VivienneR visits Wind in the Willows for the last time

Welcome to my 8th year of participating in the Category Challenge. I've chosen 11 categories and while most books might fit in more than one I don't double up.

My thread features illustrations from The Wind in the Willows, a quinessentially English book written by a Scot, Kenneth Grahame. Many versions have been published since the original in 1908 and has featured over 50 different illustrators. The illustrations I'm using are simply some I like best.

When author Tana French was asked which book changed her life, she replied: I blame my career choice on my dad reading me The Wind in the Willows when I was five or six. I can still remember hearing him read the sentence “Never in his life had he seen a river before – this sleek, sinuous, full-bodied animal …” That was when it hit me what words can do".

Current reading plans

Read recently

  
                  

Mysteries

1. The Stranger Diaries by Elly Griffiths
   
2. Found Wanting by Robert Goddard
   
3. The Last Seance: Tales of the Supernatural by Agatha Christie
   
4. Beggar's Banquet by Ian Rankin
   
5. The Au Pair by Emma Rous
   
6. Blacklands by Belinda Bauer
   
7. The Family Upstairs by Lisa Jewell
   
8. Eight Detectives by Alex Pavesi
   
9. The Madness of Crowds by Louise Penny
   
10. The Couple Next Door by Shari Lapena
    
11. Nine Lives to Murder by Marion Babson
    
12. Seven Lies by Elizabeth Kay
    
13. Two for the Dough by Janet Evanovich
    
14. Stranglehold by Robert Rotenberg
    
15. The Twenty Three by Linwood Barclay
    
16. Let Me Lie by Clare Mackintosh

Fiction

1. The Children Act by Ian McEwan
   
2. Rabbit Foot Bill by Helen Humphreys
   
3. The Switch by Beth O'Leary
   
4. The Dragon in the Library by Louie Stowell, illustrated by Davide Ortu
   
5. Night of Power by Anar Ali
   
6. The End of the Affair by Graham Greene
   
7. The Purple Swamp Hen and other stories by Penelope Lively
   
8. The Broken Girls by Simone St. James
   
9. Consent by Annabel Lyon
   
10. Disappearing Moon Cafe by Sky Lee
    
11. Commonwealth by Ann Patchett
    
12. All I Ask by Eva Crocker
    
13. The Authenticity Project by Clare Pooley
    
14. A Boring Wife Settles the Score by Marie-Renée Lavoie
    
15. Dagmar's Daughter by Kim Echlin

Series

1. Troubled Blood by Robert Galbraith
   
2. Far From True by Linwood Barclay
   
3. Love Story, with Murders by Harry Bingham
   
4. Blood Line by Lynda La Plante
   
5. The Best Man to Die by Ruth Rendell
   
6. Death of a Gossip by M.C. Beaton
   
7. Death of a Cad by M.C. Beaton
   
8. Put on by cunning (aka Death Notes) by Ruth Rendell
   
9. Slow Horses by Mick Herron
   
10. Murder in Mesopotamia by Agatha Christie
    
11. Dead Lions by Mick Herron
    
12. Blue Genes by Val McDermid
    
13. Resurrection Men by Ian Rankin

Celtic - Ireland and Scotland

1. Turbulent Priests by Colin Bateman
   
2. Shuggie Bain by Douglas Stuart
   
3. The Forgotten Waltz by Ann Enright
   
4. Green Hell by Ken Bruen
   
5. Night Boat to Tangier by Kevin Barry
   
6. The Ghosts of Belfast by Stuart Neville
   
7. Normal People by Sally Rooney
   
8. Little Constructions by Anna Burns
   
9. Tower by Ken Bruen & Reed Farrel Coleman
   
10. The Sea by John Banville
    
11. The Searcher by Tana French
    
12. When All is Said by Anne Griffin

Faraway places and GeoKIT

1. How to Pronounce Knife by Souvankham Thammavongsa - North America & Asia
   
2. A Promised Land by Barack Obama - North America
   
3. Drive your plow over the bones of the dead by Olga Tokarczuk - Europe
   
4. Burmese Days by George Orwell - Asia
   
5. A Luminous Republic by Andrés Barba - Central & South America
   
6. Into the Abyss by Carol Shaben - Polar regions
   
7. The Tomorrow-Tamer and other stories by Margaret Laurence - Africa
   
8. Bliss and other stories by Katherine Mansfield - Oceania
   
9. Alone in the Wild by Kelley Armstrong - North America
   
10. Miguel Street by V.S. Naipaul - Central & South America
    
11. The Devil of Nanking by Mo Hayder - Asia
    
12. The Crystal Drop by Monica Hughes - North America
    
13. Far North by Will Hobbs - Polar regions
    
14. Beartown by Fredrik Backman - Europe
    
15. The Suspect by Fiona Barton - Asia
    
16. The Mission Song by John le Carré - Africa
    
17. Great Australian Journeys by Graham Seal
    
18. The Nose by Nikolai Gogol - Europe
    
19. East of Suez by Howard Engel - Asia
    
20. The Land God Gave to Cain by Hammond Innes - Polar regions
    
21. Moon Tiger by Penelope Lively - Africa
    
22. Infinite Country by Patricia Engel - Central and South America

RandomCAT

January - LOL: Carry On, Jeeves by P.G. Wodehouse
February - Fruit & veggies: Plum Lucky by Janet Evanovich
March - It's a surprise: The Traveller and other stories by Stuart Neville
April - Let's go to the library: Conviction by Denise Mina from dudes22 library
May - Let's play Monopoly: The Orphan Thief by Glynis Peters (Coventry)
May - Let's play Monopoly: Lehrter Station by David Downing
May - Let's play Monopoly: Monopoly: the world's most famous game and how it got that way by Philip Orbanes
June - Everything old is new again: Macbeth: a novel by A.J. Hartley & David Hewson
July - Summertime: Killing with Confetti by Peter Lovesey
August - On the Road Again: The Woman on the Orient Express by Lindsay Jayne Ashford
August - On the Road Again: North Star by Hammond Innes
September - Winner, winner: The Second World War: Triumph and Tragedy by Winston S. Churchill
October - With someone who gives: Bark of Night by David Rosenfelt
November - Fortune and Glory: The Man Who Forgot How to Read by Howard Engel
November - Fortune and Glory: Agatha Christie's Secret Notebooks by John Curran
December - Seasonal reading: A Frontier Christmas by William Johnstone
December - Seasonal reading: Dachshund Through the Snow by David Rosenfelt
December - Seasonal reading: A Christmas Tartan by Paige Shelton

HistoryCAT

January - Middle Ages: Cruel as the Grave by Sharon Kay Penman
February - 1800 to present: The Second World War: Alone by Winston S. Churchill
March - Early modern 1500-1800: The Mirror and the Light by Hilary Mantel
April - Ancient 8th C BC - 6th C AD: Venus in Copper by Lindsey Davis
May - Dynasties: The sisters who would be queen: the tragedy of Mary, Katherine, & Lady Jane Grey by Leanda De Lisle
June - War: The Second World War: The Grand Alliance by Winston S. Churchill
July - Social history: The Madonnas of Leningrad by Debra Dean
August - Your country: My Stories, My Times by Jean Chrétien
August - Your country: Raven's Cry by Christie Harris, illustrations by Bill Reid
September - Politics: Nineteen Eighty-four by George Orwell
October - Pick a region: A Brief History of Earth: Four Billion Years in Eight Chapters by Andrew H. Knoll
November - Events: Pale Rider: the Spanish Flu of 1918 and How It Changed the World by Laura Spinney
December - Discovery, Exploration: Ghosts of Everest: the search for Mallory and Irvine by Jochen Hemmleb

