Hello Devenish,

I forgot to mention that I had checked out one of your favorite authors, John Dickson Carr. One of the local libraries has about 12 of his mysteries. I picked out "The Hungry Goblin" at random. It stars Wilkie Collins as a detective of sorts. It was a pleasure to read. I got a laugh out of one short conversation:

“On every possible occasion, you know, this man insists on being there hours ahead of time.
hereas this woman, like most women,” retorted Nigel, “likes nothing better than to cut it so fine she almost misses the train …” My wife and I frequently have this conversation.

Lähettänyt: HorusE 8:17 am (EST) Apr 11, 2008

Hello Devenish,

Actually I have not yet obtained “100 Favorite Mysteries of the Century”, although I note that it shares a common author and Edgar award with “They Died in Vain”. The other book we discussed was “A Catalog in Crime.”

“Revelation” has not been published yet in the US, but is due out in May. I look forward to reading it. I am glad to hear that Shardlake has returned. I had an extra copy of “Dark Fire” that I gave to our local public library, and I note that it has been well received there.

I have been exploring the statistics and there was an odd thing about “You and none other.” It seems to mean: You and one other. There was an odd bug, but it appears to have been fixed. How do you interpret “book obscurity?” I also find Local useful and Legacy of no interest. I have not pursued Talk and am not sure I will, but think Series is a great feature.

I recently finished “Pelagia and the Black Monk” by Boris , which was full of surprises and well paced. A friend loaned me “The Worst Hard Time”, a National Book Award winner by Timothy Egan. It gives the history of the American Dust Bowl, which I am reading now. It covers some of the Depression stories as well.

One feature that someone suggested was to have the profile show book or books currently read. It would e useful. Actually I thought I saw it once on someone else’s profile, but it did not reappear--maybe it was a test.

Horus is fast asleep after spending most of the great day we had (about 75 F).

Best wishes to yours

Lähettänyt: HorusE 7:20 pm (EST) Apr 10, 2008

Ooops - Michael Cox ..

Lähettänyt: Caesia 6:33 am (EST) Mar 25, 2008

Devenish

Thank you for the thoughts about english crime books - unfortunately at this stage I still have not yet popped all of my books into librarything - including crime fiction A-H .... However, you have managed to note a number of authors I enjoy - particularly the Matthew Shardlakes - I do have a number of the others - except Andrew Taylor - whose earlier works I read avidly, but then I lost interest. I don't know the Mathew Cox however, so shall look out for it. With regrads to the fourth Imogen Quy, living on this side of teh world often meands a longish wait for the books to appear here ( although not always)

Happy reading

Lähettänyt: Caesia 6:32 am (EST) Mar 25, 2008

Devenish

I am delighted that you think my library is "interesting"! I have had a look at your Books about Books and fear that it will result in an increase in books in my bookshelf...

I find it hard to recommend Australian Crime Fiction - partly because I am not sure what sort of crime you like reading, and partly because some of it I really like because it describes bits of Australia so it is a nice change to read about a place you actually know rather than one which has(generally) only been accessed through books - or TV. I don't know how well it will translate to another country. However, I can outline some of my favourites ...

I really like Shane Moloney - his protagonist is interersted in politics and it is set in Melbourne. I find him very funny - some of the scenes in the later books are really quite wicked. This is a series and although the books are possibly stand alone, i would recommend starting with Stiff.

Robert Wallace wrote four books in the late 80's/early 90's starring Essington Holt - (To Catch a Forger is the first)followed by a fifth in 2003 under his real name Robin Wallace-Crabbe. To me, Essington is a very Australian character.

Peter Temple writes well - Bad Debts is the first of the books that have Jack Irish as a protagonist, and he has written others.

Then there is Peter Corris - possibly the most prolific of current Austrailan crime writers - in general he is good.

Kerry Greenwood has written a number of novels set in the Twenties in Melbourne - of which I think the first couple are the best - Cocaine Blues and Flying Too High - the series then becomes much more formulaic and looses tightness of plot and detail.

I rather like Garry Disher who has written a series with Wyatt as the protagonist - perhaps more thriller than crime as Wyatt is a villain - Kickback is the first of these. He has written a second series with Detective Insector Hal Challis - as the protagonist - starting with the Dragon Man.

And of course there is Barry Maitland - with his Brock and Kolla series - although I am not sure if he is classifed as "Australian" he lives here - and his books are set in Britain - but he is good.

Happy hunting ...

By the way are there any BrRitish crime writers that you particularly like - whilst some of the more mainstream (ie big selling) authors get here, I think there are many that never grace our shores ... so any thoughts would be welcome ...

Regards

Lähettänyt: Caesia 8:14 am (EST) Mar 24, 2008

Hi Devinish,

Thought of you when I saw this travel section on Cathar territory:

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2008/03/21/AR2008032101521.html

Horus

Lähettänyt: HorusE 2:18 pm (EST) Mar 23, 2008

Hi

My library is now public if you were still interested. I note that we have (for me) a relatively high level of common interest) although your library is significantly larger and I am still trying to load existing books. ( And yes, like you, I am only putting in books that actually exist on my book shelf now / hence also providing a picture of actual book cover.) I too am considering CDs and DVDs but so far have no moved beyond books...

