Cushla's 2011 books - chapter 6

Currently reading:

The Story of England by Michael Wood - p 260
The Calculus Gallery by William Dunham - slooowly with pen and paper - STALLED



Chapter 4 is here.

Chapter 3 is ...here.

Chapter 2 is back here.

Chapter 1 is here.

____________________

I'm leaving in this list of books I made at the start of the year. I won't get through all of them this year, but they're on my radar.

War and Peace by Leo Tolstoy FINISHED JUNE 2011
The Magic Mountain by Thomas Mann
A Place of Greater Safety by Hilary Mantel
Nixonland by Rick Perlstein
Rough Crossings by Simon Schama
Citizens by Simon Schama
This time is different by Carmen Reinhardt and Kenneth Rogoff
Life and Fate by Vassily Grossman
Testament of Experience by Vera Brittain
Anna Karenina by Leo Tolstoy
The rise and fall of the 3rd Reich by William Shirer
Germany 1945 by Richard Bessel -
Masters and Commanders by Andrew Roberts
The Lacuna by Barbara Kingsolver
The Children's Book by A S Byatt
Death by a Thousand Cuts by Michael Graetz and Ian Shapiro READ IN DECEMBER 2010

January
1. Case Histories by Kate Atkinson - 4 1/2 stars - Orange January and TIOLI first in series
2. As Always, Julia by Joan Reardon - TIOLI Christmas present - 4 stars
3. The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks by Rebecca Skloot - TIOLI top LT books of 2010 - 4 stars
4. A Concise Chinese-English Dictionary for Lovers by Xiaolu Guo - 1 star
5. Manhattan, When I was Young by Mary Cantwell - 3 1/2 stars
6. Dissolution by CJ Sansom - 4 1/2 stars

February
7. Dark Fire by C J Sansom - 4 1/2 stars
8. A Fork in the Road: A Memoir by Andre Brink - 4 stars
9. An Unfinished Business by Boualem Sansal - 4 1/2 stars
10. God's Philosophers by James Hannam - 3 1/2 stars

March
11. Mornings in Jenin by Susan Abulhawa - 4 1/2 stars (TIOLI Middle East challenge)
12. Major Pettigrew's Last Stand by Helen Simonson - 4 1/2 stars - TIOLI City on p 17 (Split)
13. Black Mamba Boy by Nadifa Mohamed - 3 1/2 stars - TIOLI City on p 17 (Aden)
14. February by Lisa Moore - 4 1/2 stars

April
15. Sovereign by C J Sansom - 5 stars
16. Revelation by C J Sansom - 4 stars
17. The Secret Lives of Baba Segi's Wives - Lola Shoneyin - 3 1/2 stars - TIOLI Orange longlist
18. The Pleasure Seekers by Tishani Doshi - 4 stars - TIOLI Orange longlist
19. A Month in the Country by J L Carr - 4 stars
20. The God Delusion by Richard Dawkins - 4 1/2 stars
21. The Magician's Nephew by C.S. Lewis - 3 stars

May
22. Children of the Revolution - also known as The Beautiful Things that Heaven Bears - by Denaw Mengistu - 4 stars
23. The Terracotta Dog by Andrea Camilleri - 4 stars

June
24. War and Peace by Leo Tolstoy - 5 stars
25. Miss Buncle's Book by D E Stevenson - 5 stars
26. Henrietta's War by Joyce Dennys - 3 1/2 stars
27. The Imperfectionists by Tom Rachman - 4 stars
28. O Pioneers! by Willa Cather - 5 stars
29. Every Light in the House Burnin' by Andrea Levy - 3 1/2 stars
30. The Globalization Paradox by Dani Rodrik - 4 1/2 stars
31. Schachnovelle (Chess Story) by Stefan Zweig - 4 1/2 stars
32. Far to Go by Alison Pick (touchstone wonky) - 3 1/2 stars

July
33. Troubles by J.G. Farrell - 4 stars
34. The Snack Thief by Andrea Camilleri - 3 1/2 stars
35. Miss Ranskill Comes Home by Barbara Euphan Todd - 3 1/2 stars
36. The Solitary Summer by Elizabeth von Armin - 3 1/2 stars
37. Moonwalking with Einstein by Joshua Foer - 4 stars
38. The Warden by Anthony Trollope - 5 stars
39. The Reluctant Fundamentalist by Mohsin Hamid - 4 1/2 stars

August
40. The Stranger's Child by Alan Hollinghurst - 5 stars
41. The Return of Captain John Emmett by Elizabeth Speller - 4 stars - TIOLI unusual main character name
42. City of Thieves by David Benioff - 5 stars - TIOLI 3 words and middle one is "of"
43. O: A Presidential Novel by Anonymous - 3 1/2 stars - TIOLI "one word sounds like a letter"
44. Lords of Finance by Liaquat Ahamed - 5 stars - TIOLI 3 words, middle one is "of"
45. Cooking with Fernet-Branca by James Hamilton-Paterson - 3 stars - TIOLI Europa Editions challenge
46. The Novel in the Viola by Natasha Solomons - 4 stars - TIOLI music in the title challenge

September
47. I'm Not Complaining by Ruth Adam - 3 1/2 stars - TIOLI school challenge - also wins the prize for the most ironic title of the year
48. The Periodic Table by Primo Levi - 5 stars - TIOLI Jewish challenge
49. Man Alone by John Mulgan - 4 1/2 stars - TIOLI NZ/Australia Challenge
50. The Sense of an Ending by Julian Barnes - 5 stars - TIOLI book recommended by tags (etc) challenge
51. Nothing to Envy by Barbara Demick - 4 1/2 stars
52. The Death of Faith by Donna Leon - 3 1/2 stars - TIOLI primary colours challenge
53. Zoo Station by David Downing - 4 1/2 stars - TIOLI set in Germany challenge
54. Sarah Thornhill by Kate Grenville - 3 1/2 stars - TIOLI NZ/Australia challenge

