 pp
1,842 pages (29,091 total)

November
98. The Abbess of Crewe by Muriel Spark (1974) 107 pp
99. Of Mutability by Jo Shapcott (2012) 54 pp
100. Solo by William Boyd (2013) 322 pp
101. The Casbah Killers by Nick Carter (1969) 155 pp
102. Being Mortal by Atul Gawande (2014) 263 pp
103. Voices from Chernobyl by Svetlana Alexievich (1997) 236 pp
104. Story of the Eye by Georges Bataille (1928) 127 pp
105. H is for Hawk by Helen Macdonald (2014) 283 pp
106. The Dictator's Last Night by Yasmina Khadra (2015) 190 pp
107. Death of a Salesman by Arthur Miller (1949) 112 pp
108. The Art of Captaincy by Mike Brearley (1985) 355 pp
109. Cocaine Blues by Kerry Greenwood (1989) 201 pp
2,405 pages (31,496 total)

December
110. Very Good, Jeeves by P.G. Wodehouse (1930) 297 pp
111. The Dead Sea Poems by Simon Armitage (1995) 57 pp
112. Bring Up the Bodies by Hilary Mantel (2012) 438 pp
113. Planisphere by John Ashbery (2009) 143 pp
114. Ammonites & Leaping Fish by Penelope Lively (2013) 234 pp
115. The Piano Teacher by Elfriede Jelinek (1983) 280 pp
116. Poems (1930) by WH Auden (1930) 81 pp
117. The Poisonwood Bible by Barbara Kingsolver (1998) 614 pp
118. Ross Poldark by Winston Graham (1945) 455 pp.
119. Game of Mirrors by Andrea Camilleri (2011) 266 pp
120. City of God by E.L. Doctorow (2000) 308 pp

Monthly Summaries

January 17 books - (7 literary fiction, 4 poetry, 3 thrillers, 3 non fiction) - Book of the month - Winter King by Thomas Penn

February 12 books - (5 literary fiction, 3 poetry, 3 thrillers, 1 non-fiction) - Book of the month - The Cast Iron Shore by Linda Grant

March 7 books - (2 literary fiction, 1 poetry, 1 thriller, 3 non-fiction) - Book of the month - Great Britain's Great War by Jeremy Paxman

April 8 books - (4 literary fiction, 1 poetry, 2 thriller, 1 non-fiction) - Book of the month - The Round House by Louise Erdrich

May 10 books - (4 literary fiction, 1 poetry, 4 thriller, 1 non-fiction) Book of the month - The Gingerbread House by Carin Gerhardsen

June 9 Books (3 literary fiction, 1 poetry, 2 thriller, 3 non-fiction) Book of the month - Waterloo by Bernard Cornwell

July 12 books (5 literary fiction, 1 poetry, 3 thrillers, 3 non fiction) Book of the month - Mister Pip by Lloyd Jones

August 8 books (4 literary fiction, 1 poetry, 2 thrillers, 1 non fiction) Book of the month - The Nice and the Good by Iris Murdoch

September 9 books (5 literary fiction, 1 poetry, 1 thriller, 2 non fiction) Book of the month - Enemies : A Love Story by Isaac Bashevis Singer

October 5 books (3 literary fiction, 1 poetry, 1 non fiction) Book of the month - The Fatal Shore by Robert Hughes

November 12 books (3 literary fiction, 1 poetry, 1 play, 3 thrillers, 4 non-fiction) Book of the month - Being Mortal by Atul Gawande

CURRENT READING

BRITISH AUTHOR CHALLENGE


Here is the link to the latest thread : https://www.librarything.com/topic/206429 (December)

Here are the Selections:

2015 selections

January : Penelope Lively & Kazuo Ishiguro
February : Sarah Waters & Evelyn Waugh
March : Daphne Du Maurier & China Mieville
April : Angela Carter & W. Somerset Maugham
May : Margaret Drabble & Martin Amis
June : Beryl Bainbridge & Anthony Burgess
July : Virginia Woolf & B.S. Johnson
August : Iris Murdoch & Graham Greene
September : Andrea Levy & Salman Rushdie
October : Helen Dunmore & David Mitchell
November : Muriel Spark & William Boyd
December : Hilary Mantel & P.G. Wodehouse

Thirteenth Month : Bernice Rubens & Aldous Huxley

Reading Plans for December

Category Challenges

1 A.A.C - The Poisonwood Bible by Barbara Kingsolver READING
City of God by EL Doctorow
2 a) B.A.C. - Bring Up the Bodies by Hilary Mantel COMPLETED
2 b) B.A.C. - Very Good, Jeeves by PG Wodehouse COMPLETED
3 Anniversaries - Poems (1930) by WH Auden
4 Catching up my series reading - Poldark by Winston Graham
5 1001 First Edition books -
6 Nobel winners - The Piano Teacher by Elfriede Jelinek READING
7 Stagnating shelves - Planisphere by John Ashbery COMPLETED
8 Just to be contrary - Six (Om) by Jim Crace
9 Poetry - Dead Sea Poems by Simon Armitage COMPLETED
10 Biography - Ammonites & Leaping Fish by Penelope Lively COMPLETED
11 Sports -
12 History -
13 Scandi -
14 Anzac Challenge -
15 Random Read - A Brief History of Seven Killings by Marlon James

Will also be adding to my NF reads as those in challenge 6, 8, 10, 11 & 12 as a minimum will count towards Roberta's challenge and I'll dabble again with the TIOLI Challenge as I have missed Madeline and the gang there.

Close out

BRITISH AUTHOR CHALLENGE 2016

Planning thread : http://www.librarything.com/topic/199234

January : Susan Hill & Barry Unsworth
February : Agatha Christie & William Dalrymple
March : Ali Smith & Thomas Hardy
April : George Eliot & Hanif Kureishi
May : Jane Gardam & Robert Goddard
June : Lady Antonia Fraser & Joseph Conrad
July : Bernice Rubens & H.G. Wells
August : Diana Wynne-Jones & Ian McEwan
September : Doris Lessing & Laurie Lee
October : Kate Atkinson & William Golding
November : Rebecca West & Len Deighton
December : WEST YORKSHIRE writers
Wildcard : Rumer Godden and George Orwell

*waves* happy new thread, Paul!