All the best

Lähettänyt: Caesia 8:46 am (EST) Mar 23, 2008

hello again Devenish,

Thanks for responding (and from the other side of the world, too. Isn't the Internet wonderful!)
Yes, I have several HP Lovecraft books. I started reading him many years ago, and as I remember had some sleepless nights as a result. As a matter of fact, I have only some of my collection here; you can find a full list (by shelf, not by author or topic, so it's a fun mixture) on my website.
Salley Vickers was kind enough to reply to the email I sent her about her books; that's a nice thing!
If you look at the fiction for adults page on my site, you should find some of the fan fiction I wrote about Blake's 7. As 'fanlit' goes, it's not too cringe-making.
Nice to chat with you,
Regards,

Lähettänyt: ariom 8:59 am (EST) Mar 19, 2008

Hi Devenish,

I figured out how to change the location under local. I had to click on the pencil.

I note that Bookstothesky referred to changing the library columns from ISBN to Google. I did not find ISBN under B, but under D. However I changed the cover under B to Google to get that Google.

As to the two books, I definitely recommend The Catalog of Crime.

Til later

Lähettänyt: HorusE 8:22 pm (EST) Mar 18, 2008

Hi Devenish,

I wrote up a "review" of the two books and you can find them under their titles.

"They Died in Vain" I should note does have rather through reviews of the 103 books selected by individuals who take their mysteries very seriously. Probably its "companion" book would be better as the books reviewed would be the favorites.

I am beginning to like the local material better as I get to understand it or as it improves. I was glad to find out how to remove a venue that I had duplicated. It is not clear exactly what is meant by "location"--it seems to refer to "state" only. in the US--but there is a limit to 100 miles. The zip (postal) code works well however. The zoom feature helps breaks up the clusters in Manhattan.

Lähettänyt: HorusE 4:35 pm (EST) Mar 18, 2008

Dear Devonish
Manning Coles is actually the pseudonym of two people, a man and a woman - can't remeber their names but I believe they were neighbours. The series features Tommy Hambledon, ex-school master and intelligence officer. The first one Drink to yesterday is about the first World War and ends with Hambledon falling into the harbour in Germany. Pray silence starts with him being rescued and losing his memory. He believes he's German and builds a new life and becomes involved in the rise of fascism. The night of the Reichtag fire he gains his memory just after being made Chief of Police in Berlin. The rest of the book has him putting spokes in the Nazis plans. The rest of the books takes him through the war and the cold war. The humour is mostly in the writing and the dialogue not the situations. I would recommend Pray silence as a starting point - the later books are not as good but have their moments. It's like most authors and Tv series, they always go on too long. Agatha Christie is a case in point, she lost her grip on plots as she got older.
Harrogate's not far away, I need two trains (one into Leeds and one out to Harrogate). I hope you patronised Bettys both in Harrogate and in York. The York one has the best atmosphere with the big windows looking out on to St Helen's Square and the fascinating World War 2 RAF mirror with the signatures downstairs.
Cimorene

Lähettänyt: cimorene 9:15 am (EST) Mar 17, 2008

Devenish,

Thanks for the Reginald Hill recommendation. Since I only "discovered" Hill six-ish months ago, and think his writing is great, I'm quite interested in finding the book.

I'm 124 pages into "Child 44" and it's definitely gripped me. If Smith's research is accurate, it really drives home how lucky we are to be living (or have lived) in Western society. More positive reviews have gone up on Amazon UK, so I'm moderately optimistic that a signed UK first/first would be worth tracking down and buying, either for later gain or just for the satisfaction of owning it. According to a photocopy of a Wall Street Journal article about the book/author, Smith is contracted for at least one more book, so maybe he'll turn into a big name thriller writer. I've ordered a signed copy for myself just for the speculative fun of it.

Last night I actually put to use one of the recent LT innovations, namely the ability to link to Google's Book information. I have my library set to the suggested "B" viewing type, so I took out the ISBN listing and substituted the Google book info in that column, because Google shows the ISBN of the book you enter and that information can also be found in the social info in the next column. What I like from Google is that a book's story synopsis usually comes up, plus there are sometimes links to book review sites. All in all, it will be a site improvement I will use frequently, I think, or others can use if they look at my library.

Speaking of my library, I haven't yet had the "pleasure" of a private library finding it of interest (at least, I don't recall any). The fact that you've had a couple of requests makes me laugh for the inequitable reason you set forth. I read on one of the talk threads of a private library that adds read, but not owned, books to its library, so that's one private library (ironically with "more" books than me, of course) I know is inflated; there are probably more.