October
55. When the Emperor was Divine by Julie Otsuka - 3 stars - TIOLI English reading list challenge
56. The Ghost at the Wedding by Shirley Walker - 4 stars - TIOLI Monster in the Title challenge
57. No Fond Return of Love by Barbara Pym - 2 stars - TIOLI fewer than 150 conversations challenge
58. Maisie Dobbs by Jacqueline Winspear - 3 stars
59. Germany 1945 by Richard Bessel - 5 stars - TIOLI fewer than 150 conversations challenge
60. A Noble Radiance by Donna Leon - 3 1/2 stars

November
61. Pereira Maintains by Antonio Tabucchi - 4 stars
62. Homesick by Eshkol Nevo - 4 stars
63. the Bethlehem Murders by Matt Rees - 4 stars
64. Black Like Me by John Griffin - 5 stars
65. The Age of Innocence by Edith Wharton - 5 stars

December
66. The Looking Glass War by John le Carre - 2 1/2 stars
67. Silesian Station by David Downing - 5 stars
68. A Palace in the Old Village by Tahar Ben Jelloun - 3 stars
69. Stettin Station by David Downing - 5 stars
70. Potsdam Station by David Downing - 4 1/2 stars

Surely makes me first Cushla in your transitional phase so to speak! Transitional apartment - about to transfer back to NZ and transitional thread! Starred of course.

That makes me second! Hope the transition goes smoothly for all!

I'm all for smooth transitions. Hope all is going well for you and your family.

Now this is great - the new thread gets automatically starred!
"Smooth transition" and "Happy Return Home" from me too!!

Hi Cushla. I love the fact that this thread was automatically starred for me :-)

I also loved the video of your removal efforts on facebook. Hope the last few days go smoothly.

Good luck with the move, Cushla!

Cush, this is wonderful, all auto starred AND not losing touch with you.

Oh look, I have you starred and didn't even have to click on the little star myself ;)

Great, this is the first thread that I follow which I've found automatically starred following the new continuation feature.

Now we'll have to find something else besides 'found you and starred you!' at the start of a new thread!

It worked! by which I mean the continued starring of the thread...

Very cool!

I loved Age of Innocence too. If you are ever interested, the movie starring Daniel Day-Lewis, Michelle Pfeiffer, and Winona Ryder is very accurate to the intention and language of the text. The actors actually quote directly from the book. Directed by Martin Scorsese. I liked Ethan Frome too, but I'm from New England and therefore biased. :-)

Are the kids excited to be going home, or do they feel like they are leaving home?

No reading going on at all but many many sudoku puzzles later, we are in Hong Kong. (Paul I am waving at you across the sea. Well kind of.) We fly home tonight.

#13 Lisa, the kids are excited because we have talked about NZ so much. I don't know how much Teresa will remember of it but she thinks of it as home till. And I will look for the movie of Age of Innocence. I'm keen to read more Wharton soon!

It's really fun to follow your travels, Cushla. Welcome almost-home!

Nice to hear from you. Hope the end of your trip is uneventful.

Waving back Cushla but you're moving too fast to see me I guess! Safe journey home and hope to hear from you re your travels and homecoming in due course.

Safe last leg of the journey, Cush! You are the embodiment of intrepid.

Wishing you a safe and happy arrival home!

Hope you are beginning to settle into home once again and enjoying the change in weather.

Oh no! I think I must have missed a whole thread! *gasp*
Woops, glad Ive found you again
YAY back to NZ, will you be living in Wellington? Im heading to there on Monday for 2 nights with little Lenny and partner. Hotel living here we come!

Welcome home, Cushla! Does the unpacking begin yet? ;-)

Are you home now?? Say hi to HK for me...
Can't wait to hear what it's like to be back after two years away!

I hope you and your family have had a drama-free trip home Cushla. Welcome back to sunny (!) Wellington :-)

Auckland just scored 3rd best city to live in the world, Cush!

We're in Auckland - it's Wednesday morning and we arrived Monday afternoon. Today we head to Wellington. It is fantastic to be home!!!! (It's also 4.46 am and I am wide awake, but this is a huge improvement over yesterday when I got up for the day at 1 am...)

It is really neat to read all your messages - thanks. The trip back couldn't have gone much better. Both kids were amazing, especially on the planes. We adored HK - Tim is like a local there. He hasn't lived there, but his parents did before they emigrated 50 years ago, and he feels at home there. His Cantonese is woeful and it was really funny watching him try to speak. He understands it perfectly, which made him get even more frustrated. And it was the first time I've been in a city where I had no ability to communicate with lots of the locals. We stayed in Lan Kwai Fong and were really near Graham St markets. The kids loved seeing all the food! We also got the Star Ferry over to Kowloon and went to a huge shopping mall (it was right there). Fletcher insisted on finding the bookshop and it was worth it - huge kids' section and we left with more Geronimo Stiltons. I bought nothing!!

We both can't get over how relaxed and friendly New Zealand feels and how normal we feel again. We have an overwhelming sensation of not having to think at all about doing anything and everyone from the rental car guy to people in the supermarket have beaming smiles on their faces. We missed that badly - the Swiss tend to be more reserved. We took the kids to the playground (Aucklanders - the one at Okahu Bay near Kelly Tarltons) yesterday and stayed an hour and a half hours because they were tearing around yahooing. In Basel we often felt like we had the loudest kids, and the playgrounds tended to be very busy. And we've spent lots of time with Tim's parents and Fletch has read the first Captain Underpants to Mama and told her his knock knock joke (who's there, I'm a pile up) several times.