GenreCAT

January - Non-fiction: The Pigeon Tunnel: Stories from My Life by John le Carré
February - Memoirs: No Time Like the Future: an optimist considers mortality by Michael J. Fox
March - Action/adventure: Moonraker by Ian Fleming
April - Literary fiction: Clock Dance by Anne Tyler
May - Short stories: Climb: stories of survival from rock, snow and ice by Clint Willis
June - Historical fiction: Pompeii by Robert Harris
July - Romance: The Jane Austen Society by Natalie Jenner
August - Drama: Sweeney Todd and the String of Pearls by Yuri Rasovsky
September - YA & Children: 1, 2, 3 Salish Sea: A Pacific Northwest Counting Book by Nikki McClure
September - YA & Children: Lionclaw, a tale of Rowan Hood by Nancy Springer
October - Horror: The Cement Garden by Ian McEwan
November - Science fiction: The Invisible Man by H.G. Wells
December - Mystery: Denial by Beverley McLachlin

MysteryKIT

January - featuring water: Shutter Island by Dennis Lehane
February - pastiche: Rowan Hood: Outlaw Girl of Sherwood Forest by Nancy Springer
March - locked room: Flowers for the Judge by Margery Allingham
April - senior citizen detective: The Thursday Murder Club by Richard Osman
May - set in Europe: The Track of Sand by Andrea Camilleri
June - Golden Age: The Shakespeare Murders by A.G. Macdonell
July - Cop n' Robbers Lady: Death at Windsor Castle by C.C. Benison
August - Cozy featuring animals: The Cat Who Wasn't There by Lilian Jackson Braun
August - Cozy featuring animals: Three Bags Full by Leonie Swann
September - Mismatched detectives: The Dark Angel by Elly Griffiths
September - Mismatched detectives: A Cure for All Diseases by Reginald Hill
October - Diverse: The Widows of Malabar Hill by Sujata Massey
October - Diverse: Little Green by Walter Mosley
November - Historic: Diary of a Dead Man on Leave by David Downing
December - Ancient Greece and Rome: The Silver Pigs by Lindsey Davis

AlphaKIT

All Year Z: Zero Avenue by Dietrich Kalteis
All Year Z: Ratking: An Aurelio Zen mystery by Michael Dibdin
All Year X: Aunt Bessie Believes by Diana Xarissa
All Year X: Building Stronger Bones Naturally by Xandria Williams
January M: Common Murder by Val McDermid
January P: The Dutch House by Ann Patchett
February T: Redhead by the Side of the Road by Anne Tyler
February K: What She Knew by Gilly Macmillan
February T: The Time Traveller's Guide to Medieval England by Ian Mortimer
March U: Uncommon Type by Tom Hanks
March R: Rescued by David Rosenfelt
April A & W: Wherever She Goes by Kelley Armstrong
April A & W: Wicked Appetite by Janet Evanovich
May I & N: The Imposter Bride by Nancy Richler
June C & D: Double or Die by Charlie Higson
July S & O: The Order by Daniel Silva
August V & J: Union Jack by Val McDermid
August V & J: The Purity of Vengeance by Jussi Adler-Olsen
September F & L: The Left-Handed Dollar by Loren Estleman
September F & L: For Your Eyes Only by Ian Fleming
September F & L: Find You First by Linwood Barclay
September F & L: Lies by T.M. Logan
October H & E: One for the Money by Janet Evanovich
October H & E: His and Hers by Alice Feeney
November B & Y: Elevator Pitch by Linwood Barclay
November B & Y: A Decent Interval by Simon Brett
November B & Y: I Know You Know by Gilly Macmillan
November B & Y: My Brother's Keeper by Howard Engel and Eric Wright
December G & Q: Theodore Boone: Kid Lawyer by John Grisham
December G & Q: A Palm for Mrs Pollifax by Dorothy Gilman

1. The Wind in the Willows by Kenneth Grahame
2. Nothing to See Here by Kevin Wilson
3. Lucky Jack Road by J.G. Toews
4. The Boy, the Mole, the Fox and the Horse by Charlie Mackesy
5. Leonard: My Life as a Cat by Carlie Sorosiak
6. Eiger Dreams: ventures among men and mountains by Jon Krakauer
7. Diamonds are forever by Ian Fleming
8. The Moon of the Crusted Snow by Waubgeshig Rice
9. Toby, a Man by Todd Babiak
10. The way through the woods by Colin Dexter
11. Death of a Policeman by M.C. Beaton
12. A Shot in the Dark by Lynne Truss
13. Much Ado About Nothing by William Shakespeare
14. Breath: the new science of a lost art by James Nestor
15. A Bitter Feast by Deborah Crombie
16. After the Funeral by Agatha Christie
17. Three Past Midnight: the Library Policeman by Stephen King
18. Postcard Stories 2 by Jan Carson illustrated by Benjamin Phillips
19. The Lying Room by Nicci French
20. Kill All the Judges by William Deverell
21. Backlash by Lisa LaPlante
22. Lady in waiting: my extraordinary life in the shadow of the crown by Anne Glenconner
23. Indians on Vacation by Thomas King
24. The Song Dog by James McClure
25. Here We Are by Graham Swift

It's hard to believe how fast this year went and here we are in October and what will be my last thread for Wind in the Willows.

Happy last thread!

Happy New Thread! Time to start thinking of next year's themes.

Happy new thread! I took an extra long spin through the wonderful pictures.

Happy new thread! You've read so many books this year, I'm in awe!

I loved looking at those pictures again. ;-)

Happy new thread!

By the way, Vivienne, am I correct that these are Inga Moore's illustrations?

Thank you all. Yes, it's nearly time to think of next year's themes and my mind is all over the place, not settling on anything.

>18 Jackie_K: A retired insomniac - lots of opportunity to read. :)

>21 NinieB: Yes, I believe so. I don't have the details any longer, but I know most of them if not all, are Inga Moore's.

Wow, the final quarter of the year. Where does the time go? Here's a wish for you to have some great reading to close out the year.

Hurray for a new thread and a completed card!

It occurs to me that I tend to put the new group up on the Thanksgiving weekend...

>23 DeltaQueen50: Thank you, Judy. I'm already thinking about what I'm going to read to kick off the New Year.

>24 rabbitprincess: I knew we started early but Thanksgiving weekend surprises me - in a good way! I'm looking forward to the CATs discussion.

category: Mysteries

The Madness of Crowds by Louise Penny

There are so many complex threads but Penny managed to bring them all together in the end - although it was touch and go. However, much as I love stories from Louise Penny I have some quibbles with this one. To start, it took too long to get to the objectionable Robinson theories, I was beginning to think they would remain unspoken. And there are some details that just don't sit right, as when Gamache and Jean Guy need privacy to have a difficult conversation they went to the bistro where everyone could hear. It appears Three Pines has outgrown its mysterious location status: it is not on any map, not on GPS, there is no cell phone service, no internet, yet there is a thriving village, bistro, inn, spa - and now a nearby university?

The numerous horrific subjects introduced, including torture, eugenics, and mandatory euthanasia of the elderly and frail, made this a very dark story, while the murder investigation dwindled in urgency. On top of everything else, the real-life monster Ewan Cameron and his inhumane treatments became a major part of an already complex plot. He is known for the Montreal experiments (MK-Ultra) that left patients who had sought advice on relatively minor problems with permanent disabilities. (William Deverell, founder of the BC Liberties Civil Association, created a character in his novel Mindfield who had suffered from these experiments, although I believe Deverell had a more public-spirited aim.)

I know I'm going against the tide of Louise Penny fans, but I like it better when she produces solid mysteries and leaves out the social issues. After all, the profusion of eccentric characters at her disposal will provide ample social quirks.

My copy was an audiobook with outstanding narration by Robert Bathurst, in fact, he saved the book.

Today we have snow-capped mountains around here so I've changed the topper picture to one that is more appropriate.

East of Suez by Howard Engel

Engel wrote this book to have Benny Cooperman, a private investigator from Grantham, Ontario, exhibit the same symptoms as he had. Engel had a stroke, Benny got clobbered on the head in the last book. Both suffered short term memory loss, could write but could only read slowly and with a lot of concentration.