That's all for now. Keep the faith:)

bookstothesky

Lähettänyt: bookstothesky 12:31 am (EST) Mar 17, 2008

Dear Devenish,
thanks for the lovely note you left on my profile. I have not actively sought out other LibraryThingers to chat with, but I noticed your library and was very interested in the comments you made on your page. I have heard a lot of talk about what can and cannot, should and shouldn't be catalogued on LibThing and I haven't come up with a definite opinion on it. I am torn between being repelled by the idea that people make their libraries look big by filling it with anything but the books they actually hold - much like Facebook and MySpace users fill their sites with 'Friends' they have never and will never talk to - and a resentment to yet more rules on what we can and cannot do. I like to leave everything up to the individual, with a hidden proviso that it may irritate me if it is done for the appearance of the thing rather than for its usefulness. After all, I cannot help it if something irritates me, but I'll try not to harp on about it.
If I had more (or any) time on my hands I would put my attention to creating a site that would hold all these extra things that we like to have listed - something especially for all us List people.
As it is, I agree that you should put your CDs on. You have the need to catalogue and so you shouldn't deny yourself. And if I look in any Library catalogue I can see CDs listed alongside books, and DVDs and videos and so on. Here I have contrived two arguments For, which makes me feel slightly better about the whole thing. Enjoy your Adding.

Lähettänyt: bezzalina 9:58 pm (EST) Mar 15, 2008

hello there Devenish,

What a wonderful collection you and your wife Vivien have. I also am envious and am adding you to my interetsing library list. I actually own a lot more than the slightly less than 200 I have listed; the full list can be found, if you are interested (along with other bits and pieces) on my own website (http://members.westnet.com.au/ariom ) Like you, I actually possess all my listed books, although I have probably slipped up on getting the exact edition for some of them. Aren't Sally Vickers' books a delight? And I see you also have Blake'7 - the books are pretty woeful compared to the series.
regards from Western Australia

Lähettänyt: ariom 9:05 pm (EST) Mar 15, 2008

Hi Peter,
Glad you find some of my books interesting. I'm in the process of putting all my books on, which is taking so long. I shall have more Northants books on soon and some crime, particulaly art crime. I am so enjoying putting all my books on and I'm doing that when I should be working (I work from home).
Where do you store all your books? Mine are taking over the house; there's nowhere for any more bookcases. I did suggest to my husband that we could buy a bigger house but I didn't receive a positive response!
Best wishes
Zoe.

Lähettänyt: TalulahBelle 1:08 pm (EST) Mar 15, 2008

Hello, Peter!

Thank you for the kind words about my reviews. I think my inclusion of the first line dates back to a continuing game a penpal from Middleborough and I had when we were teenagers. We'd send a series of first lines of various books we'd read and see how badly we could stump each other. Some first lines are much more memorable than the rest!

Hope you and yours are well, and that you aren't being torn apart by the high winds in the UK. A friend in Durham had to catch the train to London today, but the train schedules were such a mess due to the weather that she wound up returning home and tele-conferencing instead!

--Cathy.

Lähettänyt: cathyskye 12:37 am (EST) Mar 13, 2008

Hello Devenish,

Glad to hear that the earthquake was not too severe. I do not recall any of note here in eastern WV. I recall being in a slight earthquake in souther Greece (Naplia) once, just thought is was someone very heavy walking around in the floor above.

I have picked up one book by van de Wetering as a remainder: Just a Corpse at Twilight. It particularly caught my eye at it is set along the coast of Maine. I grew up in that state, but way inland. Most of the relatives I have left there now live along the coast however. It is pretty depressing inland. Since you mentioned this author I decided to make it my next book to read. Just finished it and found it a pleasure, will have to pursue his mysteries further. The author has an amusing way of disposing of the bad guys (the bad sheriff and his deputy). Mentions marijuana growing along the coast. Had not hear that before, but had heard of some pretty good crops grown further inland.

I had not seen that poetry reference before, but I see that they have it at the local university library in the reference section. Will have to check it out.

I notice that one of your favorite authors is John Dickson Carr. Although most of his books are out-of-print, there is a public library in the next county, 8 miles away, that has a very large building and has kept his books. I picked out "The Hungry Goblin", at random, and it was fun, has Wilkie Collins as an assisting amateur detective in investigating an attempted murder at a home called Udolpho.

Talk to you later

Lähettänyt: HorusE 2:47 pm (EST) Mar 12, 2008

Whoops, I just re-read the part of your profile about entering music and I see that you did not, in fact, enter your movies as I thought, so my apology for my faulty memory. Maybe I'm wrong about Tim, too:).

Lähettänyt: bookstothesky 1:25 am (EST) Mar 12, 2008

Hello Devenish,

Very nice to hear from you, amigo. I saw one of your posts yesterday on someone else's library and thought to myself that I hadn't checked to see what you're up to for a while, but you beat me to the punch.

I am fully recovered from the nasty sinus infection (I think. I'm turning into a bit of a hypochondriac now whenever I get any little headache-ish pain:), thank you for asking. I'd never had such an infection before and, natch, I got the less common type above the eye, so it felt like someone was drilling into my brain through my forehead; I don't recommend it, at all.