I have managed a bookshop trip - to Time Out book in Mt Eden, which is lovely. I'd forgotten how expensive books are. I mean, I knew, but I hadn't seen $30 (US $24) up on paperbacks for 2 years. I did buy 2 bargains though - Great Expectations for $13 and Disgrace for $10. And I'm hoping to make it to Wadestown library this afternoon!!

Am getting through my John le Carre (The Looking Glass War) but unless it improves it's going to be a 3 star read.

Megan!! PM me where you'll be and if you'll have any free time. I have my T Coll interview on Monday but might have time for a coffee on Tuesday or Wednesday if you do? I would love to see Lenny!

Ok, novel over, time for some Vogels and honey and a coffee. Will try catching up on here in the next day or two.

Cushla, your happiness beams are reaching me all the way across the globe. Makes me very happy for you!!

And that knock-knock joke ... I've never heard that one!! I'm reading this when I shouldn't be, and as I thought through the next line in the joke I almost snorted audibly. Which would have been embarrassing.

This reminds me: I'd love to see another of Fletch's fine book reviews!

Anyway, welcome home :)

Glad to see your travels have gone well!! Sounds like you are quite happy :)

Wow the energy is just leaping off the page Cushla. I'm so happy that you are so happy to be home. Kids going crazy on the playground sounds wonderful.

So glad you're so happy to be home, despite the costly books!! (Hopefully, the Kindle will offset some of the pain -- not to mention the library!)

I had to laugh when I realized you've already managed a bookshop trip within your first 48 hours home, though!

Ah, Home Sweet Home. I'm smiling with you, Cushla. I know you had some incredible experiences in Europe, but *sigh* now you are home. And you and Megan are going to have coffee together. I guess I didn't realize you two lived in the same city. Cool!

There's no place like home, there's no place like home, there's no place like home....

Welcome home!

>31 Donna828: Hi Donna, NZ is small, but I still have to take a 45 minute flight to get from Christchurch where I live, to Wellington where Cushla is.....we are taking a city break there for 2 nights so will try for a mini-LT-meet-up :)

Ah see you found my favourite haunt " Time Out book in Mt Eden" good stuff ......

Oooh and I think I've forgotten to mention this, but when you've got some free time go see Unity. It's way bigger, brighter and even better than before!

Alana I tried going in yesterday but got the husbandly "NO not now"!! It looked very swish even from across the road. But I did manage to buy a Kindle and go into the library (and go to Floradita's for breakfast, the Goethe Institut, the bank and get a new mobile phone). The jetlag is wicked - am up at 1 am again today while the rest of the family sleeps. Teresa fell asleep at 2 pm yesterday, woke for dinner for half an hour, and is still sound asleep but will no doubt be up for the day soon.

ETA that I'll be back when this very loud keyboard isn't going to wake up the 3 sleeping people.

Ugh--jet lag. I feel tired and grumpy just thinking about it.

Right - everyone is awake now so I can type loudly. Hello Laura, Chell, Bonnie, Donna, Suz, Alana, Megan and Tui! I will catch up on your threads soon.

Laura, I have passed on your request for another book review to Fletcher. It will probably be a Captain Underpants one. You might want to prepare yourself for 7 year old boy humour.

Lisa, I'm a morning person, which I think helps - but I don't remember it being this bad on any other trip! It must end soon. Fletcher seems to have come right and slept till 6 am this morning.

I finished book 66 (and I'm going to have to race to make 75). It was John le Carre's The Looking Glass War, and it was a 2 1/2 star let down. I gave the 1st and 3rd books in the Smiley trilogy 5 stars, and the 2nd one 3 1/2 I think, but I found all the characters in this one unlikeable (except Smiley himself, who is important in the book but not a main character) and the plot too bleak for my mood. It's set in 1964, and instead of focusing on the Circus (MI5) the action is set in the Department, the poor cousin of the Circus since the end of the war (and responsible for military intelligence). Its spies have been sitting around for nearly 20 years doing very little, until they get wind of a possible rocket base in East Germany. As usual, the characterisation was excellent (hmmm... maybe it was really a 3 star) and the details of bureaucratic infighting great. But I think one of the reasons I loved the Karla trilogy is that I desperately did not want George Smiley to get killed, and he was so smart. This bunch were so clueless it was clear from the start how it might end up.

I've just set up my Kindle. It's so light!! And it's still linked to our German amazon account, which I think is a good thing. And there's a secondhand bookfair on this morning in the suburb we're staying in. I'm going to sneak out without getting noticed...

Hi. Just a fly-by to say I'm glad you got home safely.

Glad to see you arrived safely Cushla. Le Carre can be a little hit and miss can't he? Loved The Spy Who Came in from the Cold and generally most of the the ones with Smiley in but he doesn't always pull it off.
Nine books to go - I think you will find the southern air conducive to hitting the target!

New Zealand for Christmas...excellent!

Welcome home, and I too look forward to more reviews from Fletcher.

Great news on nearly getting to your target... i'm gunning for 52 and will definitely make it (unless a bus runs me down in Cuba Mall next week!).

ooo welcome home! Can't believe you were at Mt Eden at Time Out Bookshop. I generally walk up to the village from work every work day at about 11am on a lunch break.. if you were there during that time we may have passed eachother on the street :) Next time you are in Auckland I highly recommend The Bookbarn in Newmarket, it's in the same building as Farmers opposite 277. Brand New books for $10

I heard you guys got a wicked jolt last evening... hope you are ok :)

Hi Janet, Paul, Jeanne, Katherine, Megan and Lisa - thanks for popping in.