Cooperman has been persuaded by Vickie, an old school chum, to go to the fictional country of Murinam on the Malay peninsula where her husband has been reported dead. They ran a diving school and became involved with drug smuggling. Jake, the husband, had a case full of money so Cooperman is charged with finding it - or Jake. This was a good mystery, told in Engel's typical entertaining style. Cooperman is a gentle, unassuming character, likeable and without the personal hangups that plague most in his profession. It is great fun to spend some time with him.

About ten years ago Penguin re-launched Engel's first 11 Cooperman books that I'm looking forward to. My next one will be Memory Book where Cooperman receives his head injury. I'm also about to start Engel's memoir The Man Who Forgot How to Read.

>27 VivienneR: A wonderful choice!

>29 MissWatson: Thank you, Birgit!

category: MysteryKIT - Diverse

The Widows of Malabar Hill by Sujata Massey

Set in India in 1916 and 1921, this was an interesting example of how difficult it was for a woman to have a career in a man's world, to say nothing of the difficulty widows had in sorting out their husband's estate. It wasn't my kind of mystery although I listened to an audiobook version of this book and I'm pretty sure that I would have enjoyed a print copy more because I found the narrator a bit distracting.

>31 VivienneR: I also listened to this book in 2018. I, too, found it somehow distracting. I can't put my finger on it, but according to my review it was the copious flashbacks.

>32 Tess_W: That's how I felt, Tess. And it made the storytelling uneven.

category: AlphaKIT E

One for the Money by Janet Evanovich

Stephanie Plum is always pure entertainment. I enjoyed this one.

category: Mysteries

The Couple Next Door by Shari Lapena

It's an attention-getter but then turns repetitive as the perpetrator becomes more than a hunch for the reader. Still, I kept on reading. It was twisty enough to keep me entertained to the last page.

Happy new thread - love the wintry thread topper.

>34 VivienneR: I’ve never read one of the Stephanie Plum series. I’ll have to give them a try.

>36 Helenliz: Thank you, it fits with the view from my window.

>37 NanaCC: She's a hoot! You should try her at least once.

category GeoKIT - Polar Regions

The Land God Gave to Cain by Hammond Innes

I thoroughly enjoyed this adventure tale set in frozen Labrador, where the young Ian Ferguson has made the trip from Engand in an attempt to convince Canadians that his grandfather had picked up a radio message from a lost expedition. This was written in 1958 yet is still action-packed and exciting.

>39 VivienneR: hit me with a BB!

>39 VivienneR: I'll have to keep an eye out for that one! Mid-20th-century adventure story set in Canada is like catnip to me.

>40 Tess_W: I love those mid-century adventure stories. I hope you like it too.

>41 rabbitprincess: This one has you name on it for sure! I got an audiobook read by Michael Sinclair about whom I know nothing but who sounds just like Prince Charles.

>39 VivienneR: Taking a BB for this one. I'd love to read more books set in Labrador.

>43 mathgirl40: I know what you mean, that's what attracted me to it too.

category AlphaKIT H & E

His and Hers by Alice Feeney

I don't know why I even opened this because I didn't like two other books by Feeney. I don't care for the current deluge of mystery novels with unreliable narrators, a device only used to spread suspicion among all of the characters, and which has now become tired and hackneyed. As well, the "twists" provided by unreliable narrators appears to be used solely to provide a "wow" ending that will replace character development, story, and good writing.

category: Series

Murder in Mesopotamia by Agatha Christie

Christie based the character Louise Leidner, wife of an archaeology expedition leader, on her good friend Katherine Woolley who was the wife of Leonard Woolley, a real life expedition leader in Ur where Christie met her second husband Max Mallowan, Woolley's assistant.

I found this more enjoyable the second time around although the denouement still defies belief. My repeat reading was inspired after reading The Woman on the Orient Express by Lindsay Jayne Ashford where Christie met the Woolleys and Mallowan. And I have to say that as much as I love Christie's work, I enjoyed Ashford's book much more.

>46 VivienneR: Murder in Mesopotamia may have an unlikely denouement, but the characters are so memorable. I particularly enjoy Christie's slightly malicious characterization of Nurse Amy Leatheran. Christie was never kind to nurses.

>47 NinieB: I laughed when I read your comment "Christie was never kind to nurses". You're so right. A male impersonator?? That must have been difficult to take for Nurse Leatheran yet her protest was curiously meagre. I imagined her face, red with outrage. I gave this book three stars when I first read it (rated long after reading) but upped that to four stars this time.

category: RandomCAT November - Fortune and Glory (mystery writer)

The Man Who Forgot How to Read by Howard Engel

Engel describes wakening one morning, getting his newspaper off the front step and wondering why it was printed in what appeared to be Cyrillic or Greek. Fortunately he realized he must have had a stroke and, accompanied by his twelve year-old son Jacob, went to emergency at Mount Sinai Hospital in Toronto where he was diagnosed with alexia sine agraphia caused by the stroke. Although he was still able to write to some extent, he could not read, not even what he had just written. There were other memory problems too and he spent months in rehabilitation where he learned tricks to find his way around the hospital and his life.

As an author and lifelong book lover, the diagnosis was understandably devastating but he was protected from worry in some way by the brain injury itself. Meanwhile, the care for his young son (Engel was a widower) was shared among other family members meaning Jacob had to live out of a backpack for months. Eventually Engel was able to read extremely slowly and with difficulty, but was it enough to re-write and edit the books from which he made a living? When he came up with a plot for a new novel featuring his sweet, humble detective Benny Cooperman, he jumped right in giving Benny a head injury with the same symptoms in Memory Book. Encouraged by Oliver Sacks and with much assistance he successfully published the book, as well as another one since then (East of Suez) when Benny is recovering. Engel describes his condition and rehabilitation without any sign of self pity but with good humour and grace, making this both entertaining and interesting.

>49 VivienneR: - This sounds very interesting - BB for me.

>50 dudes22: Yes, it is interesting but even more so if you read his mystery novels.

>51 VivienneR: - I'll make note of that and maybe try one or two.

>52 dudes22: They are not splashy bestsellers, but quiet small town investigations. Engel's detective let me get to know Engel, if you know what I mean.

>53 VivienneR: - Yeah - I do.

>49 VivienneR: I agree. That sounds very interesting. I'll take note of this author!

>55 pammab: It was an interesting account of the stroke and amazing that he was able to write about it.

category: RandomCAT October - with a character who gives

Bark of Night by David Rosenfelt

This legal mystery and courtroom drama features Andy Carpenter a lawyer who also rescues dogs. In this episode, Andy is consulted by Tara's vet after a healthy French bulldog has been brought in to be euthanized. Turns out Truman has a microchip showing the client who brought him in is not the owner. This becomes a much bigger issue when the real owner is found to have been murdered. Andy is hooked again. As well as a dependable plot, I love Rosenfelt's humour.

>49 VivienneR: This would be awful! It's a BB for me!

>58 Tess_W: Yes, it would, and he was like many of us on LT who have been life-long readers above all else. I just can't imagine how he managed, especially given his occupation.

category: GeoKIT Africa

Moon Tiger by Penelope Lively

Claudia is terminally ill in hospital and determines to write the history of the world, her world. Lively is the only writer I know of who can take the story back and forward in time without losing the point or the attention of the reader. She beautifully captures the thoughtful quality of memories while giving the background story the significance and gravity it demands. I have found Lively's books to be hit or miss: I disliked Family Album, but liked How It All Began While I can't say I found Claudia appealing, I'm glad to say I enjoyed the book.



category: Fiction

The Authenticity Project by Clare Pooley

A pleasant story to while away some time but nothing momentous.

>60 VivienneR: Having enjoyed Offshore, I've added Moon Tiger to the wish list for my 2022 Prizes category. It's not too long - a very good thing.