Beautiful opening photo, Paul. Congrats on your shiny new thread.

Happy new thread, Paul! :)

Waah - you're reading the Jelinek! So fare I didn't dare to, since reading just one disgusting extract (don't even remember if it was the same book) in a journal many years ago.

Happy Wednesday, Paul! Happy New thread. It has been nice having you around, this latter part of the year. Always a highlight!

>13 bell7: Lovely to see you first up Mary.

>14 Ameise1: Thanks Barbara. It is typical of country meeting the modern world and, in my home area - with the death of the local rail services - going right back to country again!

>15 Deern: Well so far Nathalie I have to surmise that the German must be better than the English as, surely if this is her best work, the rest of it must really be poor fayre. Not Nobel material I would have thought.

>16 msf59: That is praise indeed dear chap considering from whom it is being given.

Posting Update

With a little over two weeks of the year remaining there are 37 threads with over 1000 posts this year:

1 scaifea Amber 7288
2 msf59 Mark 7038
3 PaulCranswick Paul 4964
4 jnwelch Joe 4960
5 kidzdoc Darryl 4431
6 katiekrug Katie 3728
7 CrazyMamie Mamie 3305
8 EBT1002 Ellen 2670
9 charl08 Charlotte 2617
10 Ameise1 Barbara 2539
11 susanj67 Susan 1966
12 ronincats Roni 1880
13 ireadthereforeiam Megan 1788
14 Whisper1 Linda 1729
15 cbl_tn Carrie 1659
16 lunacat Jenny 1603
17 BLBera Beth 1595
18 cameling Caro 1572
19 lyzard Liz 1534
20 Sibyx Lucy 1526
21 Donna828 Donna 1352
22 lkernagh Lori 1331
23 Smiler69 Ilana 1302
24 Jolerie Valerie 1288
25 vancouverdeb Deb 1288
26 johnsimpson John 1281
27 lit_chick Nancy 1274
28 Berly Kim 1186
29 thornton37814 Lori 1150
30 LizzieD Peggy 1145
31 Ape Stephen 1115
32 Deern Nathalie 1108
33 storeettlr Mary 1099
34 Chatterbox Suzanne 1080
35 nittnut Jenn 1063
36 Morphidae Morphy 1046
37 lauralkeet Laura 1015

Congrats on the new thread, Paul!

Looks like a beautiful walk up there at the top. Nice Auden poem. That one of his in the Four Weddings and a Funeral movie always gets me.

I see Waterloo by Bernard Cornwell is one of your books of the month. I really want to read that one. I liked his depiction of the battle in Sharpe's Waterloo. (I'm a sucker for the Sharpe series).

Happy new thread, Paul. Nice picture of your home country. I hope plans to get home for Christmas are going well.

I'm down about half the number of posts on my threads from last year (my numbers from then would put me in the middle of this year's pack), but I'm fine with that. This was still a great year for me in LT land. Read some really interesting books, got to know more of you and am looking forward to what next year brings in this group and in life.

Happy Last? Thread of 2015

Happy New Thread from me too, Paul!
I'm very glad to be here among the blessed LTers.

Happy new thread!

Happy newest thread, Paul!

>2 PaulCranswick: I must say, with all the light pollution in Singapore, I do miss the stars :0/

I see you are reading The Piano Teacher by Elfriede Jelinek. This one was a doozie for meaning an amazing read. Very intense...how are you finding it?

Happy New Thread Paul. We've been a quieter bunch this year, haven't we? Also a much smaller group than in previous years. Looking forward to the 2016 edition of the group all the same and hope you'll be an active part of it too, though I can't promise I'll be the heart and soul of the party, what else is new? xox

Love the new thread topper. Was the path based on a former railway?

The only one of your current reads I've read was the Kingsolver, so looking forward to hearing more, especially the Jim Crace - I loved his latest.

Hi Paul, happy new thread mate and a great photo to top the thread.

>20 jnwelch: The walk will not look quite so inviting in December, Joe.
There was an immediacy about Cornwell's history writing familiar to Sharpe fans. I think you'd enjoy it, mate.

>21 Familyhistorian: Thanks Meg. Problems confirming the tickets yesterday on line as the site stated that there was a "problem" with my credit card. I will call the card centre this morning and settle the issue as I think it may be because I recently reported some phantom i-tunes charges (I don't use Apple). Could have the tickets by this afternoon.

>22 mahsdad: I think almost all of us are down on last year in terms of posting Jeff, but the numbers still impress and show us all to be a distinctly chatty bunch.
Hopefully 2016 will bring more of the same but, personally, I would seek a slightly less fraught twelve months in my business life.

>23 LizzieD: Thank you Peggy. I think many would both echo that sentiment. xx

>24 amanda4242: Thanks Amanda. It is clear with only two weeks of 2015 left that no-one will get close to the number of BAC books you have read this year; personally I am very grateful for the enthusiasm to the challenge you have shown and the help you gave me with administrating the challenge when I was at a pretty low ebb mid year. xx

>25 humouress: Interesting Nina. Did Auden have our South East Asian predicament in mind when he wrote those words?!

>26 LovingLit: Well it is intense all right Megan and Jelinek is able to draw vivid scenes but surely this is not the stuff of a deserving Nobel prize winner. The voyeurism and some of the very graphic depictions are a little unsettling; it won't win my book of the month award for sure.