"Court of the Air" hasn't been released over here yet and it hadn't come up on my radar while doing one of my periodic UK website searches, so I wasn't familiar with it. Your review seems to mirror some of the reviews on Amazon UK regarding the confusing aspects of the story. Since 1/3 of the people reviewing it really disliked it, and you're review was only so so, I think I'll pass on it. I've got way too much stuff I'd rather read. Speaking of that, I'm about to embark on the reading of an advance copy of one of your countryman's books called "Child 44." It's a mystery/thriller set in Stalin-era Russia. The book has received all sorts of positive hype and Ridley Scott is supposedly making it into a movie and, so far, the book seems to be living up to the hype if the Amazon reviews are anything to go by. I've become increasingly fascinated with Russian set mysteries and thrillers over the last 5,6,7 years, though I'm not completely sure why; I'll let you know what I think of the book when I finish.

I hope your earthquake didn't do much harm. In the first few years that I lived in Southern California the only quakes I experienced were these kind of rolling ones where the clothes swing back and forth in the closet; kinda fun, I thought. Then the Northridge quake hit around 4:20 a.m., if I recall correctly, and I thought the world was ending. There was no chance to get out of bed for the first 20 seconds or so, the shaking was so ferocious. My antiquated computer monitor was thrown 6 feet off the desk and landed right next to my wife's head (I was still living like a college student with a mattress on the floor in those days). I thought for sure that my old apartment complex would collapse, but it came through relatively unscathed, while many of the newer buildings around me were seriously damaged. The condo complex next door fell completely off it's foundation and went from 20 feet away from our building to around 5 feet away. The very scariest thing for me though, where I really thought I was going to die, was one of the aftershocks. I was leaving work on a Sunday afternoon (back in my "corporate" days when weekend work was fairly common), and I was taking the elevator down from the 16th floor. Next thing I know, the elevator is shaking from side to side, the lights are blinking on and off, and I'm thinking I'm a dead man with a 12 floor drop about to happen. Luckily, those tiny signs that say there's little chance of an uncontrolled drop are correct. I was stuck in the elevator for a couple of minutes, then it went up a floor and let me out. I was down the emergency stairs in a flash and was quite shocked to find the world going on as usual when I hit daylight. It sure felt like a major quake had hit, but it was just another aftershock in the 5.3 range on the Richter scale. So, those are my scary earthquake stories, so I can definitely sympathize with being rudely awakened in the wee hours by Mother Nature.

With regard to our presidential race, I'm not following too closely, though I heard on the radio today that Obama won in Mississippi, with the votes seriously skewed along racial lines (91% of blacks for Obama, and 73% of whites for Clinton, I believe). I've been following the scandal erupting around Eliot Spitzer, the Governor of New York, much more closely. I just don't get how people in positions of power (and the former Attorney General of the State of New York, to boot) think that their sexual escapades are not going to get exposed to the world, sometime, somewhere. It seems to be a relatively minor legal violation, so far, in that he was "just" paying for sex, but the ethical violation bothers me a lot more. Everywhere I turn these days, it seems ethics are being freely disregarded. I sometimes wonder if having a sense of ethics and/or a conscience shouldn't be considered a handicap in today's world.

Sorry to hear about your lousy weather, too. It was just another boring day of 76 degree sunshine over here:) It's going to drop to a teeth-chattering 72 degrees tomorrow, so I'll have to bundle up, heh.

I haven't read that Philip Kerr book yet (big shock) but it's good to know you liked it; I'll get to it someday.

Don't get me started on the LT local pages. They're cool, no doubt, and will get even cooler, as you say (if I may paraphrase), as more content is added, but...didn't Tim say a few months ago that collections was next on the agenda?? Is my memory that defective? I'm just getting fed up with being passed on the Zeitgeist list by schools, actual lending libraries, businesses, private libraries (who cares how big these are, we can't admire their contents, so give 'em there own list, I say), and the usual inflated library suspects. I'm seriously thinking of joining you in the addition of music and movies to my library, and one of my friends is constantly encouraging me to enter my comic collection under the theory that comic books are a) called comic "books" and b) are sold in bookstores; I'm sorely tempted, let me tell you.

I'm also annoyed right now, because I just found out that what I thought was the third book in Jo Nesbo's Harry Hole series (called "Nemesis") may actually be the second book, despite being published third; makes me want to give the publisher a collective smack upside the head.

On a brighter note, I've been reading books by Australian author Peter Temple, and I'm really enjoying his writing style. I highly recommend "The Broken Shore," as well as his Jack Irish series beginning with "Bad Debts." The Aussie slang is very entertaining to try and decipher, too; reminds me a bit of reading Ken Bruen and trying to figure out your UK slang.

Well, that's all for now. Keep yourself dry over there and I'll talk to you later,

bookstothesky

Lähettänyt: bookstothesky 1:14 am (EST) Mar 12, 2008

Dear Devenish
I'm always pleased to find people who own similar books. My collection is by no means as large as yours, but I have had to be ruthless recently as I don't think under the bed in boxes is a good place for books. Being a retired cataloguer I've been enjoying inputting books again, even though Librarything is nothing like the system I used at work.
I don't collect all of Edgar Wallace, merely the Sanders books and the Four Just Men. My father started me reading detective stories when I was a child, beginning with Margery Allingham and Naomi Marsh. I suppose that's why I've continued to like the "cosy" genre rather than the hardboiled - my father didn't like the Mickey Spillane school of writing so that genre didn't cross my horizon until I was old enough for the adult library. You'll remember the days when the librarian didn't allow you to take adult books on junior tickets.
I have recently completed my Manning Coles and Phoebe Atwood Taylor collections, but am still searching for hardbacks to replace collapsing paperbacks - perfect binding is the bane of book collectors! I find Skipton the best charity shop location but I think all charities know the value of old books and it's rare to find anything but modern fiction. Old children's books are a dying breed except at book fairs. Have you noticed the dearth of old books in your charity shops? I'm going to the big fair in Harrogate at the end of the month. It used to be in a hotel in the centre but it's moved to the Yorkshire Showground, so it'll be fun getting there on public transport.
Cimorene