>60 VivienneR: >61 pamelad: I literally just bought Moon Tiger on Monday and I'm looking forward to reading it.

>61 pamelad: I enjoyed Offshore too but it's written by the other great Penelope - Penelope Fitzgerald. I think I enjoy Fitzgerald even better than Penelope Lively. Either way, you have a winner.

>62 NinieB: Isn't it funny how book titles appear like ocean currents. Enjoy.

>63 VivienneR: My students used to ask me if I was related to Pamela Anderson. I used to tell them yes, and that mum and dad and I were very worried about her relationship with Tommy Lee.

ETA I've read one by Penelope Lively, the memoir Oleander, Jacaranda and liked it, so will give Moon Tiger a go, even though she's the wrong Penelope.

>64 pamelad: Oh it must be nice to be so famous, even if it's mistaken identity. With my name, it would never happen to me. I don't know what my parents were thinking of when they named me. Well, I do actually, they were fans of Vivien Leigh. How can I live up to that?

I will add Moon Tiger to my WL and read it sometime in 2022 as I'm going to do a personal read of Africa.

>65 VivienneR: “Vivienne” has become one of my favourite names over the last few years. It started after I read a book with a character named Vivienne. She wasn’t even very likeable, but after reading the name hundreds of times, I decided it was very nice indeed.
Vivienne Leigh is an impossible bar to reach tho!

>65 VivienneR: I think Vivienne is having a small resurgence, along with some of the "older" names. I have 2 Vivienne's in my high school classes in the 21st century!

>66 Tess_W: Good idea!

>67 Nickelini: Nice to hear it's somebody's favourite name (not mine). The only thing I like about it is that it has 2 of each letter.

>68 Tess_W: I'm glad to hear of a resurgence. There were 3 named Vivienne in my class in the last years of high school. So more than my parents were inspired by Vivien Leigh.

>65 VivienneR: Vivienne is a lovely, elegant name, undemeaned by Baywatch!

>68 Tess_W: I think you're right about there being a resurgence of old-fashioned names right now. A friend's new granddaughter has been named Vera. I'm waiting to meet a baby named Irene, as that is the most old-fashioned name I can think of.

>71 RidgewayGirl: In 2020 I had a Cora, Emmeline, multiple Graces, and my 4 year old granddaughter is named Evelyn. The boys names seem to be Biblical names: Jeremiah, Ezekiel, Nathaniel, and Isaac along with Hank and Theo.

>71 RidgewayGirl: >72 Tess_W: Yes, the older names are popular here too. One friend named her daughters Edith and Daphne, and another called her children Vivien and Arthur (Arthur is a really popular boys name right now, I have several friends with Arthurs).

>72 Tess_W: Theodore is a super popular name around here! I know three little ones with that name.

>71 RidgewayGirl: Irene is one of my favourite names! No idea why; I've just always liked it.

>74 rabbitprincess: When I was young, I thought Irene was the most beautiful name, along with Yvonne (which I was certain was pronounced Why-vonny and no one could tell me otherwise).

>70 pamelad: Thank you, I'd no idea there was a Vivien on Baywatch. I'm so in the dark about tv shows.

>71 RidgewayGirl: & >72 Tess_W: Same resurgence is happening here. Friends named their baby Amelia. And Eli is popular for boys.

>73 Jackie_K: I like Daphne.

>74 rabbitprincess: Helen is my favourite name, has been ever since I was a kid.

category - Celtic

The Sea by John Banville

Banville's language is so gorgeous that I found that at times it drew my attention away from the story. And although it's a character study. with little in the way of plot, it would be a shame to miss a word of it.

>76 VivienneR: No Viviennes on Baywatch, only Pamelas. The meaning in my head came out wrongly in your thread.

>75 RidgewayGirl: Helen is a lovely name too!

>77 VivienneR: I have this one in the stacks. Looking forward to reading it even more after your remarks.

>78 pamelad: Nice with the rhyming - made me smile.

Another name comment - my grandmother's name was Zoe. I didn't know of anyone else named that and it was embarrasing to me because it sounded "country". When I was a teen I saw a program on the actress Zoe Caldwell and I decided it was an okay name after all. And of course in recent years it has been all the rage.

My favorite old name is Ardella.

>78 pamelad: If I knew anything about Baywatch I'd have understood. :))

>80 Crazymamie: I'm sure you'll enjoy it.

>81 clue: Zoe is a lovely name.

>77 VivienneR: It's a while since I read this one, Vivienne. I think, from memory, I enjoyed it, but I haven't read anything further by Banville.

>83 AlisonY: Nice to see you dropping by, Alison. Banville's high blown language is beautiful but also a distraction. I have a couple more on the shelves that I'll get to sometime.

category: Mysteries

Nine Lives to Murder by Marion Babson

This is the most entertaining "cat" mystery novel, quirky and filled with humour. Winstanley Fortescue, famed actor, and Monty, theatre cat have collided accidentally and find themselves in the body of the other. When a bruise on Winstanley's back suggests that the event was not accidental he must try to discover who wants him dead all while inhabiting the feline's body. It was filled with zany humour. I longed to jump to the end to find out how it is resolved.

I first read this years ago but had forgotten title and author but fortunately NinieB was able to provide them. It was worth the re-read.

October Summary ❤️

Read this month: 15
Year to date: 160

The Best 4 - 5 stars:
East of Suez by Howard Engel
The Land God Gave to Cain by Hammond Innes
Murder in Mesopotamia by Agatha Christie
The Man Who Forgot How to Read by Howard Engel
Bark of Night by David Rosenfelt
Moon Tiger by Penelope Lively
The Sea by John Banville
Nine Lives to Murder by Marion Babson

The Rest 3 - 3.5 stars:
The Madness of Crowds by Louise Penny
The Widows of Malabar Hill by Sujata Massey
One for the Money by Janet Evanovich
The Couple Next Door by Shari Lapena
His and Hers by Alice Feeney
The Authenticity Project by Clare Pooley

Disappointments:
All I Ask by Eva Crocker

>85 VivienneR: Oh, now *I* want to read Nine Lives to Murder again! Glad it was worth the second reread!

>85 VivienneR: That sounds bananas in a really good way!

>87 NinieB: Yes, you must read it again!

>88 christina_reads: That describes it perfectly. I've read a few by Marion Babson, this was the best.

You’ve had a great month of reading, Vivienne. And of course you added to my list. I’ve been in a bit of a slump this past week. Nothing bad, just too many distractions. The Slow Horses have been keeping me entertained. I’ve read four of them already, and of course I’ll be sad when I catch up.

>90 NanaCC: I've fallen into that slump too, starting and abandoning several books and wondering why I even considered them. Glad the Slow Horses have been working for you. I've been fighting off a bad cold so I need some easy entertainment. I'd like to know how I got a cold when the only place I go is to the grocery store, masked and sanitized.

>91 VivienneR: I think a lot of us will be susceptible to colds as our bodies have been protected with masks for so long, Vivienne. Our immune systems are bound to be compromised somewhat with even the slightest contact. I’m still doing grocery deliveries and haven’t been in a grocery store for over a year. I’m very careful too when we go out. But I’ve had my flu shot and Covid booster. I’m hoping for the best.

>91 VivienneR: It could be COVID, even though you’re vaccinated. Look after yourself.

>92 NanaCC: I used to go grocery shopping 7-8am, the hour earmarked for seniors when the store was freshly sanitized and had fewer shoppers, but there were relatively few cases here (none for a long time) so I eased up on my rules. We have curbside pickup but I don't think home delivery is an option (small town). I've had my shots and expect to get my booster any day.