>27 Smiler69: Membership numbers are still respectable at 577 Ilana which is close to last year. Two years ago we were at 900 or so but then again not everyone is active with threads and posting. You will observe from my list that the five Canadian ladies listed there are all within 57 posts of each other. Valerie has hardly posted in the second half of the year and has slowly been reeled in by Lori, yourself, Nancy and Deb.
I certainly hope that you'll be active here next year, especially as I keep buying all those books for the CAC! XX

>28 charl08: It was indeed, Charlotte, it is a disused railway track (with the track of course these days).
Jim Crace is deft at creating unusual environments to set his work into; if I think of the strange community landscape he created for Harvest and this one I am reading is set in a country/city in the grip of some sort of martial law.

>29 johnsimpson: Thank you John. The old rail line runs through Shafton, Felkirk, Havercroft and Ryhill. You posh lot in Walton still have an active line right?

I am happy to have made The List this year, Paul. I have had to limit my time on LT this year. I still lurk on threads quite a bit but only post if I have something to add. My reading stays about the same which is a priority for me. I'll let chattier members keep the threads busy. This is a wonderful group!

Hi Paul, lovely photo of one of your favorite walks.

We read The Poisonwood Bible a while back for bookclub and it had one of the livelier discussions as I remember. I'm still reading Wolf Hall but have started The Mystery of a Hansom Cab by Fergus Hume on my Kindle. I've asked daughter to either get me Descartes' Bones by Russell Shorto or one of the Simon Winchester books..... looking forward to Christmas Day when I'll get to open the present from her. And cousin Rebecca is probably going to get me The Quartet: Orchestrating the Second American Revolution by Joseph Ellis.

Happy travels for the holiday season. I hope you have a great trip back to the UK.

Happy new thread! I too wish you a safe journey to visit your family. I hope you find your mum doing well when you arrive. I'm sure she'll be very happy to see you.

Reminds me of the carriage roads and horse-riding trails built by John D. Rockefeller Jr, then included in Acadia National Park in Maine.

>31 PaulCranswick: the book stayed with me and I thought it was a very well written foray into another persons life. But I found it very disturbing. I ended up giving it 5 stars!

The bridges are lovely!

~ from last thread..I have seen 149 from the 1001 films to see before you die. At a Rough count~

I like the pictures with the bridges.

Greetings Paul,

>1 PaulCranswick: So apropos for this time of year when our journey continues (bridges) into a New Year.

I've got Kingsolver slated for 2016. She's one of my favorite authors and I have a few unread book of hers on my shelf in which I really need to indulge.

Happy new one, Paul! I'm very much looking forward to another year of books and friendship here in our amazing little group - thanks for being the stats keeper and, of course, so much more.

>33 Donna828: I don't think there has been a year since I started keeping stats Donna that you have placed outside the top 25 in posts and long may it continue. We have lost too many pals this year or have seen many regulars be much less active than usual - Stasia, Kath, Cee, Tina, Judy, Richard, Eris, Bonnie, Valerie and Faith just to name a few and all of them generated much activity across other threads as well as their own.

>34 karenmarie: I am looking forward to that one Karen when I get home to Yorkshire and get my boots on for a walk "down the trammies" as we call it.

My tickets, after some to-ing and fro-ing between merchant and my credit card company finally got the things sorted.

OFF TO UK ON 20 DECEMBER!!

>35 avatiakh: Thank you Kerry. I have trips to London and Edinburgh lined up as well as a visit to my business partner Charles who is also on holiday in the UK and staying at his newly renovated place in Leominster.
We will do two nights in each spot so the latter one is 20 minutes from Hay-on-Wye!!!!

>36 cbl_tn: I spoke to my mum just now Carrie. She was sounding down in the dumps and had just had a house call from the Doctor. I asked her if she felt she needed cheering up and then told her we would see her on the 20th. The joy in her voice brought an immediate lump to my throat.

>37 weird_O: That is splendid indeed Bill. I would imagine the articulated lorries have a bit of trouble though coming up against bridges like those.

>38 LovingLit: I would agree that it is quite well written, Megan, but the thought processes that went into devising some of those scenes are not those of someone I would be comfortable spending a long time in the company of. For me it will rate a 7/10.

>39 paulstalder: My bridge Paul is very redolent of arduous cross country school runs, long walks with our spaniel, chewing the fat with my best friend John Jones, holding hands and making tentative attempts to kiss my first love.

>40 Carmenere: You captured my thoughts nicely Lynda as the half obscured path forward is very much the way we face the coming new year.
You have played as big a role as many this year in terms of a sense of place with your locale photos to support each book review. xx

>41 scaifea: In a year of RL ups and downs (the ups are hopefully showing green shoot signs of returning) for myself, your thread has been a haven of calm and warmth and love for many. It is fun to watch and help share in Charlie's growing up in those threads. xx

>45 PaulCranswick: Aw, thanks, Paul. I'm glad my over-sharing is a source of goodness for folks. Ha!

And I'm so excited for you and your trip home for the holidays! So lovely to spring such a surprise on your mom.

Yay for the tickets! :)
Flying home for Christmas as well on the 20th, but my flight will just be 1.5 hrs - long enough for me.

Such a lovely photo up on top. It looks like it was taken in the spring. I can see why you enjoy it so much. I'm glad to hear that you will be visiting home soon. I'm sure your Mum was thrilled to hear of the trip. And only 20 min from Hay-on Wye! Wishing you and your family a wonderful trip.

Is Hay on Wye ready for you? Wow. What a lovely Xmassy trip for a book lover. Safe travels.

>46 scaifea: Well Amber you called me the Stats Man and those stats don't lie your "over-sharing" obviously meets with the approval of most of us!

>47 Deern: Nathalie our journey is broken up in Abu Dhabi. So I will have one seven and a half hour flight followed by a three and a half hour "rest" then a mere seven hour jaunt to Manchester.

>48 catarina1: Catarina - my family home is not close to Hay-On-Wye but my business partner is 20 minutes from there and we will be with him and his family at the new year. I am hoping that the book shops in Hay are open on the 30th!

>49 charl08: Well Charlotte I am constrained by what I can carry and by what Hani will let me carry but I will certainly be buying something!