Lähettänyt: cimorene 6:35 am (EST) Mar 1, 2008

Hello Devenish,

Thanks again for the reference to The Secret of Lost Things: A Novel. I enjoyed it but had to reread the final pages a couple of times to understand the ending. The store reminds me a bit of The Strand Bookstore in Manhattan. The store does sell review copies. Needless to say it has more than one cashier and has a bag storage on entry. I am somewhat puzzled as to what time frame is presented in which the protagonist could survive on $70/week in Manhattan.

Just finished Appleby and Honeybath, by Michael Innes. Fun reading. Enjoyed the literary references--my poetry background is limited--but Google came to the rescue. A few words beyond my American Dictionary.

HorusE

Lähettänyt: HorusE 8:02 pm (EST) Feb 25, 2008

Thanks for leaving my first comment! I am slowly building up our list and it will take a while to make it more representative and to apply some tags. So if you do want to check it out, you might want to wait a bit. Getting used to how this site works, I doubt I've scratched the surface. Unlike your collection, ours resides largely at the public library--the idea of owning 10,000 books makes my head spin! Best regards, arbjrm

Lähettänyt: arbjrm 10:07 am (EST) Feb 22, 2008

Hello Devenish

Hope you don't mind but I had to add you to my Interesting Libraries as most of the books we share are 4+ stars! Must admit to the green eyed monster at the size and scope of your library - one day, one day. I see you are adding your music collection, I haven't attempted that as yet but will be interested to see if we have a kindred taste in music, although my musical tastes are even more eclectic than my reading.

Lähettänyt: dorisdayrules 11:03 am (EST) Feb 17, 2008

Somewhat later than expected, I`m about to start reading Cheyney`s Dark Wanton - I`ll let you know how I get on with it !

Best,

Nick

Lähettänyt: nickhoonaloon 3:17 pm (EST) Feb 15, 2008

Hallo.
Your collection is amazing, and I am actually a bit envious :-)
I see you like misteries, crime fiction, wich is also a passion of mine. I am uploading my books, a few at a time, I home to be finished before the spring. It will be interesting then to see how many books we share.
Also, your library gave me a lot of new titles-ideas!

Cheers from Canada
Caterina

Lähettänyt: crnfva 10:33 am (EST) Feb 12, 2008

Hello,

I have started The Yellow Cross, but it is requiring some considerable concentration. The first chapters deal with the geography of the area, the villages, the rivers and other essential elements of the topography. The third chapter lists all the families of Montaillou and where their houses are located, and it begins to outline the characters (religious affiliations in particular). There are some beautiful photographs of the area described. Interesting history.

I found the book by Emmaneul Le Roy in the university library in town under the title: Montaillou: The Promised Land of Error (American edition). In examining the surrounding stacks, I noticed that this libary has a large number of volumes related to inquisitions. Since the school has not recently taught courses related to religion, this is somewhat surprising. Probably some faculty member who had an interest had requested them to be ordered.

Thanks for the reference to Lynne Truss. I remember a review of some recent book related to punctuation, but can't remember the author.

Please that you enjoyed the article. I was surprised to find it outside the Book Review section.

Am also reading the Prodigal Spy, by Joseph Kanon--he writes good thrillers. The story relates to both the Joseph Mcarthy Senate hearings on communists infiltrating the State Department and the Vietnam War.

Lähettänyt: HorusE 8:30 pm (EST) Feb 6, 2008

You have a most desirable library! I will be looking at your mysteries! And you even addressed the question of not enough space. You are fortunate to have a house - I have a small townhouse and no way to build any additions!
sara

Lähettänyt: saraLlewellyn 2:20 pm (EST) Feb 6, 2008

Hello Peter,
It is very nice to hear from you and I am sorry I have not sent you any message for a while, but I have been rather busy fixing photos to my books on Librarything.
I do think that a lot of crime and mystery books by authors from Sweden have become very popular in the English-speaking world lately. There are Hakan Nesser, Henning Mankell and Steig Larsson to name a few. Sadly enough Steig Larsson died before his books became famous.
My favorites are Colin Dexter, Ruth Rendell, Ian Rankin and Peter Robinson so if you can recommend books by some other author who write that kind of books I will be very grateful.
As we have 416 books in common I feel that we must like the same kind of crime and mystery books.
It is supposed to be winter in Sweden but the climate is not what it used to be. Since the middle of December it has been snowing for two or three days and then it has been warm for a couple of days and the snow has disappeared. After that the snow has returned again only to vanish in a few days and so on.
All the best,
Bengt

Lähettänyt: Bengan 4:05 pm (EST) Feb 5, 2008

Hi Devenish,

Thank very much for passing on the book references. I have not yet read the book about the Cathars, but will let you know my reactions when I do.