Thanks for the earthquake well wishes Lisa - Megan I hope your mini-break up here is earthquake free!!! Last night's jolt was the worst I've felt in Wellington in 20 years on and off and gave me a tiny idea of what it must be like for you - but one was plenty for me thanks. We were eating dinner when it happened and first there was a crack, then a big jolt. We all went under the doorway and Fletch was wrapped around my waist like he hasn't been for years, and Teresa was very upset (oh and having her brother explain to her that people died in earthquakes really helped a lot!!). I know where all Mum and Dad's earthquake supplies are now though :) They're down in Nelson on holiday and didn't feel it at all.

Megan, 52 books the year you have a new baby is awesome.

I took my brand new Kindle to Jungelrama (an indoor playland) this morning and got through a chunk of Silesian Station while the kids ran riot. I love that everything is synced with the books I've already bought on the ipad - and no more competing with the kids for screens!!

Have got my interview for the teaching programme tomorrow so everyone cross your fingers... hopefully I find out tomorrow if I have a place.

Only one of the other flatmates and I were home last night, but that earthquake certainly got our heart rates up a bit. We were still thinking about whether we should be under a table or in door frame when it ended, although both of us were on the edge of our seats and ready to bolt!
Good luck with the interview tomorrow.

Good luck with the interview.
Re-earthquakes - we're too far north to have felt anything, I hope Teresa is settled and not having ongoing anxiety. There was an excellent picturebook written about the Christchurch earthquake that she might appreciate, Quaky Cat by Diana Noonan.
Where did you pick up the kindle? I'm toying with the idea of one but thought I should trim some of the Mt tbr book towers round my house first.

Alana I didn't know whether it's table or door - friends today have said table - let's hope we don't need to practise it again!

Kerry I'm going to look for that book. Glad you missed the quake. I'm planning a wee trip to the Children's Bookshop to pick their brains about books for Fletch, whose comprehension seems a whole lot better than I'd realised. I want him to keep reading books that he loves but the Aussie Bites ones I've been grabbing for him are suddenly really really easy. Anyway, I bet they will have Quaky Cat there. T seems ok today but still prone to floods of tears.

Got the kindle at Dick Smith for $189. I don't even think it was a great deal but it said CHRISTMAS SPECIAL in huge letters so how could I not buy it?

Loving the Christmas spirit :)

Hope the jet lag is starting to level out - and that you're enjoying the Kindle. I love my reader.

Welcome home Cushla, hope you have a great meet up and get to see Megan.

Glad you and your family are safe. How do you like the kindle?

Sorry to hear about the jet-lag and earthquake (eep!) but glad you have a kindle to enjoy!

The jetlag's gone - I made it to 5.45 am this morning, and that's normal enough. And I'm loving the Kindle!! It goes everywhere with me and I have yet to leave it on a bus or do anything stupid. I'm reading Silesian Station on it and it's excellent.

Had a great time catching up with Megan (IreadthereforeIam) yesterday! We had breakfast in town with Lenny (who is as gorgeous as the pictures over on her thread) then were at Unity when it opened. Megan was restrained and I was not... but mostly it was books for the kids. I bought two for Teresa - Poo Bum and The Wonky Donkey - and 3 for Fletch, including the first Chronicles of Prydain book which the bookseller thought he might like. I know they are popular on here but haven't read them. We'll probably read page about until he gets into them and to check that it's not too scary for him. I'm looking at the reviews and seeing that it's young adult so am not sure if it's going to be good for him or not.

And I bought Scoop by Evelyn Waugh and When God Spoke English: The Making of the King James Bible for myself.

Glad you had a nice meet-up with Megan and got some good books. I can't remember how old Fletch is but (7 from msg 39). I remember reading the Chronicles of Prydain as a class at primary school when we were 8 or 9 I think so hopefully they will be ok.

Hi Cushla- Im back home now, away from the rain but into cool (very cool) temperatures. We had a great great great time away and I ended up coming back home with 9 books in the end :)
And silly m I found my camera in another bag at the hotel so I kicked myself and then took a photo of all my books to put on my thread later :)
Great to meet you in Wellington, here's to another meet up there next year maybe??!?

Your meet up with Megan sounds delightful. All good wishes are sent your way for time to settle into your new environment!

Megan, another meetup in 2012 would be great! I'm glad you had such a good break from Christchurch. Today, at last, looks like being a decent summery day and I hope you have one too.

I finished Book 67 - Silesian Station by David Downing - and gave it 5 stars. It's the second in his John Russell series and was even better than the first, Zoo Station. In this one, most of the characters from Zoo Station are back and things are even tenser because it's August 1939 and war is around the corner. The book opens with John returning from a trip to the US with his son Paul, and before he even lands he gets a telegram concerning Effi (his girlfriend) and the Gestapo. It gets worse from there. Extremely highly recommended if you like WW2 books and/or spy thrillers.

I found out yesterday that I've been accepted for my teacher training programme next year. I'm delighted! The course starts on January 20 and runs right through till next December, so I am going to be busy. I'll be doing maths as my first teaching subject and German & French for my second. Expect lots of course-related books on my 2012 thread...

Wow CONGRATULATIONS!!! Are you studying at Vic? Secondary? In Auckland the teaching programmes are in high demand with limited numbers so getting in to a programme is hard so well done!! The year will be intense but worth it :)

Congratulations! I think it's great when professionals go back and teach school. You will have so much to offer!

And I've definitely got to check out David Downing. His books sound perfect for the upcoming holidays. (Strange choice perhaps, but you know what I mean!)