Happy new thread, and enjoy your trip home!

I love that poem by Auden, but I'm never entirely sure I agree with him. I've received a lot of indifference in return for love.

>52 foggidawn: Foggy, unrequited love is certainly a painful thing. My first very serious relationship ended in the week before my finals and I barely remember plodding through the exams as I was in absolute shock. "Let the more loving one be me" is a recipe for unhappiness but it isn't a conscious choice either.

>53 PaulCranswick: Truth.

Edited to add: Perhaps that's the point of the poem, that the speaker has experienced unrequited love and would not wish that on anyone, thus desiring to always be the more loving one. Which would, unsurprisingly, make him a better person than me.

Hi, Paul! Hope the week is going well. It looks like you are going to the U.K for the holidays. Good for you, mate. Have a great time.

>54 foggidawn: Foggy, And a better one that me too. I was crushed for several years after that and it took a long time to begin to trust again.

>55 msf59: Thanks Mark. I still hope to get to the Windy City soon so long as the Trumpster doesn't get elected!

Let's hope Trump flames out, long before that happens, Paul. LOL.

"the latter one is 20 minutes from Hay-on-Wye!!!!" that can only spell trouble with a capital T

seriously have a great trip back to Old Blighty .....

this fell into my hands while out shopping for others, as is my want, might pique your interest - Kingmaker Winter pilgrims

>57 msf59: Mark, lets hope so. I heard him say in the debate the other day that he would kill the wives and children of suspected terrorists. The man is crazy and would put the USA outside the Geneva convention.

>58 roundballnz: 20 minutes in Hay-on-Wye and I can do some damage for sure, Alex. That sort of historical fiction does appeal to me mate.

Safe journey, Paul. For how long will you stay in the UK?

I am hijacking your thread for one entry in order to let people know that the LT Goddess, Abby Blachley has given me the keys to the kingdom to pass on to other LT'ers. Here is the link to the FREE passes to the American Library Association conference in Boston, MA. It will be January 8 -11, 2016. This is a great opportunity to meet authors, publishers, and to get free books. If you have questions about the passes go over to Joe, Mark, or Karen's threads and ask them. They have all used these passes in the past. I will be leaving today for my Christmas holiday and won't be back on LT for several days.

https://www.compusystems.com/servlet/ar?evt_uid=314&oi=1Trx3hK26xzHoIiGjo9vo...
That's the link to use for free exhibit-only passes!
Best,
Abby

Hi Paul, we still have the East Coast main line through Walton and the old line still has some freight on it and that seems to be expanding again. There are two Gypsum freight trains to Monk Bretton glass works and it is also used as a diversionary route should other routes have problems.

I think I had better warn Hay-on-Wye of your impending visit, I would say that you will need a large freight box once you get going. There is also a fantastic stationery shop called Bartrums which is well worth a visit. Looking forward to seeing you if it is at all possible mate.

>44 PaulCranswick: The bridge is inside the national park; no commercial truck traffic. Big American-style pickups, SUVs, and vans are the largest, tallest vehicles likely to travel the road. I believe only horse-drawn carriages travel over the bridge.

>60 Ameise1: Barbara I will be there from 20th to the 5th of January. I am not certain which couple of days we will make it to London but it would be nice to meet up with a few 75ers if we can do so.

>61 benitastrnad: No problem Benita - just a shame that I won't be able to join you all there!

>62 johnsimpson: If we can't meet-up John, living in the same city, something is wrong! I am sure that we'll be able to get together - I will PM you my contact details when I get my local phone sorted out.

>63 weird_O: That is a relief Bill, I would hate to think of it tumbling down as a result of an errant truck driver.

115.

The Piano Teacher by Elfriede Jelinek

Date of Publication : 1983
Pages : 280
Category Challenge : Nobel Prize Winners
TIOLI : Female writer in translation

A difficult book to review. Intense certainly. Capable of suspense often. Capable of offence regularly.
Empathy; yes sometimes.
Apathy; occasionally.

A study of control and power. A study of dysfunctional relationships and sexual domination.

Erica Kohut lives with her mother in a small apartment - a large slice of her income as a piano teacher is passed to the mother to salt away to put a deposit on a larger apartment. The relationship between the two is rent with possessiveness, vindictiveness and violence. Erica is frustrated - in her career as a failed concert pianist and in her private life as she gets to the cusp of forty without any sexual love in her life. She is ashamed and she abases herself
both physically and by trawling the seedier areas of Vienna voyeuristically. She embarks upon an infatuation with a student, Klemmer, and attempts to subjugate herself before him but in his own humiliation are the seeds of disaster sown.

I didn't enjoy the book although I did complete it with more feelings of admiration than I expected.

8/10

Nice roundup of The Piano Teahcer, I like your comments and think similarly about it.

Now I'm quite interested in reading it. Must see if my library has it.
Safe travels!

>66 LovingLit: You probably encouraged me to give it an extra mark, Megan. Still think it was a bizarre decision to award her the Nobel Literature prize but there you go.

>67 Deern: At least you can get to "enjoy" it in the vernacular, Nathalie. I am not sure that that will help at all.

>1 PaulCranswick: I want to go for a run along that path!

>37 weird_O: Yup, I'd run there, too.

Hi Paul!

>65 PaulCranswick: I wasn't a huge fan of that book. I guess I found it too offensive - I think I was pretty young when I read it, though.

Hope you're safely in the UK now, and Mum is cheered by seeing you!

Great to see that you are safely in the UK for Christmas , Paul. I am anxious about not being able to order from amazon ca and have it come for Christmas and the stores being closed for a day or two, plus the library. I do have a good stash of books, but now is the time I wish I had a Cranswick Library in my home! :) My poor old nephew. He is staying at Cambridge University over the holidays because he has to be at conference in Amsterdam for the Jan 3, and he has trouble adapting to the time changes. But he seems a bit lost at Cambridge all by himself over Christmas. It is his first few months at Cambridge and I suppose it takes a bit of time to make some good , close friends.