I came across and interesting essay about mysteries, thrillers, romances, and horror stories as great literature in the Week in Review of the Sunday edition of The New York Times. There are references to a suit by Joan Brady and some discussion concerning John Banville,Ian Rankin, and Stephen King. You might catch it at:

www.nytimes.com/2008/02/03/weekinreview/03mcgrath.html?_r=1&ref=weekinreview&oref=slogin"

There is a final comment on "The Turn of the Screw", where the writer notes that James talked about "trash", but his ghost story was one of his best.

My wife and I just returned from an Elderhostel class in Key West, Florida--the southernmost spot in the "48" states. An Episcopaleon priest gave a talk describing his congregation, which has two very different groups--a winter group from the North (snowbirds) and the full-timers. Part of the congregation is very high church (three services). I had just finished Sovereign by C. J. Sansom, where there was a reference to Henry VIII frowning on rosaries--so I was startled to see rosaries for sale in the Parish Hall.

Lähettänyt: HorusE 7:29 pm (EST) Feb 3, 2008

Hi,
I've added you to my "interesting libraries" list, if that's alright. I especially admire (and covet) your collection of books about espionage and the Special Operations Executive. I don't know if you watch "Foyle's War", but there's one episode where the fledgling SOE plays a key part in the mystery and most of the action takes place at one of their training facilities.
Cheers,
Erin

Lähettänyt: wunderkind 12:10 am (EST) Jan 31, 2008

Hello Devenish

I was just looking to see who else had books by Celia Dale and you popped up !

Your catalogue of books is fantastic,I have about 1500 and am running out
of space !
I myself am a Midlands girl, (Nottingham) although have not been there for a few years now.
I love Celia Dale books and am always looking for them,but have not yet managed to find a photo of her anywhere to add to my catalogue.
I am reading an Edmund Crispin book at the moment "The Moving Toyshop" saw someone mention him so am assuming he is also in your library !
I love reading these vintage books possibly because I am also vintage !

Regards........Shirley

Lähettänyt: shirley8 6:42 am (EST) Jan 30, 2008

Hi,

I appreciate your comments about having only catalogued the books (and only books) that you physically own. I have just about finished cataloging my library (count = 2433) excluding my wife's cookbooks which haven't been started, and am interested in seeing how our library stacks up against other libraries. One of us, if not both of us, have physically read or at least referred to every book in our catalog. Our catalog would be 3-4 times larger if we listed everything we had read, but not owned or been able to keep. I am distessed to find that many of the larger libraries are inflated by not-reads, like-to-haves, once-owned, etc..., so I really don't know where we stand overall.

And then there is the question of music recordings, video and the like. Library thing offers an attractive tool for cataloging this stuff as well - but they should not be confused with the genuine article - books! What I plan for our collection of CDs and vinyl records is to count these in a separate non-book catalog.

Regards,

Bill

Lähettänyt: BillHall 10:52 pm (EST) Jan 28, 2008

Hello Devenish.
Thank for getting in touch. I'm going to go back in in a minute to delete that bit about being very elderly. As I explained to another LTer, I was just feeling a bit elderly on the day I made the entry and was also suffering from recently having joined in with another forum (which shall remain nameless) and finding that everyone else there seemed to be about 15. I'm even beginning to suspect that I was subconsciously longing for people to write in and tell me I'm not really so elderly at all, as you have done, so it's starting to feel a bit self indulgent. You're right - I'm a mere spring chicken - thanks for that!
Couldn't agree with you more about this being addictive. I always thought I was a great lover of reading but I suddenly find I'm spending more time logging and talking about the books than I am reading them, so not sure what that says about me. Some self-discipline is going to be needed. I haven't actually got bad enough yet to start buying books just to bump up the numbers but I am falling victim to the syndrome where, every page I look at mentions some book or other that I start wishing I had, so my wish-list is getting longer and longer. I shudder to think how long it must have taken you to add all your books!
I'm definitely adding your list to my 'interestings' - there are so many there it would be a poor soul indeed who couldn't find something of interest.
Happy reading!

Lähettänyt: Booksloth 11:30 am (EST) Jan 27, 2008

:D I know what you mean when you say that it just makes you want to buy more and more books. In my case however I always want to buy books. As Erasmus says "When I have a little money I buy books... if any left over i buy food and clothes." :) I'm always buying books. Thank you for the welcome!
SanityDemolisher

Lähettänyt: SanityDemolisher 11:30 pm (EST) Jan 24, 2008

Hi Devenish,

We thank you for your good wishes and wish you the same.

I have The Templars, by Read, but have not had a chance to read it yet. I got interested in the subject after reading The Last Templar, by Michael Jecks.

I noticed that you recently added to your catalog: The Yellow Cross: The Story of the Last Cathars: 1290-1329, by Rene Weis. I bought one after I saw your entry, as the subject is of particular interest.