Congratulations, Cushla. You'll be a wonderful teacher!

Hey- great job on getting in to teacher training. You'll be a busy lass.....

Congratulations on the teacher training program! How nice that things are falling into place so soon after your return.

Congratulations you have a busy year ahead of you.

Congrats Cushla.

58- Cushla, that's wonderful news. You will be a great teacher. Will you be completely finished at the end of next year?

58: Congrats! And it's soon!

It's been so much fun catching up on your thread, Cusha. Congrats on scoring yourself a Kindle .. I don't understand why books are so expensive in Australia and New Zealand ... seriously! Don't the governments want people to be literate and well read?

Congrats too on the teacher training programme.

I just love all the energy and joy that's bouncing off your thread in buckets!

Congrats on your next step in education Cushla. I'm sure you will make a wonderful teacher. I have to get to Zoo Station which I have but I just need to get to it.

Congratulations Cushla!

Great news, Cushla, congratulations.

Congrats Cushla! That's great

Great news Cushla on the teacher training - you are sure a fast mover having got back less than a 100 hours earlier!

Congratulations indeed, Cushla!

On Chronicles of Prydain - I hope they won't be too scary for Fletcher. I can't quite remember how old I was when I first had a copy, maybe around 7 or so - but I do remember that the cover on my copy looked scary, which put me off reading it for a year or two. When I did, I found that the book was nothing like as scary as I'd imagined from the cover (but then I was a bit older, plus my mind can cope better with scary words than scary visuals, I think). That series became one of my childhood favourites in the end, and I would definitely think of it as 'children's' rather than YA. Anyway, I hope they hit the right note for Fletcher sooner or later.

Congrats, Cushla! What wonderful news! I can't wait to hear all about your teacher training in 2012.

Thank you all for your lovely messages - they really mean a lot to me. Yes I am thrilled and can't wait to get started.

Kiwiflowa Lisa, yes it is secondary training and yes it is Victoria. The TColl campus is very near our house - a 5 minute drive or 20 minute walk up the hill to Karori. My first subject's going to be maths and second is German (and French at a push)so the study in Basel has paid off. (They would have taken me based on my university German results 20 years ago but I wouldn't have been confident about it.)

Labsf39 Lisa (there are too many Lisas here!!), I think you will really like David Downing's books.

Genny, we haven't got into Chronicles of Prydain yet but I liked the first chapter. We are housesitting at the moment (have moved from my parents' place) and the first Harry Potter is here so we might start that tonight.

I finished book 68 , my first from Wellington library and a good example of a random book on their recently acquired display - Tahar Ben Jelloun's A Palace in the Old Village. I enjoyed it and gave it 3 stars, but felt that the last third let it down. Mohammed emigrated from Morocco to France as a young man and has lived on the outskirts of Paris for many years with his wife and 5 children. He's a quiet, good worker who keeps to himself and goes back to his old village for 6 weeks every year. Now he decides it's time to retire. He doesn't want to die in France - he wants to go back to Morocco and build a big house there to live in with his children. But his children have grown up in France and are French.

Recommended if you don't need much plot in your books and like internal monologues. I'm really pleased that it fits the current Reading Globally theme read on immigration - I haven't managed to fit my reading into RG's schedule much this year and am going to try harder next year. I'll be looking for This Blinding Absence of Light by the same author.

Sorry, I'm late, but I want to say I'm so glad you and the family arrived safely back home!
And congratulations on the teacher training program!

Maybe the books in NZ are so expensive because of transport costs? Or are there regulations like in Germany that forbid the booksellers to sell at cheap prices?

I guess your Kindle will remain registered on amazon.de as long as you don't change the country in your account data. When I tried to register for amazon.de last year, they told me it wasn't possible as long as my Kindle was registered in Italy.

Congratulations on getting accepted to the teacher training programme! I'm looking forward to the maths books already :-)

The David Downing books sound like they would be perfect for my husband (and then I could read them too).

>77 Deern: one reason our books are expensive could be our weak dollar. It baffles me.

Books in Australia and New Zealand are more expensive in order to support our local publishing industry. We have local editions of popular overseas titles and the revenues from these support the small print runs of local writers who would otherwise remain unpublished.

Kerry - But wouldn't that be a deterrent to getting more people reading if they can't afford to buy books? I don't have the answers of course, but just wondering ...

Up until the advent of online shopping and especially bookdepository with it's free shipping we didn't have a choice. New Zealand has even then been one of the highest book buying per capita nations .
Here you can't do the mass paperback print runs that are the norm in countries with large populations. Most local print runs are around 2,000.
We also have to pay 12.5% GST on all our book purchases here whereas online purchasing is tax free.

Here's a blog post that explains the Australian side: http://missadventureporting.blogspot.com/2011/06/parallel-importation-or-why-are...

Glad you're back safely and have lots of good news like the teacher training. I've just started reading Zoo Station, so far so good, I have the other two as well as the Book People had all 3 on offer.

Kerry, that was interesting information, thanks!

It's a good thing you now have options for e-books and online bookstores that offer free shipping to New Zealand.

>82 avatiakh: thanks for that, Ive wondered what the story is with our $40 paper backs. Makes sense I guess *grumble grumble*

Hi Cushla!

You sound so excited to be back home (and I don't blame you--New Zealand is wonderful--though we did have a heavy snow storm when we were in Queenstown in early Nov.). Congratulations on your acceptance to teacher's college. That was one of the things I was considering doing when I went back to work, but the cost of the program for the teaching certificate (2 years) was prohibitively expensive so I stayed a lawyer.