Spread the word - the 2016 group is up!

http://www.librarything.com/groups/75booksin2016

>69 EBT1002: I walked it this morning, Ellen. It was bracing weather but very pleasant.

>70 The_Hibernator: It did grow upon me a little, Rachel, but a lot of it was pretty distasteful in truth.

>71 laytonwoman3rd: The old girl perked up a bit yesterday when we arrived but her being a little hard of hearing is both hilarious as well as painful when her favourite television programmes are being shared with us at, for us at least, unprecedented decibel levels!

>72 vancouverdeb: Deb, distance from loved ones is always tough whether it is for Christmas or at any time. I will detail in a short while that the absence of too many books can put me in acquisition mode.

>73 drneutron: Spread indeed I will Jim.

When I arrived in the UK Mum ha already given me 4 new books :

550. Last Man Standing by Roger Moore (2014) 262 pp
Third set of memoirs from the famous third Mr. Bond.
551. The Memoirs of Hitler's Spymaster by Walter Schellenberg (1956) 461 pp
Famous memoirs by a key Nazi who survived the war to tell the tale
552. Churchill's Secret Warriors by Damien Lewis (2014) 392 pp
The story of those who took clandestine operations to the Germans in WW2
553. Their Finest Hour by Winston Churchill (1949) 649 pp
One of the great works of history/biography at volume 2

Yesterday we went to Leeds and whilst the ladies were looking at clothes I slipped off to Waterstones:

554. Clem Attlee: Labour's Great Reformer by Francis Beckett (2015) 476 pp
Nicely balances reading Mr. Churchill!
555. The French Revolution by Christopher Hibbert (1980) 318 pp
After Schama's famous work it was the english history of France I most want to read
556. Morvern Callar by Alan Warner (1995) 204 pp
1001 Books First Edition book set in the Scottish highlands
557. Crow by Ted Hughes (1972) 89 pp
Expanded version of the collection first published in 1970 and one of Hughes' most celebrated
558. The Orenda by Joseph Boyden (2013) 489 pp
Another for Ilana's CAC for next year
559. A Moment of War by Laurie Lee (1991) 122 pp
A third fragment of thirties autobiography from one of my favourite writers
560. Game of Mirrors by Andrea Camilleri (2011) 262 pp
Eighteenth Montalbano mystery

Nice to see you arrived safely & quickly into book acquisition ....... nice pics on FB your mum looks best pleased

>77 roundballnz: I haven't seen them yet Alex. I will have to go and see what Hani has been putting up!

Seasons Greetings to you and yours, Paul

Dropping by to wish you and your family a very Merry Christmas, Paul. Enjoy your time in the U.K. and your visit with your Mom.

>79 Carmenere: Lynda, coffee and books could hardly be a more appropriate way to celebrate! Thank you my dear.

>80 DeltaQueen50: Dear Guru, I am so pleased to see you here and do hope that you will return to the 75er fold in 2016?

Glad to see that you have arrived in the UK for the holiday and I'm cheered by your Mum feeding your book passions! I hope you travelled with an empty suitcase.

Wishing you and your family a Merry Christmas, Paul. Any chances for snow in the UK?

Enjoy your family and being "home for the holidays", Paul. May 2016 be filled with blessings, and crackin' good reads!

For my Christmas/Hanukkah/Solstice/Holiday image this year (we are so diverse!), I've chosen this photograph by local photographer Mark Lenoce of the pier at Pacific Beach to express my holiday wishes to you: Peace on Earth and Good Will toward All!

Have a great Christmas Paul!

Merry Christmas!

Ooh, Waterstones - great shops, bet you get there more than once on your UK visit!

>82 catarina1: We are allowed an extra suitcase on the way back each for coincidental but extremely useful reasons.

>83 Deern: Thank you Nathalie. On high ground I think the chances are there but West Yorkshire despite being exceedingly windswept is unseasonally mild.

>84 Ameise1: Thank you Barbara. You were a subject of conversation last night as we enjoyed drinks and a meal with John and Karen.

>85 laytonwoman3rd: Thank you so much Linda. I continue to give thanks that I found this group several years ago. It is made up of wonderful people.

>86 ronincats: That is an usual picture Roni, thank you. I will get round the threads tomorrow or late this evening trying to spread my own little brand of good cheer.

>87 SandDune: Thanks Rhian. Is that your tree?

>88 Familyhistorian: Nice one Meg! Maybe not Waterstones but I am anticipating Foyles and Hay-on-Wye instead!

As stated above we met up with John (johnsimpson) and his lovely wife Karen yesterday evening at a well known hostelry - The Three Houses - close to where we both hail from. Amid beer and an unusual take on fish and chips we chatted like the old friends that I guess we have become whilst Hani and Karen got acquainted and hit it off splendidly.

I will wait for Hani to put up a couple of photos on FB and will share them here.

Thanks to John and Karen for a lovely evening.

Took my twin's children to Wakefield christmas shopping yesterday and HAD to have a quick look for a suitable book for John later in the evening. Found an interesting discount store (sorry but I am sure John won't mind!!) and grabbed him three books. I also couldn't resist a six pack of Georgette Heyer books for only GBP5 for myself:

561. The Grand Sophy (1950) 328 pp
562. Friday's Child (1944) 376 pp
563. Regency Buck (1935) 356 pp
564. The Convenient Marriage (1934) 272 pp
565. Frederica (1965) 380 pp

and
566. Faro's Daughter (1941) 259 pp

Merry Christmas, Happy Holidays, Paul! Enjoy your trip!

>93 Copperskye: Thanks Joanne. xx

I hope hope the talk about me was only a good one ;-)

>95 Ameise1: How could it be any other Barbara! John and Karen related their enjoyable meet-up with you and your husband earlier in the year in Bournemouth.

Couple of shots documenting our meet-up with John and Karen yesterday.

You seem to have a very good time in England.