>93 pamelad: I wondered about that too so I called the doc (first time ever for a cold). I know we were both thinking the same thing but it went unmentioned. She questioned me thoroughly and gave me treatment instructions. Glad to say it was just a cold and I'm feeling better today. I'll be glad to get my flu shot on Tuesday.

category: HistoryCAT - Events

Pale Rider: the Spanish Flu of 1918 and How It Changed the World by Laura Spinney

Published in 2017, I ordered this book at the end of 2019, before anyone had heard of the new pandemic or Covid-19. It arrived on my doorstep just days after the first cases became known at the beginning of 2020 but has been passed around and just arrived back with me last month. One good thing about reading it after the worst of our present pandemic has passed is that I can see the issues and similarities and understand them better. This is an excellent history book, well-written and well-researched.

"We find ourselves at an interesting point on the remembering / forgetting arc with respect to the twentieth century. The two world wars are still raw, we refer back to them obsessively and are firmly convinced that we will never forget them - though past experience suggests that they will gradually lose their lustre in our minds, or be obscured by other wars. Meanwhile the Spanish flu intrudes more and more into our historical consciousness, but it can't shake the prefix 'forgotten'.

Why does memory for a pandemic take time to develop? Perhaps one reason is that it's not so easy to count the dead. They don't wear uniforms, display exit wounds or fall down in a circumscribed arena. They die in large numbers in a short space of time, over a vast expanse of space, and many of them disappear into mass graves, not only before their disease has been diagnosed, but often before their lives have even been recorded. For most of the twentieth century, people thought the Spanish flu had killed around 20 million people, when the real number was two, three, possibly even five times that."

>94 VivienneR: Glad you're feeling better. It's not fair that you caught a cold after all those precautions!

Adding Pale Rider to my wish list.

>95 VivienneR: A BB for me!

Glad you are feeling better. Since we've been wearing masks, I've not had a cold, bronchitis (a yearly thing for me the last 20 years), or nothing! I will probably continue to mask up in public for sometime.

>96 pamelad: Thanks, Pam!

>97 Tess_W: I can't understand how I could catch a cold. The couple next door come in for a cup of tea occasionally and my son and daughter-in-law visit but usually sit outside. I'm always very careful. Yes, I'll continue to wear a mask too. And carry hand sanitizer!

Hope you both enjoy Pale Rider. Laura Spinney is the science writer for The Guardian.

>95 VivienneR: I've added that to my wishlist too.

Sorry to hear about the cold - I've enjoyed a cold/flu free couple of years now thanks to masks and intend to carry on wearing them too. I can't believe that the anti-maskers are convinced that the lack of flu/colds the last year or so are evidence of a conspiracy - it's just evidence of bettter hygiene!

>99 Jackie_K: Laura Spinney is enjoying a boost in sales since the pandemic started.

I just don't understand anti-maskers and anti-vaxxers, their reasoning is so out of whack. I got flu back at the end of 2019 for the first time in 30 years and I never want to go through that again, so I've been extra careful but I guess sometimes a virus cannot be avoided. Stay cold & flu free this year too!

>95 VivienneR: My paternal grandfather's family lost their daughter in that pandemic, which did a lot of harm to the family - so my Dad's done some reading on the topic of why we don't memorialize that pandemic like we do the war that preceded it. I wonder if it's that pandemics isolate people and make them scared to help their neighbors, friends or even family members. So afterward, instead of the abstract pride we have after pulling together to fight a war, there's a sense of embarrassment afterward and everyone just tries to forget.

>101 RidgewayGirl: Spinney went into the topic a bit but I think she could have written more about that. A lot of people didn't even know about the 1918 pandemic, until the current one started and then it started cropping up. I believe you are right about the reason we don't memorialize it, just like Covid some people can't accept it. If you don't know half a dozen people who have had the illness then it must not exist. Then they blame anyone at hand - even nurses and doctors, all of which isn't going to be anything to gloat about after it's all over. As Spinney said "it's not so easy to count the dead".

category: HistoryCAT August - Your country

My Stories, My Times by Jean Chrétien

When I heard Jean Chrétien was publishing a second book of stories, I was reminded that I hadn't yet read the first one. Chrétien, the most popular of Canada's prime ministers, won three terms of Liberal majority government. His stories are a concoction of memories and reflections written in an informal grandfatherly way without ever self-aggrandizing. As they were written in French and translated into perfect English, what I missed was his charming unpolished English, although I'm not sure how this would have worked in print. This is a lovely book, filled with humour, his love of Canada, and regard for others. He reserves his greatest admiration for his wife, Aline. The foreword was written by Joe Clark, former prime minister and political opponent from the other side of the house, and a close friend. It is a reminder of how much more can be achieved with cooperation and respect.

>103 VivienneR:
Chrétien, the most popular of Canada's prime ministers

I was surprised by that statement. I was blissfully uninterested in politics when he was PM and I had no issues with him, and thought he was a gentleman, but I don't remember anyone particularly liking him, and I don't remember anything he did. Maybe I was in my bubble and didn't have to pay attention. I just didn't know he was considered that well. I love that Joe Clark wrote the foreword to the book. That's class all around.

But now you're making me consider who I think Canada's most popular PM was? I'd have said Pierre Elliott Trudeau (1968 - 1984 with a little break in between). My parents loathed him with a passion, and I was a child who heard who heard him described as "charming" and even "sexy" and I was beyond revolted -- he looked like a diseased toad to me. But as an adult I've learned that he did a lot of things for Canada that I think were very good indeed. I think John Diefenbaker is also considered highly, although at this minute I can't remember why. My grandfather knew him when they were children in Saskatchewan, but my ancestor sharing a wagon with him across the billowing wheat in 1908 is nothing but an amusing family . . . what is the word for "smaller than a memory"? Still, it amuses me.

I took a class on Canadian Political Philosophy at university (it wasn't sold that way, I thought I was just taking another Humanities course), and it was really difficult, but I learned a LOT about the basis for Canada's political system, and it showed me how different we are from the USA. So when people say, "oh isn't Canada just like the USA?" I have to say NOOOOO. It can appear that way on the surface, and there are many similarities, but the base is very different.

Sorry to ramble on your thread, you sparked my thoughts. If I come across this, I'll pick it up.

>101 RidgewayGirl: I think we won't "come together" afterwards (it's not afterwards, yet!) because this is a "divided" war, at least in the US, with about 40% of the population unvaccinated and militant about not getting so.

>104 Nickelini: Thank you for your thoughts, very interesting! I was a big fan of Pierre Trudeau too but I've always considered Chrétien to be a more down-to-earth likeable guy. My husband disagrees, but he has no political savvy and does it just to get me going! I envy you having taken Canadian Political Philosophy. My political opinions are purely self-taught. :)

>105 Tess_W: I get the impression that what we are going through is going to be a bigger topic afterwards. The least of which should be to plan some preparedness for the next pandemic. I hope it isn't forgotten like the 1918 flu was.

>106 VivienneR: I've always considered Chrétien to be a more down-to-earth likeable guy.

I have to agree with you there! Really, I'd forgotten all about him, but since your post I've remembered all sorts of things. Like John Turner snubbed him rudely at the leadership convention and Chretien handled it with so much grace. And isn't he the PM who had someone break into his bedroom and he took care of it? (I may be misremembering that)

I remember Jean Chretien being called "the little guy from Shawinigan" and, yes, he was both likeable and popular.

I also remember Pierre Trudeau from the height of Trudeaumania through to the end. I was the right age to think he was great - my father totally disagreed.

I worked for a group of radiologists and heart specialists when I lived in Ottawa and I gave ECGs to both John Diefenbaker and Lester Pearson. I found Pearson a little more likeable but Diefenbaker's wife, Olive, was very gracious.

I, too, have had very little education into politics, but I do wish we could go back to the days of the opposite numbers cooperating and working with each other to get things done.

>107 Nickelini: It was Aline who got up to investigate a noise and rushed back to alert Jean. He locked the door, called the police (who took a long time to arrive) and grabbed a stone carving for protection, while the burglar remained outside their bedroom door. He credits Aline for saving him in one of his "stories".

