MissWatson reads and ROOTS

Last year I embarked on my first Category Challenge and picked up a truly scary number of book bullets that I need to read before they start sprouting roots. So this year every book will count as a ROOT that I owned before January 1st, 2015. Unlike before, re-reads will not count. Overlaps with the 2015 Category Challenge are allowed.

And here's the ticker. The goal is to read 50 books currently on my shelves. Or in the piles on the floor.

Good luck reaching your goal!

Good luck for 2015!

Sometimes I'm not even safe from book bullets in this group! Good luck with your goal :)

best of luck!

On LibraryThing there is no safety from book bullets =) Happy reading!

Thank you all and happy ROOTing!

Glad you are here! Good luck with those roots!

Good luck and happy reading. :-)

Good luck for 2015!

Good luck in 2015!

Good luck with your ROOTs this year! I understand how they can accumulate.

You mean you only have books on shelves and the floor - wow, I wish I only had those two locations, :-)

>14 cyderry: Well, I try to be strict with them...

Good luck to you (and your tiny turtle above). I'm looking forward to seeing what you unearth!

Good luck, Birgit!

Good luck!

Thank you all for dropping in! I think I'm up-to-date with the threads again. Now it's time to roll up my sleeves and to start reading!

Good luck with your 2015 challenge MissWatson. Happy New Year!

Don't Read This. Get Back To Your Books. We've Got A Long Way To Go...

Good Luck!

Thanks, Belva and Terry! I'm working on a fat one, halfway through already!

I have finished Die Nebel des Morgens, a retelling of the Nibelungenlied starring Brynhild, Hagen and their son. Interesting variation on the familiar story, but not a keeper.

Yeah! Good for you. Keep it up!

ROOT #2: A transatlantic tunnel, hurrah! has been sitting on my shelves for nearly thirty years, patiently waiting for its turn. Nice, fun read.

Wow. 30 years. Congrats!

It's scary when you realise how long it has been since you shlepped them home...

Congrats on getting to that one! Sounds like a good read, too, based on LT's reviews. I think my oldest unread one has been there for 5 or 6 years--I usually re-home them if I don't get to them in that time and it's pure stubbornness if I keep them longer, haha.

30 years on the shelves!

I don't know if I have one on the shelves that long. I might get to one that's been there for 20 years. ( I bought every Oprah book translated all those years ago when I watched her shows) but 30.............

>25 MissWatson: Now THAT'S a ROOT

I think of newer ROOTS as "baby roots" or "saplings". That book would be like a redwood or sequoia ROOT!

>28 Amberfly: It's one I can recommend, it's written in a nice style evoking Victorian adventure stories for boys. Some of Harrison's books have a very crude humour that didn't age well (like the Stainless Steel Rat).

>29 connie53: >30 Shutzie27: I'm afraid I've got quite a few sequoias waiting. Back in the days when you couldn't just buy them online, I had to make the most of every trip to London. I picked everything I fancied and could afford. But I didn't always get around to them or wasn't in the mood for them. Since I cannot bring myself to throw away unread books, they're still sitting there.

>31 MissWatson: Same here. MissW! Sequoias all over the place!

>31 MissWatson: That's totally understandable. I have a hard time getting rid of unreads, too. I think I've only done it once, maybe.

>33 Shutzie27: At least ROOTing helps me read them, and then I can discard them.

And ROOT number 3 is Götter und Mythen des Alten Orients. A mere sapling planted in 2013, I think. It gives an introduction to the gods and myths of Mesopotomia, that is mostly Sumer and Assyria and some Hittites thrown in. Not as good as some other books in this series, but it will stay for future reference.

>35 MissWatson: That sounds really fascinating! Is this part of a reference series, like the TimeLife books, or something different?

>36 Shutzie27: Hi Christina. The series is "Beck Wissen" by a renowned German publisher, they cover all kinds of subjects in a kind of "potted" format. The subjects can be wide-ranging, such as a history of Denmark, or very closely focussed, such as a single event like Waterloo 1815. The books are all between 124 and 128 pages long, and most of them written by authors who have also written much longer books on the subject.
OUP does something similar with their "Very Short Introduction" series, but my experience with that has been less than happy. One didn't deliver what I expected from the title, another was too narrowly focussed on English examples when the topic was global. Recent reviewers for other titles have pointed out grave errors, so I've decided to stay away from those, even if they look fascinating.

Oh, those look fascinating. I might check them out at some point.

>37 MissWatson: Gotcha. I may check them out as well. I inherited a bunch of the Time Life reference series (the Seafarers, The West, etc.) but ended up donating quite a few of them.

They're often beautiful, but I found in terms of wanting to sit down and get to know a topic, they either skimmed in a way that assumed a shared/previous knowledge or were so "in the weeds" they were virtually unreadable. I suspect, now that I'm really thinking about it, some were parts of dissertations or other highly academic writing just pasted in.

All that being said, I have a soft spot for good nonfiction/reference/"teaching" books.