I wish you a happy Christmastime here.

Have a great holiday, with the family, Paul. And enjoy your time, in merry old England.

Hooray for a Meet-Up!!

Hi Paul, thanks for a great evening yesterday, we had a real good catch up and chat about our LT friends. We are old friends and it was nice to see you, Hani, Yasmyne and Belle and Karen and Hani really got on well (we may have to be careful in future, don't want them conspiring, lol). Hope we get the chance to see you again before you go but have a lovely day tomorrow with all the family. Sending love and hugs.

Hi Paul! Happy Holidays, happy time in the UK, and thanks for being such a great LT friend!

>98 paulstalder: We are indeed Paul. Thank you for your kind wishes dear fellow.

>99 msf59: Thanks Mark - one of my dearest LT buddies.

>100 johnsimpson: We did have a good time John, even though I probably chose the busiest pub in West Yorkshire last night. Maybe around the 3rd we could have a rerun?

>101 karenmarie: Lovely of you to say so, Karen. I have to say ....likewise. xx

Struggling to get caught up here. How lovely that you and your family have flown to the UK to spend the holidays with your Mom!

>103 lkernagh: Thank you Lori. I think you will end the year as the Canadian resident with the most posts in 2015.

Merry Christmas Paul!

>105 The_Hibernator: Thank you dear Rachel. xx

Seasons greetings whatever you celebrate enjoy - smell the roses , slow down, enjoy your time with yours

>107 roundballnz: Thanks mate

Wishing you, Hani, and family the happiest of Christmases, Paul!

Merry Christmas! Hope you and Hani and the Kids have a wonderful time in England!

>109 lit_chick: Thank you dear Nancy

>110 mahsdad: That is a ball of light for Christmas, Jeff.

Merry Christmas! Hope you have a great time home with family, friends, and meet ups. And, of course, book stores.

>112 OldDan: Thanks. We skirted the issue of brother or sister's house for Christmas Day by having lunch with neither and we went out for an Indian meal instead and visited both subsequently.

Regulars here will know of my travails with my father and the fact that he fairly recently has had a viral attack to his nervous system which has left him wheelchair bound. He had previously cheated my brother from the business they grew together (and subsequently took it into liquidation) made false accusations of assault against him, accused me of money laundering (don't you know need money to launder it?) and had referred to my kids as "half-breeds".

I have been estranged from him for four years and sort of disowned after an extremely vituperative letter he sent me a couple of years ago but my youngest daughter in particular misses him and his dog! I sent them to his house yesterday on Christmas Eve (though I didn't go in myself) and apparently it was quite emotional and he shed more than a couple of tears. Probably one step towards burying the hatchet and I don't really want my kids not knowing their Grandparents no matter how difficult it is for me.

>114 PaulCranswick: What a good first step to a reconciliation, Paul. I'm sure Belle made a great olive branch. I hope you get things worked out.

I hope the rest of the trip is going well. It's so good to be with family and friends at Christmas. Nice meet up pics! Safe travels back home and much joy as the holidays continue.

Good for your children, your father, and you. I can't begin to understand the hurt and anger, but surely there's enough misery in the world without fostering it among family. I deeply hope that there is peace for both of you.
I'm having a great time looking at your visit. Safe travels!
AND ---- Merry English Christmas and a wonderful Happy New Year!

>115 Donna828: I think the stock phrase "life is too short" applies here. My father despite all will always be my father and my bloodline is without the full use of his legs. Without any rapprochement he may well pass from this world an unnecessarily embittered old man. Donna, I can't begin to conceive of the mind of someone who put a pot of money before his family but I can conceive of someone who would regret having done so manfully and looks for redemption in whatever form he can. If he makes my girls in any way happy that will suffice for me.

>116 LizzieD: Thank you Peggy. Hani is reliable for putting up documentary evidence via FB. I will try to 'borrow' a few of her postings here anon.

We were on a walk on Christmas Eve that encompassed the image in >1 PaulCranswick:

Here we are wrapped up warm sadly sans Kyran who was just warm in KL.

Some of Belle's handiwork. A budding talent perhaps?

And one more from our gawky, geeky third child:

Oh, lovely photos, Paul! How long will you be staying in your mother country?

Hope your and yours are having a wonderful Christmas away!

Happy holidays, Paul!

I hope a reconciliation in some form will come. Believe me, regret is not something you want to have around forever.
I hope your visit with family and friends continues to go well, that your area has avoided the rain and floods that I read about. Wonderful photos of your family and by your daughter. Sorry to hear that Kyran was left behind in KL.

Hey Paul,

I think someone definitely has a good eye, seems the path to reconciliation is open, as often occurs when age sets in ..... despite all that happens blood runs thick

Hope your family& friends have not been hit too hard by the floods in the last few days

Also was hearing about the floods on the news today and hope they weren't causing you any problems!

Lovely pictures of you and the Simpson family!

>114 PaulCranswick: I'm glad that Belle could extend the olive branch to your dad. Family can be difficult!

So glad that you are enjoying a wonderful Christmas!

#114 - making sure your kids can have a relationship with their grandfather is a beautiful expression of your love for them. Even though you couldn't go inside yourself, you didn't make them prisoners of your relationship with him. Bravo.

#118 - wonderful picture. You're all so photogenic! I'm sorry your son wasn't there with you.

Best wishes for a Happy New Year and all good things for 2016.

>120 PaulCranswick: How gorgeous! I could look at that photo for a long time. That young'un does have an eye! Family relationships are always somewhat fraught; in ours, mostly the good and the bad roll around together for a while, and the good ends up on top, but it can't always be that way. Good for you, for making it OK for your kids to see their grandfather under the circumstances. It was a fine thing to do for them.

Merry Christmas dear Paul ...just saw the lovely tree you left for me, what a nice surprise.
I guess I am becoming a hermit, so sorry for not being more sociable here. But was a better year for books, hoping for even a better one to come.
I follow your travels on FB - tell Hani I am missing her food pics - so I know you are having a truly great Christmas with your lovely family ... enjoy and have a Happy New Year.