This Blinding Absence of Light was one of my top reads a couple of years ago. I'm pretty sure you'll like it.

Hi Cushla, congratulations on the Teaching course - it sounds like a fun and busy year ahead. And, can I add my thanks to Kerry for that info on book prices down under. I always wondered and despite grumbling a bit, it makes so much more sense now.

#82 - Would reinforce what Kerry was saying. In Malaysia the book shops are not bad but certainly not on a par with London, New York and other major cities in the West. Book Depository and Amazon and E-Bay help fill in the gaps at a good price. I can cheat as I send books by Amazon and e-bay to my mums in Northern England for free but I can get Book Depository delivered direct to my office for free. (Why the office and not my home- readers of my thread will recall the fear generated by a loving wife of 16 years who has directed me to reduce my book buying activities!)

I've been missing on my own thread again - we are still housesitting and I'm not getting much computer time.

I would like to see book prices come down significantly here and I think that they will as online shopping and e-books continue to grow, and if self-publishing somehow becomes more credible (although I know I steer well clear of self-published stuff and put a lot of faith in some publishers' mark of approval.) I think non-fiction has gone up less than fiction while we've been away and have been finding quite a bit of it for around the $30 mark, which I can almost stomach for a solid book that I will struggle to read in one library lending period.

New Zealand stopped limiting parallel imports back in 1998 so we are different from Australia now, where there are still restrictions. I don't think there's anything stopping a bookstore from importing a big pile of books and selling them at whatever price they want to. I had a quick look and found this submission from an Australian library group on parallel importing restrictions in Australia - there's an interesting bit in it about the NZ perspective on page 7.

http://www.pc.gov.au/__data/assets/pdf_file/0008/85886/sub252.pdf

I think that the flip side of supporting our publishing industry is the cost to putting off young readers (and old) through very high book prices, and reducing the future demand for books. Plenty of kids don't have any books and who can blame their parents when the new copy of The Wonky Donkey that I just bought was NZ$26? I am a huge fan of indpendent bookshops, and am still buying in them, but much less often. I was in Marsden Books (a really good independent in Karori where we're staying) to get a book voucher and was really pleased to see there was a queue of 6 people doing their Christmas shopping, so there are definitely tons of people here who still love books and are prepared to pay lots for them.

In happy NZ-author-related news, NZ is the Guest of Honour at next year's Frankfurt book fair which should result in some fantastic publicity and sales for NZ authors. Here's the website|: http://www.nzatfrankfurt.govt.nz/ The government's pouring money into it - just announced another $1 million for authors on Friday.

I downloaded the 3rd and 4th David Downing thrillers to my Kindle yesterday and am well into Stettin Station, the 3rd. It's excellent! I've also been reading an interesting non-fiction about the building of St Peter's in Rome, but it's not as exciting as Stettin Station...

#87 Deborah, I'm glad you had a great time here - the weather is whacky though. It's going to be 14 here today and it is so cold we have the heaters on. I have a ton to catch up on on your thread! I think if my teaching programme had been 2 years I'd have thought twice about the cost.

Cush, are the Downings available on ebooks? I've just ordered the first 3 for one of my lads for Christmas. Are there 5 out now?

Yep Tui I've got the first 4 as Kindle books (that's on the German website but probably available in Canada too). I think there are only 4 so far. Potsdam Station's the 4th. I hope he loves them as much as I do!

That's the second Christmas book salvation you've given me. Germany 1945 is sitting under the tree for Himself!

ETA: I'm thinking of getting a Kindle for myself in the new year and would order those for meself, which is why I asked.

So how do you intend to celebrate Christmas in NZthis year, Cushla? Are you including any Swiss traditions?

Tui, eek, I hope they both like their presents (but I think they will.)

Caro, we are having Christmas lunch with my parents and Tim's sister and husband. We still have our stuff strewn between their place and where they're housesitting and life is quite chaotic, so no Swiss traditions this year... it will be all I manage to get the kids' presents out of the air freight boxes and wrapped in time!! We're going to be having roast duck if we find one and chicken and I hope Mum has made her Christmas pudding.

The kids have swimming lessons every day this week - should be good reading time while I watch with one eye.

Hi Cushla, I'm probably going to read Zoo Station in February, thanks to you. I'm looking forward to it. I'd like to get the last Jackson Brodie out of the way and one more of the Julia Spencer-Fleming series just to keep my series reading under control. Hah as if anything to do with my reading involves control of any sort.

Bonnie I read Case Histories at the start of this year and loved it, so I might be the other way round from you and read the 2nd book in February. I seem to be a bit out of control with library books at the moment though so am trying not to make plans...

Swimming lessons! Awesome, I hear 70% of NZers cant swim the 200m that is apparently the life saving distance....I used to be able to swim a continuous km but cant say I could now....:/

I still own the wee swimming jacket I had when I was 8 that has all of my swimming badges and I could swim for 1 hour continuously. My Dad was very particular about us all knowing how to swim.

Cushla, I've been to two local butchers this week and they both had whole frozen duck for sale.. have a look at your local and you may get lucky and find your christmas dinner.

Käsefondue or Raclette and the NZ summer maybe wouldn't go well together anyway? Will the presents be given on the morning of the 25th or will the kids insist on a Suisse Bescherung on the 24th?

Thanks for the info on the Frankfurt book fair. I've never visited it, not even in my Frankfurt years. Friends of mine have been there, but they all said it was too big to really be enjoyed if you're not there on business and with the invitation of publishing houses. I'd still like to go there some time. NZ is definitely an interesting "guest of honor" country, so it would well be worth a visit this year.