I actually did not see the movie, The Golden Compass, since I did not think my wife would be interested--but did see The Atonement, which we both enjoyed. Maybe I will catch the DVD.

My introduction to Gorey was the Mystery series on our PBS system (mostly of
English origin). I just recently started collecting some of his books, but nothing on his life.

I will have to keep my eye open for The Fall of Troy, I don’t think it has been published here yet.

Among other I got a new book on World War I, by Meyers I recall.

Lähettänyt: HorusE 5:12 pm (EST) Jan 22, 2008

Hello Devenish,

I think you're right, everything does seem to be functioning correctly. I may have mixed up the functionality of LT (which I'm still learning!) with that of other services such as MySpace and FaceBook, which I use for music contacts.

Thanks for your help.

Don

Lähettänyt: Hohenloh 10:52 am (EST) Jan 22, 2008

Devenish,

Well, Sandman is where Gaiman made his name, so you may want to try out a graphic novel and see if you like it. Though I do own some comics and the Absolute Sandman, Vol. 1, I've never read any of the stories, so I'll refer you to these reviewers: http://www.amazon.co.uk/Sandman-Library-Preludes-Nocturnes-1/dp/0446393630/ref=ed_oe_p?ie=UTF8&qid=1200973725&sr=8-2
It appears the graphic novel Preludes & Nocturnes reprints comic issues 1-8, but you may need to go to the next graphic novel, The Doll's House, before the storylines really begin to take off.

I went through about 20 of my mass market boxes, but no luck with American Gods. I'll continue next weekend when my back has recovered from throwing the boxes around (really, from bending over them searching, I think:)

Enjoy your wife's books. UK science fiction author Peter F. Hamilton wrote on his blog, after he brought Fletcher Christian back from the dead in a book, how he was surprised by how many people didn't know who he was, mostly Americans. Sadly, that kind of describes me when you start mentioning various 'shires and parliament vs. royalist, etc:)

Thanks for the recommendation for The Secret of Lost Things; I'll give it a look when it comes out in paperback over here in March. If you haven't done so already, you may want to recommend it to HorusE, what with his recent trip to the Strand bookstore, the apparent basis for the Arcade Bookshop.

Talk with you later,

bookstothesky

Lähettänyt: bookstothesky 12:36 am (EST) Jan 22, 2008

Hi Devenish,

Happy New Year to you! Did Father Christmas bring you lots of books or were you a bad boy last year?

I just thought I drop you a note about a forthcoming Edward Marston book that I hope will live up to the lofty description, here: http://www.amazon.co.uk/SOLDIER-FORTUNE-Captain-Rawson-1/dp/0749080523/ref=pd_bbs_sr_5?ie=UTF8&s=gateway&qid=1200861168&sr=8-5

I figure you probably know about it, but just in case... I hope it's better than C.C. Humphreys' "Jack Absolute," the supposed revolutionary war 007.

I'm spending the day pawing through my paperback boxes to find Gaiman's American Gods since I figure it's high time I read something by him and that's the book that most interests me. If only I'd thought to tag and number the contents of each box while I was entering them on LT; Ah, well, it'll motivate me to get them out of boxes, I guess:)

Take care,

bookstothesky

Lähettänyt: bookstothesky 3:42 pm (EST) Jan 20, 2008

I think I could learn a lot by keeping an eye out for your library - so I hope you don't mind if I add you. I like many of your favourite authors and could do with some more inspiration.

Cheers,
Karen

Lähettänyt: kiwidoc 4:16 pm (EST) Jan 18, 2008

Hi Devenish,

I did finish The Golden Compass, by Pullman. I enjoyed the fantasy. It was interesting how the author introduced the radiometer. I did get to New York City and while there one son, wife, and I went to see Atonement--which we enjoyed. I know my wife would not care for The Golden Compass, no interest in fantasy. Over Christmas my other son introduced me to Good Omens; which was the first Gaiman book I have read.

I was given Agent Zigzag, by Ben Macintyre, for Christmas. A true story and a great thriller. Alway fun to see how the Enigma machine was used. Zigzag was certainly one-of-a-kind.

I wallowed in the Strand Bookstore in NYC, but mainly picked up paperbacks, which are lighter to carry. Did get one hardback, Book Row, "anecdotal and pictorial history of the antiquarian book trade" in NYC as well as the history of the Strand. Most of the bookstores mentioned succumbed to rising rents, TV, and urban development.

Horus the cat and I

Lähettänyt: HorusE 8:01 pm (EST) Jan 14, 2008

Hello Peter,
"The Anatomy of Bibliomania" was the book that conducted me to your library and made me decide to put you on my "interesting libraries"list. I visited your profile sometimes before, but now Holbrook Jackson gave me just that little push...

When you have a look at my catalog, please remember everything is still under construction and will be for some time to come for the reasons I enumerate in my profile, but also because there is a life outside LT. Actually I've done only some 10% of my whole library. The picture is therefore very incomplete as it is now. But some elements are emerging. This authorizes me to think we will have many more things in common once I have made some progress...