Hi Paul! Nice photos of your family gathering.

I am feeling overwhelmed by the annual year-end-year-beginning thread activity so I'll be back in a few days to wish you a wonderful, wonderful 2016!

Merry Christmas to you, Paul. Love your photos. Your gawky, geeky third child's doppelganger is also gawky and geeky:) Love to see her photography, and to hear of her forgiving heart. Love to all of you!

>114 PaulCranswick: a sad tale tinged with happiness! Hugs

I'm so glad that you are starting to bury the hatchet with your father. Such things can be very hard to do, especially when there's so much pain in the past. But you're right - your kids should know their grandfather. Good for you for taking that step! :) And happy new week!

Emerging from my non-posting cocoon. It's bright out here ;)

Sorry for being so awol -I have barely skimmed so catch up I'm afraid! Still happy to hear that there have been steps with your Dad - painful as it is I think you'd regret not letting them know him.

I hope you guys have had an amazing Christmas and a lovely visit in the UK - and aren't too wet up there. The flooding looks awful :/

Happy Holidays, Paul!

>97 PaulCranswick: Great! Thanks for posting the meetup pics.

>118 PaulCranswick: What a wonderful family photo! Sorry Kyran couldn't be with you.

Looking forward to hearing what you think of the Georgette Heyer books. The ones I've read (including The Grand Sophy and Frederica) have been quite the unexpected pleasure.

Just back from Scotland after two nights away without my laptop and having driven up there over four hours through the driving rain.

>121 scaifea: Thanks Amber. We will be heading back to Malaysia on 5th January.

>122 ChelleBearss: Lovely to see you in these parts dear Chelle. Saw some lovely photos of Chloe over the holidays. xx

>123 Berly: Thanks Kimmers! Four more would be good to add.

>124 tymfos: Thank you Terri. xx

>125 catarina1: Catarina, my poor old capital city of York is under water.



My mum fortunately is on higher ground in Wakefield without a river anywhere nearby. Although the rain up to Scotland was driving and a constant companion and the roads had plenty of standing water, I did notice some improvement coming back tonight.

>126 roundballnz: Thanks Alex. She has done some more snaps in Edinburgh that I will endeavour to share too. I have not written off my father and my girls were very touched by the experience but it will take some healing.

>127 ronincats: We are all safe and sound, Roni, dear.

>128 vancouverdeb: Thanks Deb. The meet-up with John and his lovely wife Karen was as comfortable as these LT meet-ups always are.

>129 karenmarie: Thank you for your lovely comments Karen. I do love my kids and will concede that they are fairly photogenic even if I spoil the odd photo they grace so.

>130 laytonwoman3rd: I am pleased, Linda, that she seems to have an interest in something so expressive because she is a painfully shy young lady and the apple of her father's eye.

>131 tigerlyly: Wonderful to see you Liliana. Hani does keep me abreast of what you are up to via Facebook. I hope we see more of you here in 2016. xx

>132 EBT1002: Ellen; this is an exciting time of year but I fear will be a difficult one for me to keep up with my normal "verve" with plenty of travelling and sight-seeing over the next few days.

>133 AMQS: That made me smile, Anne. They really are alike aren't they?! Belle sends her best wishes to Marina.

>134 LovingLit: Thank you Megan. xx

>135 The_Hibernator: For much of the time Rachel I know where I would prefer to bury that hatchet! I didn't think it proper to keep them from their Grandpa whatever my feelings about him.

>136 BekkaJo: Great to see you emerging from that cocoon, Bekka - have missed you lots.

>137 jnwelch: Nice to see you buddy. I couldn't resist the Georgette Heyer books getting 6 of them for only GBP5.

I'm glad to hear that your mum's place is safe. I saw the drama on the news. It's so terrible.

May all your hopes for 2016 come true!!

>145 Ameise1: We are not really used to weather in the UK Barbara which is why anything other than the norm causes such a stir. Look at the devastation wrought by tornadoes in Texas and our troubles pale somewhat.

>146 michigantrumpet: I will take 50% of those for a great year Marianne - a little more of Marianne would be great too! xx

Great pictures, Paul. That Belle is quite a girl.

We've had flooding in the Southern U.S. the last few days too. I saw all sorts of creeks and rivers out of their banks on the drive home today.

Popping in just before years end to say Happy Holidays to you and your lovely family, Paul. And here's to a kinder, better 2016 for us all!

>148 banjo123: Thanks Rhonda. I certainly think so!

>149 thornton37814: I saw the reports for your parts of the States and it looked shocking, Lori. Stay safe. xx

>150 LauraBrook: Amen and Amin to that Laura. xx

Hi Paul; thanks for your twelve days of Christmas book wishes. It's good to hear of the time you're spending with your family and friends on the other side of the world. Here's wishing you and your family the very best for Christmas and for 2016!

And that other annual wish we make (which hasn't come true yet) - let's hope we manage to meet up ... this year.

>153 humouress: That will be one of my new year resolutions for sure, Nina!

Merry Kwelfnuve Paul - and may your books be many in the new year.

>114 PaulCranswick: Being estranged from his own parents is tough. My mother was very disappointed of me when I became a Christian and was baptized. But then years later I even married a foreigner and since then I always hear accusations only. I try to call her every week or so, but meeting her is not easy. So, I wish all the wisdom and love you need for thinking about - and maybe even meeting - your father.
I wish you a good end of the year and a quiet start into the new one.

I have been having my own troubles with my mother who is still bitter and angry that my father died before she did. Then she started in on old and long past history of their marriage and I am not at all willing to listen to "pity parties." I have to admit that this Christmas with her was trying. As a cousin of mine says - raising your parents isn't easy. Seeing them as people who are flawed but loveable is hard.

>155 evilmoose: That is a jolly good wish Megan!