I don't know how the situation is in Switzerland, but in Germany we have the 'Buchpreisbindung' which forbids the big discounts, also for the sake of the independent book shops. They are planning something similar here in Italy. My own experiences with indie book shops are mixed, and I usually prefer the bigger ones. The small ones in Frankfurt either had clueless employees who forever recommended the latest Rosamunde Pilcher novel or they were owned by one of those scary intellectuals who openly hate you if you buy something that's not their own taste.
The indies here however are okay, and they have nice and helpful staff.

I finished reading Zoo Station last night and I agree with Cushla that it's really good. I've dug Silesian Station out of my boxes already. I have a spare copy that I am happy to send in the UK or Europe if anyone would like it, as I found it in a charity shop then the first 3 were available as a set from the Book People new for £5 (as RRP for each is £7.99, Amazon price £6, this is a great bargain and I'm very happy to have the other two ready lined up.

There are a few Australian/NZ books I'd love to read that aren't available in editions published here and in the US - they're coming on to Kindle but at rather scary seeming prices. Maybe I'm just getting to be a scrooge in my old age - I have paid that amount for hardbacks and trade paperback here in the past but it's rare that you need to now.

#92 - I think there is a fifth books scheduled here in the US in May 2012.

Luci, I have sent you a PM about Zoo Station - or did you mean Silesian Station was the spare? Either way, I'd love to have it, as I really want to red it.

Janet, it's Zoo Station, the first. It's yours.

Cushla - Christmas and swimming ... hmm.... interesting concept. Does Santa wear shorts in NZ? Love roast duck though .... wish I could get my in-laws to consider duck or goose for Christmas dinner.

#106 That actually made me laugh out loud - I'll also be swimming on Christmas day - and in the sea no less. But for us it's an act of insanity on a beach generally in the icy wind and barely above freezing. Great fun though.

>106 cameling:, Father Christmas sweats it out in a santa-suit and big old beard here in NZ! Poor fella, bet he takes a dip at the beach before he heads off to Australia where it's even hotter :)

Thanks to all the praise for the David Downing books and to Luci's tip about The Book People, I've just ordered the first three as Christmas presents for the husband as he loves spy stories (and I can read them when he's finished *evil laugh*).

Santa might be wearing shorts here in Canada. No white Christmas this year! Totally bummed about it.

Downing has at least two more books in this series still to come, the good folks at Soho Press told me at BookExpo back in May. "Lehrter Station" will be the next, then there's an unnamed one to follow. I didn't like Potsdam Station quite as much as the others, but it's a different format, set as Berlin is falling to the Russians. It will be interesting to see how Downing moves the series forward in the post-Nazi era! But then the Cold War offers lots of plot twist opportunities, esp. given how he has set up a background for his fictional John Russell...

Me here - but about to go offline for EEK about 10 days (well, except when I am at Mum and Dad's place). We are moving back to our house over the next couple of days but won't be getting the phone or broadband or wifi till December 29th. I hope I get a chance to set up my new thread before then!

I finished Stettin Station and gave it 5 stars, and I'm already 20% through Potsdam Station. Even with the Matthew Shardlake books I had gaps between the books (and am yet to read the 5th) but not with these - thank goodness I downloaded the 3rd and 4th at the same time. Catarina1, I will be on the hunt for Lehrter Station once it comes out.

Tui, as Suz said above, the 4th book is set in Berlin at the very end of the war and I think you need to steal both your son's and husband's books back as soon as they've read them, because Potsdam Station is a great book to read alongside Germany 1945.

Santa will be wearing merino here, unless it warms up. The swimming lessons are indoors at a school pool so not too chilly. Leonie and Megan, you are both putting me to shame - I am quite ok at backstroke but useless at real swimming and adult learn-to-swim-properly lessons are on my list of things I must do one day. Bekka, you are indeed insane doing your Christmas swim. It'd be bad enough here! But we did get wet at the beach last week - we took the kids up the coast to Peka Peka Beach to go shellfish gathering. We found plenty of tiny pipi (a bit like clams) and threw most back in but brought a few home for the kids to try. It was great fun and next time we go I'll take my camera.

Nathalie, I think that there's a price fixing arrangement in Switzerland too, but compared to NZ books were still cheap, so I didn't notice it. Over here the independents usually have great staff - friendly and with lots of good ideas. Some of the big shops do too but much less often. And the kids will be getting their presents on Sunday morning, if I get the Christmas shopping finished in time!

Luci that is a fantastic price for the first 3 David Downing books. Heather, I think you will like them, oops I mean your husband will.

Right I am going back to Potsdam Station while the kids sleep in. The poor book about St Peter's Basilica that I was reading first is looking a bit neglected.

I'll just wish you a Happy Holidays now and hope the unpacking etc goes well.

Thanks Kerry, you too!

Thanks, we should be celebrating Hannukah, but I missed the first night by being in Hamilton visiting family. Hopefully I can make up for that tonight.

Cush, hope you and yours have a lovely Christmas. Look forward to hearing from you again when you are all wired up.

Merry Christmas Cushla! Good luck with the move, too.

I wish you and your family a happy Christmas, Cushla!
Good luck with the move, it must be wonderful to finally be back in your house.

Hi there, Cushla!! I've just caught up with all the positive info on your thread and it looks like 2012 is shaping up to be an extraordinary year! Merry Christmas to you and yours!

Kerry I hope you had a lovely late first night of Hanukkah!

Tui, Laura, Nathalie and Lynda, I hope you all have wonderful holidays. (I am about to come thread-visiting but first I have to rescue an overflowed bowl of porridge in the microwave.)

lol, it must be cold if you're having porridge. Sticky sticky porridge....good luck cleaning that up :)

Megan it was for Teresa (not much overflowed, phew) and I had to find my summer clothes yesterday because at last it was too hot for jeans, woo hoo!!! More beaut Wellington days forecast too.