>108 DeltaQueen50: Pierre Trudeau certainly polarized the Canadian public. I was a fan from when he was first elected when I lived in Northern Ireland where politicians like him were sadly needed.

I agree, I wish we could go back to those times when there was cooperation between parties. Bitterness and name-calling never works. Remember when Kim Campbell's campaign tried to discredit Chrétien because of his partial facial paralysis (due to Bell's palsy, I believe)? It backfired royally.

How interesting that you got to give ECGs to such luminaries.

>104 Nickelini: Ha, I read your comment a bit too quickly and thought it said that Diefenbaker had been considered sexy. Yikes!!

>110 rabbitprincess: Slow down, slow down! I enjoyed the "diseased toad" description of the other guy. Typical opinion of a teenager.

category AlphaKIT

Elevator Pitch by Linwood Barclay

I zoomed through this thriller in two sittings. Terrific fun, but I'm glad I don't take elevators often.

Will you be watching the new Belfast movie, Vivienne? It seems to be getting very good reviews so far.

>113 AlisonY: It's on the list but so far I haven't found it on DVD yet. I'm delighted for Branagh's success.

category: AlphaKIT

A Decent Interval by Simon Brett

A good twisty mystery with Brett's finest character, Charles Paris, the journeyman actor and guzzler of Bell's. I'd like to think Paris will still get enough work to keep him afloat or even better, a big break to boost his fading career, but sadly considering the rather melancholy ending here, there is no sign of that happening.

>103 VivienneR: I'm taking a BB for this book. I remember the Jean Chrétien days well. He is indeed popular and even has a beer (Shawinigan Handshake brewed by Trou du diable) to commemorate one of his infamous moments!

>116 mathgirl40: Terrific! I haven't heard that before. I remember the Shawinigan Handshake affair, it came soon after the break in. And I don't blame him for using it.

category: AlphaKIT - Y

I Know You Know by Gilly Macmillan

Two boys were beaten to death twenty years ago. The mentally challenged young man wrongly convicted of the murder took his own life in prison. Now a friend of the two boys is investigating the murders through the unlikely method of podcasts. This is a mystery thriller filled with enough twists that should have made it a winner but this one is spoiled by unpleasant people and faulty procedures curiously accepted. The podcast device made the story choppy and didn't work particularly well. I liked Macmillan's debut, also about a murdered child, but this one leaves a bad taste in the mouth. I won't be reading any more by this author.

>118 VivienneR: A shame, sounds as if there might have been potential.

>119 Tess_W: Yes, it was a shame, Tess. And I had two more books by the same author that I donated to the Wee Free Library nearby. Someone will appreciate them more than me.

My Brother's Keeper by Howard Engel and Eric Wright

I thoroughly enjoyed this mild mystery penned by two Canadian authors using their famous sleuths, Howard Engel's gentle private investigator Benny Cooperman and Eric Wright's more refined detective Charlie Salter. Benny's help has been sought by his brother Sam, a doctor in a Toronto hospital while Charlie Salter is doing the official police investigation of a high-ranking doctor who has been reported missing. Their progress of he case is given in alternate chapters, while they are unaware of each other.

Although the cover looks rather like a "plain brown wrapper" it shows an appealing illustration by Greg McEvoy with more inside.

category: MysteryKIT October - Diverse

Little Green by Walter Mosley

This was my first book by Mosley and evidently in the previous entry in the series "Easy Rawlins" had Easy go over a cliff in his car. Fortunately Mosley brought the Black detective back to continue in this episode, set in 1967 in the early days of hippie era. After wakening from a two month coma, Rawlins is quickly asked to track down a missing young man, Evander "Little Green" Noon who was last seen in Los Angeles hanging out with hippies. Kept on his feet with a home-made medicine, Easy manages to accomplish the task and along the way experiences life in new age California. which Mosley relates in authentic detail, including omnipresent racism, free love, and drugs. More a time capsule than a mystery, this features excellent plotting and characters.

category - Fiction

A Boring Wife Settles the Score by Marie-Renée Lavoie

In Autopsy of a Boring Wife (2018) Diane Delaunais reacts - and recovers - from her husband's defection. In this continuation of the story she gets a job, finds a lover and makes progress on her recovery while Jacques reconsiders his decision. Diane's character was more developed here and although she is still devastated by the divorce she doesn't have a bad word to say about Jacques. The story is set in Quebec and even in translation has a charming French Canadian flavour with an abundance of humour.

>123 VivienneR: I'm looking forward to both of those books

>123 VivienneR: Oh, I really liked Autopsy of a Boring Wife. I'll look for this one.

>124 Nickelini: I'm sure you will enjoy them, Joyce!

>125 RidgewayGirl: I wonder if it was a BB from you that got me started, if so, thank you. I also enjoyed Mister Roger and Me by the same author.

category: RandomCAT - Fortune and Glory

Agatha Christie's Secret Notebooks by John Curran

I've been dipping into this all month and found it fascinating. I believe I've read everything by Christie and a lot of what has been written about her, so although this appears to be all over the place, it actually made perfect sense in illustrating how the Queen of Crime planned her stories. The index is invaluable. I'm glad I got my own copy because it is something I'll refer to often especially when I re-read her work. Highly recommended for would-be mystery authors and Agatha Christie fans.

>127 VivienneR: I've been meaning for forever to investigate this book. Thanks for the reminder!

>128 NinieB: You'll enjoy reading it but it makes a good reference book too.

category: MysteryKIT - November historic

Diary of a Dead Man on Leave by David Downing

Set in 1938 Germany, a Communist spy is boarding with a family in Hamm and making contact with other like-minded Germans, of which there are few because Hitler has overcome most people who are either with him or too scared to go against him. Downing does an amazing job of illustrating the political climate and mood of the times, clearly taking the reader to the time and place, all while telling an enthralling story.

"Sometimes the Third Reich feels like a cross between Kafka and Alice in Wonderland."

This was my choice for a historical mystery although the "mystery" is subtle.

>130 VivienneR: definitely a BB for me!

>131 Tess_W: Good, you will enjoy it, Tess. Downing is an excellent writer.

category: GenreCAT - science fiction

The Invisible Man by H.G. Wells

An interesting idea, but I didn't care much for the Invisible Man although I sympathized with him and his terrible predicament.

category - Mysteries

Seven Lies by Elizabeth Kay

This debut novel, a story of obsession, was a different kind of mystery, it seemed predictable but then twisted off in different directions. And although it held my attention to the last page, it could have been tightened up a bit, removing repetitive content.

category RandomCAT - Fortune and Glory

Elephants Can Remember by Agatha Christie

Not one of Christie's best but I love Mrs Ariadne Oliver, who is said to be Christie's alter ego as she is a mystery novelist - just what I wanted to be.

>135 VivienneR: I don't remember reading that one. I may have done so, but it would have been decades ago.

>136 thornton37814: Me too, the plot was unfamiliar although I vaguely remember when it was on a tv series and Mrs Oliver was played by one of my favourites, Zoë Wanamaker. Again, I couldn't remember the plot but as I read it was nice to picture Wanamaker in the role. I'm running out of Agatha Christie books to re-read.

category: Series

Dead Lions by Mick Herron

Another terrific episode of the "slow horses", the MI5 agents who have screwed up an op and as a result have been relegated to Slough House to do trifling work under the coarse, crude Jackson Lamb. They all hope to clear their record and go back to Regent's Park and real ops. Herron can write lyrically, unusual for espionage novels, but also includes some lovely dark humour, all tied to an exciting plot. I look forward to the next in the series but on the other hand I don't want to go through them too quickly and have none left on the horizon.

category: Celtic

The Searcher by Tana French

"I got weary," Cal says. "Bone-weary." He did. Every morning got to be like waking up with the flu, knowing he had to trek miles up a mountain."