And now for something completely different: ROOT #4 is Walpurgisnacht by Gustav Meyrink. A quaint little novel set in Prague in 1915. A retired royal physician lives on the Hradschin and spends his days with similarly withered aristocrats who never set foot into the town proper. Very, very strange.

>40 MissWatson: heh heh heh ... "and now for something completely different"... ;)
And the book sounds interesting too! :)

>41 avanders: Certainly interesting enough to move Der Golem higher up the list. And look out for his other books, too.

Finally! Finished another ROOT: The man of property. Now I need a short break from Galsworthy, I found his style a little arduous to read. Extremely involved sentences and the odd punctuation didn't help. Still, I will continue with the other books in the Forsyte chronicles.

Nice job! Looks like you're proceeding apace.

ROOT #6: The warden. This just flew by and was finished before I knew it. Lovely. However, I'm off to my sister's tomorrow and have decided to take the e-reader only, no physical books, so the next one in the series will have to wait until next week.

Have a nice time at your sister's, MissW.

Thanks Connie, it's a very relaxing time and she always tries out some new cake recipe.

Enjoy! I love going to my sister's!

Have a wonderful visit with your sister!

Hope you are having/had a lovely time with your sister!

Thanks, the visit was nice, but a bit of a mixed bag, my mum's not doing too well.
Still, on the train ride home I finally finished my seventh ROOT Antonina, or the Fall of Rome. I'm surprised I stuck with it to the bitter end, because this is not a fun read. It was Wilkie Collins first novel and it shows. He was trying his hand at a historical romance and he sucks at it. The prose is unbeliebably purple, the heroine insufferably noble and obedient, there are two ancient men fanatic about their religion (one Christian, one Pagan), and Collins' grasp of Roman topography and daily life is not too sure. Yet somehow I couldn't put it aside. The literary equivalent of a trainwreck, I suppose.

Hi MissW, glad you are back. So sorry your mum's not doing well. I hope she feels better soon.

Bummer for the book! But you stuck with it! Good for you. One more down!

>51 MissWatson: It's very rare for me to completely give up on a book, even if it is a trainwreck. It's as if there's a Rule which forbids just giving up. Having piles of half-read books abandoned isn't the same (and I do intend to return to half-read books to finish them, even if the reason I didn't finish them in the first place is because they're not that good!). I do admire people who routinely just think 'Sorry, life's too short' and don't feel guilty.

This failing means that at some point I'm going to have to return to "The Shadow of the Wind". I hated it from the word go, but can't just give it away to someone who might appreciate it until I've at least tried again. But not just yet ... :)

>53 Jackie_K: Yes, it is an annoying habit but there's always the hope that it may improve in the next fifty pages...I have books like The Shadow of the Wind myself. I've found that they can patiently wait until it's the right time to read them.

>52 connie53: Thank you, Connie. She's had a fall and broke her thigh, so she's in hospital now. Most likely she won't be able to live on her own anymore and we're having to think about alternatives now. It will depend on how well she recovers.

>51 MissWatson: sorry to hear about your mom :(

"He was trying his hand at a historical romance and he sucks at it" lol! :) What does his prose being "purple" mean? I've never heard that one...

>53 Jackie_K: lol I fall somewhere in between there... I have a bunch of half-read books that I do mean to pick back up again someday (promise!)... and then there are a couple that I've given up on because ... I mean, SO many books, and SO little time!! ;) Ooooh, you didn't like Shadow of the Wind! What didn't you like about it? The writing style? The story? Do you not typically like modern gothic fiction? (If that latter.... you may want to let it go ;))

>55 MissWatson: Oh that's so hard :( Praying for an amazing recovery!

>56 avanders: Thank you, Ava, it is hard, but somehow you have to deal with it.

"Purple prose" is a phrase I learnt from a colleague who was brought up in england and means overly ornate, flowery writing, putting an adjective before everything etc. Here's an example:

This assembly resolved itself into three divisions: that collected before the palace steps, that loitering about the public baths, and that reposing in the shade of the groves. The first was of the most consequence in numbers, and of the greatest variety in appearance. Composed of rogues of the worst order from every quarter of the world, it might be said to present, in its general aspect of numerical importance, the very sublime of degradation. Confident in their rude union of common avidity, these worthy citizens vented their insolence on all objects, and in every direction, with a careless impartiality which would have shamed the most victorious efforts of modern mobs. The hubbub of voices was perfectly fearful. The coarse execrations of drunken Gauls, the licentious witticisms of effeminate Greeks, the noisy satisfaction of native Romans, the clamorous indignation of irritable Jews—all sounded together in one incessant chorus of discordant noises. Nor were the senses of sight and smell more agreeably assailed than the faculty of hearing, by this anomalous congregation. Immodest youth and irreverent age; woman savage, man cowardly; the swarthy Ethiopian beslabbered with stinking oil; the stolid Briton begrimed with dirt—these, and a hundred other varying combinations, to be imagined rather than expressed, met the attention in every direction.

I cannot make up my mind whether Collins intended to write a parody or not.