Finished Potsdam Station at 4 am - woke up at 2 am, started reading, and couldn't put it down. So now I have to wait months for book 5... aaagh. Downing describes the total destruction of Berlin in the final weeks of the war in Europe in great detail, and I was desperate to find out what happens to John, his son Paul, and his partner Effi (who gets joint billing with John Russell on the cover of this one). I hope Downing has loads of inspiration left in him because I can't wait to see what he does with the rebuilding of Berlin, the development of the Cold War, and post-war life in both Germanies.

5 books to read in 8 days - not looking good!!

Hope you and all the other Kiwi posters are OK after the quakes???

Hope all is well and you have a Merry Christmas. See you in the New Year? Or will you be hooked up before then?

Cushla - 2011 has been made special for me by discovering LT. I have enjoyed reading of your adventures throughout the year, with visits to European capitals and your relocation back to New Zealand. Have a lovely christmas and I hope that the new year brings you all your heart desires. Look forward to visiting NZ in 2012 and hope to catch up with you then.

Merry Christmas Cushla!

mistletoe smooches!

Hope you and your family have a lovely Christmas. Will lego be involved?

Merry Christmas, Cushla!

Merry Christmas Cushla!

Merry Christmas, Cushla!

You're probably still offline at present, but I hope you are having a wonderful (and warm) Christmas back with family in NZ. Look forward to continuing to follow your reading and adventures next year.

Merry Christmas Cushla :)

have a great one Cushla! Hope to see you again next year

Thanks everyone - have sneaked onto the internet for 5 minutes (cleaning up at the house we were housesitting). We've had a lovely, lovely day - started with a treasure hunt for the presents and the kids have been playing non-stop. Then we had lunch at Mum and Dad's with paella, roast chicken, duck (fresh duck tracked down successfully! - in a supermarket, not out there in the Bot gardens), and berries for dessert.

Soup, yes there was Lego involved! A Ninja Dragon set. Silence for hours, except for a few ninja noises.

Suz, thanks for asking about the quake. All ok here, but Christchurch deserves some good luck in 2012. It's been an awful year down there.

We are still without internet (thank you Telecom...) but should be back online in the next few days. I hope you all have a great Christmas if you celebrate it.

Merry Christmas!

Merry Christmas, Cushla ... sounds like you're having a great Christmas ... despite the lack of internet.

Merry Christmas!

I love the idea of a treasure hunt for gifts. My daughter would love that. Not being into Star Wars, Ninja, Pirates, or even the Lego City line, we were nearly stumped. We ended up getting the lighthouse. Next year I'm going for London Bridge. It looks amazing!

Merry Xmas Cushla - hubby and Cass are currently making lego behnid me. There's a lot of 'Where does this go Daddy?' going on...

It sounds like a wonderful Christmas, Cushla--enjoy.

Delighted to hear you've had such a lovely Christmas, Cushla. See you on the North and South threads when your internet is cooperating!

Sneaking in on the f-in-l's computer to wish you a Happy Christmas, Cush! Glad to read you and yours had a lovely day together.

Ta da!!!! We have internet. I nearly hugged the Telecom technician who sorted out our wiring palaver this morning. I need to do a lot of catching up on here! 5 minutes of internet a day is just not enough.

I am kind of doing the readathon while the kids renew their love affair with Super Mario on Youtube. In case I don't surface for a while, it is because I am reading North and South on my Kindle...

>144 cushlareads: Well then, see you mid-January!

Ha - I can see a gazillion messages on your thread but I will be there soon! (with North and South no further on...)

Yay for the new internet connection!

Glad you had such a lovely Christmas. I hope you'll enjoy North and South, I found it a nice read for the holidays, somehow fits into the season.

Happy new to you all !!! bit early but just in case I don't get here tomorrow

Alex

Hi Nathalie and Alex! Alex, have you got a new thread yet? I haven't seen it. Happy new year to you too - is it raining? It's still pouring here.

Nathalie I am really enjoying North and South. It's so readable and it's like Jane Austen with economic history thrown in. When I was at grad school, we had a compulsory economic history paper, and I loved it. It was on Europe and the industrial revolution, and North & South is reminding me how interesting it was. ...tiny spoiler if you're not Nathalie... I'm nearly halfway through and I think a big declaration-of-love-and-total-confusion is about to happen.

I'm glad you're enjoying North and South. It was my introduction to Gaskell, and then I read Wives and Daughters which had less "economic history" but showed how women could be strong characters, not solely focused on looking for mates.

I loved N&S too, Cush.

I loved North and South so I'm really glad to hear that you're still enjoying it, Cushla. I know 2 people who didn't enjoy it, for reasons I don't quite understand.

Thanks for the reminder - just created the thread :)

Yes its still raining just ...mind you it wouldn't be new years in Auckland without rain & 97% humidity .......

I wish you a blessed new year, alles Gute im Neuen Jahr.

Here's to a great 2012 Cushla and I hope you enjoy the rest of the holidays.

Have you moved? I can't find you...

Hi Paul - dir auch alles gute zum neuen Jahr! Habe noch nicht dein neues Thread gefunden...wird heute abend dafuer suchen. Ich hoffe, dass Suki immer gesunder wird.

Leonie, I need to find your new thread still too.

Great to see so many N&S fans. Wives and Daughters will definitely be going onto my WL now Laura.

Lisa - yes!! I'm over here.
http://www.librarything.com/talktopic.php?topic=129205

I am way, way behind with the 2012 group, but will have to wait to get more time to catch up.