>156 paulstalder: Parenthood is a difficult occupation to get spot on Paul. I love my father despite all but do feel that his poisonous way of dealing with his boys - he despises the fact that we have done better in our respective careers than he did - means that I am better dealing with him at a distance. By the same token I have never explained to my children some of the things he has said and done because I want them to have positive memories of him and unclouded by my own problems with him.

>157 benitastrnad: My mum too is difficult to be with too long at any one time because she is extremely self-concerned and needy. She wants her own space but at the same time expects us to go nowhere too.

Had very positive meetings in London with our investment partners but excused myself in time to make a pilgrimage to that Mecca of bookstores Foyles on Charing Cross Road. In absolute truth had I been in KL with my support staff Azim and Erni to assist in smuggling I would have bought half the bloody shop. Knowing I had to go back by tube to Ealing and the inquisition that is Hani I rationed myself to only nine books:

567. Against Nature by Joris-Karl Huysmans (1884) 181 pp
1001 Books First Edition
568. Man's Fate by Andre Malraux (1933) 356 pp
Winner of the Prix Goncourt
569. Independent People by Halldor Laxness (1946) 544 pp
1001 Books First Edition for Iceland's Nobel winner
570. 40 Sonnets by Don Paterson (2015) 44 pp
Latest offering from possibly my favourite living poet
571 The Berlin Wall Cafe by Paul Durcan (1985) 70 pp
Breakthrough collection for the Dublin poet
572. Growth of the Soil by Knut Hamsun (1917) 435 pp
1001 Books First Edition
573. Hadrian the Seventh by Frederick Rolfe (1904) 401 pp
1001 Books First Edition
574. The Last Temptation of Christ by Nikos Kazantzakis (1955) 575 pp
1001 Books First Edition
575. The Garden of the Finzi-Continis by Giorgio Bassani (1962) 246 pp
1001 Books First Edition

Tomorrow HAY-ON-WYE

I'm sooooo jealous! :)

Oooh, enjoy! SOOO envious!!

"Knowing I had to go back by tube to Ealing and the inquisition that is Hani I rationed myself to only nine books:" .... Hahaha so what will Hay-on-wye bring ???

I was so pleased to see you bought the Don Paterson. Loving this book so far, hope that you do too.

Have fun at Hay. A wheelie suitcase?

>161 drneutron: Jim, you are not the recipient of grief from SWMBO grumbling about how on earth we are going to transport back the books.

>162 ronincats: It is 11 am in Ealing and the kids are dawdling and I have a three hour drive to Hay with the shops probably closed at 5. Keep chasing them to shower!

>163 roundballnz: More of the same, Alex, more of the same I am sure!

>164 charl08: I couldn't resist it Charlotte because I got the slim hardback at 50%. I also wanted to buy Landing Light and several others by Ashbery, Creeley, Heaney, Hughes, Stevens, ETC ETC but I figured my asthmatic frame could struggle under a hundred weight of poetic tomes on the tube from Tottenham Court Road change at Leicester Square for Ealing Common and change again for Ealing Broadway.

Foyle's on Charing Cross! We love Foyle's. Hay-on-Wye! Oh my, I really want to get there. Hope you can post a picture or three.

Have you ever been to Daunt Books on Marylbone? That's become another favorite of ours. So many good bookshops in London.

I find that buying books in a nice bookstore gives me a sense of euphoria! Nice haul and have fun at Hay-on-Wye!

Hani and I have been communicating on Facebook, and after speaking with the two psychiatrists I work with we've diagnosed you with intractable bibliophilia. Hani has arranged for you to have a three month leave of absence from work, and the psychiatrists have found you a temporary home from now until then.



NO BOOKS ALLOWED!

You might make it to 600 yet with a trip to Hay-on-Wye.

Hi Paul - never sure where to catch you these days, here or over in 2016!
I managed an hour or so in Hay on Wye back in 2008, a really short visit due to striving to squeeze too much into each day, but I remember loving my short time there, a quick browse in a couple of bookshops, lunch from the boot of the car and a visit to the front garden of the castle.
For those of you who can't get there there is always Barbara Erskine's Lady of Hay.

May we all make the best of what 2016 brings us .....

>169 kidzdoc: surely only books allowed!?
;)

>167 jnwelch: Joe, I have put up a few photos of Hay on the 2016 page.

>168 torontoc: Cyrel we have the same affliction!

>169 kidzdoc: Hahaha going to get me sectioned are yer?!

>170 thornton37814: No Lori, unfortunately it was 1 January by the time I got there.

>171 avatiakh: If anything Kerry (like LT at this time of year) there is just too much to choose from!

>172 roundballnz: I will second that Alex.

>173 Storeetllr: Thank you Mary. I haven't seen your 2016 thread yet?

>174 LovingLit: Megan my sensible friend.

Well I managed a round 120 books last year which was a little disappointing but not surprising given my mid year travails.
Hope to do better in 2016! Will wrap up and summarize later.

I finished House of Orphans by Helen Dunmore for the 2015 BAC (she was a featured author back in October 2015) and really liked this book. Some of those who participated in the 2015 BAC were disappointed in the works they read by this author, but I thought this was a good novel. I think I am the only person who participated that month to read this particular novel by Dunmore. I wish somebody else had read it as it was very well done with lots of subplots going on at the same time as the main plot line. The author managed to capture the setting in her vivid descriptions of the countryside that greatly enhanced my desire to see Finland someday. (What she says about the countryside backs up much of the Haruki Murakami descriptions in his novel Colorless Tsukuru Tazaki).

House of Orphans is set in Finland in 1905. At that time Finland was part of Russia and that year in Russian history was a year of labor turmoil and political assignation. Finland, while a European backwater, was not exempted from this unrest.

This novel is part historical fiction and part social statement. The author did end the novel with one shopworn plot trick that was not needed and that as a reader I did not appreciate but other than that, this was a novel well worth reading and I am glad that the BAC finally got me to read one of Dunmore's novels.