After a good opening I got weary of the stage-Irish characters, which may have been the narrator's fault, not the author's.

This has a reasonable story but is so slow-moving that impetus is lost and reading it becomes a chore.

category: Fiction

Dagmar's Daughter by Kim Echlin

I have nothing but admiration for anyone who can write so beautifully and with so much imagination, however, this book is not a genre that I like. Said to be an epic poem, I found it to be more like a folktale.

category: Faraway places and GeoKIT

Infinite Country by Patricia Engel

A bittersweet story of the complexities of immigration. This is a young woman's perspective of a family divided between USA and Colombia. A short book that is heartfelt and expressive.

"Our family didn't cross any desert of river to get to get here, we came by plane with the right documents, now worthless. My life like my sister's and my brother's is a mishap a side effect of our parent's geographical experiment."

>141 VivienneR: I've got this on my pile to read soon.

>142 RidgewayGirl: I'll look forward to your opinions, Kay. It's only recently that I realized immigration isn't as easy for many people as it was for me.

category: Mysteries

Two for the Dough by Janet Evanovich

Stephanie Plum, bounty hunter, is a hoot! And Grandma is just as funny. Many laugh-out-loud moments.

November Summary ❤️

Read this month: 18
Year to date: 178

The Best 4 - 5 stars:
Pale Rider: the Spanish Flu of 1918 and How It Changed the World by Laura Spinney
My Stories, My Times by Jean Chrétien
Elevator Pitch by Linwood Barclay
A Decent Interval by Simon Brett
My Brother's Keeper by Howard Engel and Eric Wright
A Boring Wife Settles the Score by Marie-Renée Lavoie
Agatha Christie's Secret Notebooks by John Curran
Diary of a Dead Man on Leave by David Downing
Dead Lions by Mick Herron

The Rest 3 - 3.5 stars:
Little Green by Walter Mosley
Seven Lies by Elizabeth Kay
Elephants Can Remember by Agatha Christie
The Searcher by Tana French
Dagmar's Daughter by Kim Echlin
Infinite Country by Patricia Engel
Two for the Dough by Janet Evanovich

Disappointments:
I Know You Know by Gilly Macmillan
The Invisible Man by H.G. Wells

This was a good reading month, naturally books in The Best list were excellent, but the ones in The Rest list were also fine reading.

>138 VivienneR: I love these books, and they are fabulous on audio. I know what you mean about going through them too quickly - they are kind of like candy.

>146 Crazymamie: This one was in print because I didn't like the narrator (an American with a phoney posh English accent) whose voice distracted me from the book. I'm looking forward to others in the series in audio. Like candy, they are so very good. I even like Jackson Lamb!

category: Mysteries

Stranglehold by Robert Rotenberg

Rotenberg's last two mysteries were excellent but somehow this one ended up collecting dust, which was a pity because it was even more entertaining than the others. Right from the beginning we know who will be charged with murder and the courtroom drama was intense. The back story involves the election for Toronto's mayor. That the frontrunner is a (former Ontario premier) Rob Ford lookalike is barely concealed. Who said Canadian elections are boring?

category: Celtic

When All is Said by Anne Griffin

The elderly Maurice Hannigan toasts the five people who mean the most to him from a bar stool in a hotel bar. In doing this he records his life and a perfect example of Irish storytelling. This is Griffin's debut novel and I'll be watching out for more.

category: GenreCAT

Denial by Beverley McLachlin

The author is a former supreme court judge in Canada. Her first legal mystery was just ok and I expected this one to show some improvement, but it was not to be. McLachlin's writing is flat, pedestrian, missing the quality that would lift it up. The plot is ok, but the novel just didn't do the job for me. The dreary cover is a good fit.

category: AlphaKIT

Theodore Boone: Kid Lawyer by John Grisham

Theo Boones's parents are both lawyers, inspiring their only son to take an in-depth interest in local cases. He in turn encourages his classmates by getting them reserved seats at a murder trial. Grisham, through Theo, explains a criminal court case so that the reader understands what happens, what to look out for, and how the outcome is reached. This is a good criminal law novel for the intended young audience.

>147 VivienneR: I was curious, so I just checked my audiobooks, and I had forgotten that I read that one in print. All the rest are narrated by Gerard Doyle, and I love him.

>152 Crazymamie: I wonder if you read print because you didn't like the narrator either. Yes, Gerald Doyle is an excellent, I always enjoy listening to his voice. I have other Mick Herron books read by Doyle but I also enjoy his novels in print too. Sometimes I read and listen at the same time - that way I don't miss anything. :)

>153 VivienneR: Yes, I did - I remember now after looking back that I was not happy that Doyle was not the narrator and didn't like the sample I listened to of the other narrator. I love to read and listen at the same time - it feels like immersion, and I use that tactic a lot when reading classics or books that are harder for me to get into.

>154 Crazymamie: I was well into the audiobook when I realized I hadn't the foggiest idea of what was going on because I was so engrossed with the fake upper crust English accent of the narrator, and his occasional slips into his own accent. :)

category: Mysteries

The Twenty Three by Linwood Barclay

There is a lot happening here in this final book of the trilogy. Barclay is to be commended for his ability, in a few sentences, to remind the reader of the events leading to this point, a boon for those of us who read the earlier books some time previously. Although even then, I had trouble remembering names, and there are a lot of characters to remember. Randall Finley was my favourite character, a loudmouthed bozo, yet in some way likeable. The crimes were many, horrendous and some quite incredible (I don't recommend moving to Promise Falls) but the novel made an exciting finish to the trilogy even though the last few pages were a tad lacklustre.

>155 VivienneR: Too funny!

category AlphaKIT

A Palm for Mrs Pollifax by Dorothy Gilman

It is always fun to read about Mrs Pollifax, this time at a medical clinic in Switzerland while she attempts to track down stolen plutonium. A quick, enjoyable read.

category: MysteryKIT Ancient Greece and Rome

The Silver Pigs by Lindsey Davis

As I started reading it became obvious that I've read this before. As it's not recorded as such in my catalogue, it must have been pre-LT. However, I enjoyed it again. A Marcus Didius Falco story is never wasted time. The first in the series, Lindsey not only describes ancient Rome, but gives Falco a sense of humour - and a permanent job.

category: Series

Blue Genes by Val McDermid

This was another great Kate Brannigan episode, full of action and plausible cases. The trio of cases brought about some dangerous events. But it's not all treachery, Kate's wisecracks gave me some laugh-out-loud moments.

category: RandomCAT - Seasonal reading

A Frontier Christmas by William Johnstone

Westerns are not my usual fare but this one was on the library shelf and it looked worth a try. It was an engrossing thriller with the added heartache of a diphtheria outbreak along with the quarantine and treatment, all making it a more complex story. I enjoyed it but the number of bodies killed by gunshot wounds as well as disease increased alarmingly, with an untold final tally. Not sure if I'll try another one by Johnstone.

category: RandomCAT seasonal reading

Dachshund Through the Snow by David Rosenfelt

A Christmas wish tree leads Andy Carpenter to a boy who needs help and a jacket for his dachshund. A nice seasonal mystery with some courtroom drama and humour thrown in - and of course - dogs.

My favourite winter day when daylight hours begin to increase.

Wishing all my LibraryThing friends a wonderful holiday season!

category: RandomCAT seasonal reading

The Usual Santas with foreword by Peter Lovesey

I loved this collection of short stories. They were a change from the usual sugary fare found at this time of year and included some very dark stories. But my absolute favourite was The Usual Santas by Mick Herron, which was liberally sprinkled with witty lines. My favourite was "The buffet that year was particularly handsome ... There was a huge plateful of turkey and stuffing sandwiches; there were Christmas pizzas - deep and crisp and even more cheesy."