Happy reading,
Jan Willem (the Dutch version of John William)

Lähettänyt: JanWillemNoldus 4:08 pm (EST) Jan 13, 2008

Dear Devenish,
Today I added you to my "interesting libraries" list. Why? Well, because you have so many interesting books and also because you speak of your books in a way I recognise very well...
Greetings from Paris!

Lähettänyt: JanWillemNoldus 9:50 pm (EST) Jan 12, 2008

Thanks for the recommendations,
The only author on your list that I'd read is Andrew Taylor - I especially loved 'The American Boy', but I've read anything I can find by him; his style of writing is easy and his plotting sound.
The others I'll look out for - McDermid sounds worth chasing down, so I've made a note of it, to look for sooner rather than later :)
Thanks again!

Lähettänyt: trishtrash 7:31 am (EST) Jan 11, 2008

To be fair, I only clicked 'add to interesting libraries' because there isn't a tab for 'add to libraries of which you are deeply envious and to which you aspire', although I suppose it's implied!

I would love any crime/sci-fi recommendations you could throw me - anything a little out of the norm or overlooked.

And yes - I spotted your Jackson quote and thought of the similarities to Gaiman's: both are meaningful to me, as I have moved to a town in the West Midlands with no bookshops at all, and - tho charity shops abound - none are particularly book-friendly. It's like living in a desert. Thank god for Amazon... but how I miss my second-hand rummaging!

Lähettänyt: trishtrash 5:57 am (EST) Jan 10, 2008

Glad your Two Antiquaries has found its mates. From your library, you'd probably be interested in one of the books Santa Claus left for me -- Butchery on Bond Street by Benjamin Feldman. The jacket claims "sex and butchery" in 1850s New York. It's near the top of the to-be-read pile.

Lähettänyt: Larxol 10:11 am (EST) Jan 3, 2008

Hello again,

Delighted to hear that you have acquired the Two Antiquaries!

I thought you might also be interested in Michael Willaims as John Aubrey - Theatre Programme 1998. It was a great show - an experience I will never forget!

Kind regards, Zoliomastix

Lähettänyt: zoliomastix 9:58 am (EST) Jan 3, 2008

Hi Devenish,

Just back from a few days in Co.Wicklow and a Xmas Day swim in the Irish sea !!

There are a few copies of the Correspondence available on www.abe.co.uk
The ISBN is 1900838117. Hope this helps.

Wishing you and yours a Very Happy 2008, Zoliomastix.

Lähettänyt: zoliomastix 3:58 pm (EST) Dec 29, 2007

Hi Devenish,

I just ran across the author of one of my fantasy recommendations to you (Patrick Rothfuss/The Name of the Wind) recommending--on his blog--the "Russian setting fantasy novel with a positive Gaiman blurb on the cover" that I mentioned to you, and that novel is "The Secret History of Moscow" here: http://www.amazon.co.uk/Secret-History-Moscow-Ekaterina-Sedia/dp/0809572230/ref=pd_bbs_sr_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1198639965&sr=8-1

And, a very Merry Christmas with wishes for lots of books right back at you (though it's maybe a bit late by the time you read this:).

bookstothesky

Lähettänyt: bookstothesky 10:45 pm (EST) Dec 25, 2007

Hi Devenish,

I have not had a chance to read the Pullman books yet, but got them since I had read so much favorable about them as fantasy. I have not seen the movie either, but I have been following the movie reviews of the Golden Compass. The Week, a weekly news review, collected a few reviews.

San Francisco Chronicle: “children’s version of an adult book … the film retreats from its controversial source and settle for being a run-of-the-mill …”
Time: “To avoid controversy and attract holiday audiences, director … has purged his film of most religious allusions. What’s left is a ‘secularized and sanitized’ version …”
The Atlantic Monthly: “… it does present his actual story in an often-thrilling manner … proves The Golden Compass to be a myth with some meat.”

The review confirms that the book is considered an adult book in the US. It is interesting that it is viewed differently in the UK. I had thought of it as in the juvenile genre.

I look forward to seeing the movie as well as reading the book.

Probably the most interesting books I have read recently were The Book Thief by Markus Zusak and The Radetsky March by Joseph Roth. I recently finished The Devil’s Doctor (Paracelsus) by Philip Ball, a London denizen. It was somewhat slow reading, but interesting history of science. The last books I’ve read were Disco for the Departed by Colin Cotterill. and Excursion to Tindari: An Inspector Montalbano Mystery by Andrea Camilleri. The latter were both good mysteries, the former involved a coroner in Laos.

Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year!

Lähettänyt: HorusE 9:09 pm (EST) Dec 22, 2007

Oh and I forgot to add about Travels in the Scriptorium by Paul Auster. Strangely enough it is one of the few books I have catalogued that I have not yet read (I haven't given it a rating, all my titles without ratings are unread, about 5% of my current librarything catalogue), but one of my new years resolutions is to read some Auster, although I don't think I'll start with Travels in the Scriptorium, its a metaphysical novella 'on the exploration of language and the passage of time', or so the dustjacket says, I'll probably read the Brooklyn Follies first.
Merry Christmas

Lähettänyt: whiteroseofyork 9:08 am (EST) Dec 21, 2007