Some of the stories rated only three stars but the five-star story from Mick Herron brought the collection up to an average four stars.

category Mysteries

Let Me Lie by Clare Mackintosh

I had trouble maintaining interest in this. Alternating my reading with a riveting Ian Rankin book didn't help.

category: Series

Resurrection Men by Ian Rankin

Oh, this was a close call for Rebus! A couple of close calls actually. Rankin had me hanging on every word with this novel. Mind you, he manages that often. It was a complex plot involving an old case, Big Ger, naturally, and a classroom of cops needing a refresher course. Although Rebus steps out of line at times, he's straight and the person you would want on your side.

I hope you had a nice Christmas, Vivienne. It's been quite a rainy one here in NI, but apart from today generally pretty warm for the time of year.

>148 VivienneR: Thanks for the reminder about Robert Rotenberg! I'd read the first books in this series several years ago and just now, I saw that he has two newer ones I've not read yet. I really like his Toronto setting.

>168 AlisonY: Hi Alison, thanks for dropping by. We had LOTS of snow over three days at Christmas, then strong winds that whipped the snow into compacted concrete! With the help of neighbours we managed to dig out but now we are expecting more. We are currently experiencing an Arctic Vortex, which is as cold as it sounds. Still, the mountains are incredibly beautiful making up for everything.

Hope you have a happy and prosperous New Year with lots of good books.

>169 mathgirl40: I remember discussing the first book with you 'way back when I read it. I had forgotten him too and I'm glad I have the opportunity to go back to the beginning of the series. He is well worth re-reading. I've only been to Toronto a couple of times yet I enjoy the setting too. Happy New Year to you and your family Paulina!

category: HistoryCAT December: Discovery, Exploration

Ghosts of Everest: the search for Mallory and Irvine by Jochen Hemmleb

All my life I've been fascinated by Everest and the early climbers who faced incredible challenges to get to the summit. In all my reading Mallory has featured widely, and I know his story well. This book details the 1999 Mallory & Irvine Research Expedition, an expedition made with the aim of finding signs of Mallory and Irvine's 1924 climb. Only an hour and a half into a search of a vast section of the North Face they found a body. The climbers stood or kneeled around the ancient body, speechless. Initially they thought it was Irvine and even after seeing the name inside the shirt collar, they wondered why Irvine was wearing Mallory's shirt. Further examination proved it was Mallory. The question was, did he fall on the way up or the way down. The body as well as contents of his pockets and a pouch were well preserved, handwritten notes still clear. A photo of his wife that he promised to leave on the summit was not among his possessions. The reverence with which the climbers treated the body was quite moving.

Well written, fantastic photos: it gave me goosebumps. I fully believe (and always have done) that Mallory reached the summit in 1924 (nearly 30 years before Hilary) although it is a worthless claim without making it down again.

category: RandomCAT December: Seasonal reading

A Christmas Tartan by Paige Shelton

A cute novella set in an Edinburgh bookshop.

I won't be able to finish anything else this month so I'm calling it a year. This is how the month and the year worked out:

December Summary

The Best 4 - 5 stars: ❤️
Stranglehold by Robert Rotenberg
When All is Said by Anne Griffin
The Twenty Three by Linwood Barclay
The Silver Pigs by Lindsey Davis
Blue Genes by Val McDermid
The Usual Santas: A Soho Crime Anthology
Dachshund Through the Snow by David Rosenfelt
Resurrection Men by Ian Rankin
Ghosts of Everest: the search for Mallory and Irvine by Jochen Hemmleb

The Rest 3 - 3.5 stars:
Theodore Boone: Kid Lawyer by John Grisham
A Palm for Mrs Pollifax by Dorothy Gilman
A Frontier Christmas by William Johnstone
Let Me Lie by Clare Mackintosh
A Christmas Tartan by Paige Shelton

Disappointments:
Denial by Beverley McLachlin

Annual Summary
Books read: 194
Author nationality:
96 UK
38 Canada
39 US
21 Other countries (Ireland, India, Russia, Germany, Sweden, Trinidad, South Africa, Italy, Spain, Poland)

female authors: 95
male authors: 98

Top books of the Year - rated 5 stars ❤️
The Pigeon Tunnel by John le Carré
The Mirror and the Light by Hilary Mantel
Burmese Days by George Orwell
The sisters who would be Queen by Leanda de Lisle
The Second World War by Winston S. Churchill
The Woman on the Orient Express by Lindsay Jayne Ashford
My Stories, my Times by Jean Chrétien
Ghosts of Everest: the search for Mallory and Irvine by Jochen Hemmleb

Close to the Top of the Year - rated 4.5 stars
Leonard (my life as a cat) by Carlie Sorosiak
Troubled blood by Robert Galbraith
Love Story with Murders by Harry Bingham
Here we are by Graham Swift
Ghosts of Belfast by Stuart Neville
The Traveller by Stuart Neville
The Tomorrow Tamer and other stories by Margaret Laurence
Macbeth: a novel by A.J. Hartley and David Hewson
Pompeii by Robert Harris
Death at Windsor Castle by C.C. Benison
Far North by Will Hobbs
Raven’s cry by Christie Harris
Ratking: An Aurelio Zen mystery by Michael Dibdin
The Mission Song by John le Carré
Slow Horses by Mick Herron
Find you first by Linwood Barclay
A Cure for All Diseases by Reginald Hill
Pale Rider: the Spanish flu of 1918 and how it changed the world by Laura Spinney
Elevator Pitch by Linwood Barclay
Agatha Christie’s Secret Notebooks by John Curran
Dead lions by Mick Herron
Stranglehold by Robert Rotenberg
Resurrection Men by Ian Rankin

Happy New Year, Vivienne.

194 books - wow. That must average at something like 4 books a week.

Enjoyed your Ghosts of Everest review. Sounds like something I'd enjoy.

>175 AlisonY: It's amazing how they mount up, Alison, but I remind myself that some were quite short.

I'm sure you would enjoy Ghosts of Everest. The photos alone were worth 5 stars.

Happy New Year to you too. I look forward to hearing about what you are reading in 2022.

Can you post your 2022 thread here Vivienne so I can easily find you? Cheers.

>177 AlisonY: Glad to oblige! I'll look forward to a visit! :)

https://www.librarything.com/topic/336983

Lots of great reads that I've read too in your 4.5 stars list! Hope 2022 is another great reading year :)

>179 rabbitprincess: Yes, we share a lot of favourites! Happy reading in 2022.

Happy New Year, Vivienne.

We got more snow over night and I would say our total is somewhere around 15 cms. which is a lot for us West Coasters. I don't love the cold weather, but I would rather have this than the scorching summer heat we felt earlier this year.

>181 DeltaQueen50: I'm with you - as long as I don't have to go anywhere, I'm okay with this cold and snow. The heat on the other hand, is something you can't really escape from

>181 DeltaQueen50: I agree! 15 cms is a lot! I'll take snow any day over the heat we experienced this summer. Our temperature went up to 47C on the last day of June.

>182 Nickelini: And yes, snow is lovely as long as no driving is required. Our son would like us to visit him but he lives on a winding, narrow mountain road (also used by logging trucks) that I hesitate to attempt in current conditions.

Wishing you both a happy healthy New Year!

>182 Nickelini: >183 VivienneR: I agree about the snow. I actually love winter -- cross-country skiing, snowshoeing, even shovelling snow, as long as I can avoid driving in it as much as possible!

Happy New Year!

Happy New Year, Vivienne! What a great reading year you’ve had. And you’ve introduced me to some great books. The Slough House series is terrific. I wonder if Rankin will publish another Rebus. I’m all caught up, and would love another.

>185 NanaCC: I've just started another Rebus but they are becoming thin on the ground. I too hope Rankin continues publishing them. And I have another Slough House on the "up next" shelf. Happy New Year to you and your family too. I'll be keeping an eye on what you are reading.

Have you started a new thread, Vivienne?

>187 NanaCC: You can find me here Colleen! https://www.librarything.com/topic/336983