>56 avanders: I think it was the writing style, plus I just didn't buy the premise of the book. I found it hard to suspend disbelief, although in all honesty it was probably mainly the writing style, as I think I only managed about 15 pages! I will go back to it at some point, I want to know what the fuss is about, but my reaction was similar to if I'd been reading a Dan Brown book. At least it was only a super-cheap second hand copy, I would have been even more annoyed if I'd bought it at full price!

>57 MissWatson: I love the phrase 'purple prose', being English I knew *exactly* what you meant as soon as you said it! We English can be very pompous and verbose sometimes, can't we? :)

So sorry to hear about your mom's fall. I hope she will be okay in the end. Is she getting surgery? Hip-replacement or something like that?

>58 Jackie_K: Sometimes, yes, but I enjoy the fact that even in the 19th century they usually didn't write lke that. Right now, I'm finding that Trollope writes a blessedly modern style and his dialogue is wonderful.

>59 connie53: Thank you Connie. She's had surgery and is doing well. I'm going to visit next weekend again.

And I can add a mini-ROOT: The two heroines of Plumplington, a short story included in my edition of The warden.

> 60 Good to hear your mother is doing fine!

Whew, glad to hear your mother is doing better! Have a good visit next weekend.

What a wonderful review! And though I, too, have a really hard time not finishing a book once it's started (I can't even leave a half-read book lying around) I think the example in >57 MissWatson: would have done it for me. "...rude union of common avidity"? Sheesh, I would've been rolling my eyes too often to get any reading done.

I'm glad to hear your mom's surgery went well and I hope the road to recovery isn't too tough or long. My dad had both his hips replaced back in 2006-08 and it was very hard on my mom to take care of him while he was in therapy. It sounds like you may have some difficult choices to make in the near future and I hope whatever they are you enjoy your family's support.

Love the idea of a mini-ROOT!

Never heard of "purple prose." I love this group! Also, glad to hear your mother is doing better.

>57 MissWatson: ah, thank you! lol sounds... trying ;) And I think you're right... "Somehow you have to deal with it." Hang in there! It'll get better.. :) and >60 MissWatson: glad she's doing well!

>58 Jackie_K: ewww, that's some comparison! (Dan Brown ;)).. Well I'll definitely be curious to see if your 2nd try is more enjoyable, or if this is just not a book for you :)

>61 MissWatson: congrats on your mini-root!

Thank you all for your kind thoughts!

Another little gem: Indian Summer of a Forsyte.

And here's another mini-ROOT: Konarka at a glance is a slim guide to the ruins of the Sun temple at Konarka which my parents picked up on their visit. I decided to keep this when my mother had to move to another apartment. One cannot recognise much in the photographs, but from the corresponding Wikipedia article I saw that it is a truly magnificent temple. I'll try to read up more on this later.

ROOT #11: Longbourn was interesting until we got to volume 3 and the flashback to James Smith' past. Not entirely convincing.
ROOT #12: Soylent Green. This was just dated, but a useful exhibit for the dangers of extrapolating current trends into the future.

ETC

ROOT #13: Nero Corleone a tomcat's life. Lovely illustrations.

ROOT #14: Sterne von Eger, a fat book about the siege of Eger in 1558. It's an area and a time I don't know much about and my knowledge hasn't really improved with this. Ah well, it's one off the shelf.

ROOT#15 Unter der grünen Fahne des Propheten went straight into the bin after a few pages. From the subtitle and the blurb I expected a history of the Arab expansion and conquest after 633AD. Instead I got an anti-Islamic and anti-Arab rant that spiked my blood pressure to dangerous levels. An extremely badly written rant, too. I’m not going to waste my precious time on this.
And now that I’ve got this off my chest I can simmer down and turn my attention to something more rewarding.

ETC

> Glad you feel better! I hate it when expectations and reality are so far apart!

>74 Tess_W: It happens rarely, but when it does I am really put out.

>73 MissWatson: Hurrah for the bin! That's were garbage needs to end.

ROOT#16 is The sword-edged blonde. Entertaining fluff, fun while it lasted, but nothing to re-read, so we can part amicably.

Great job on all your ROOTs! Looks like you're reading some interesting ones! (plus a bin-worthy piece ;))

I have been flitting from book to book, none of them ROOTs until now: #17 is The weed that strings the hangman's bag.
Flavia de Luce is an amazing creation, incredibly precocious, often irritating, but somehow believable. And there's the nostalgia for Old Blighty of course. Whenever Gladys is mentioned I am reminded of John Major's remark on village life: spinsters cycling...

Finally another ROOT: #18 is The Queen's Man. Quite a decent historical mystery from the time of Queen Eleanor, but not a keeper. Off to a new home it goes.

#19: The hound of Ulster. A traditional re-telling, no additions, embellishments or modernisations which made me realise how different this world is from ours. Headhunting!

You're making great progress. Isn't it a great relief to get some of these ROOTs plucked. In some cases I think to myself "Why did I even buy this book?!" and in other cases it's "Egads! Why did I wait so long to get to this one?! In any case, once read, I'm enjoying setting them free.

Great progress and it looks like some marvelous reads!

>82 Carmenere: I think that's a great way to sum up this experience!

>82 Carmenere: Thanks! And I couldn't agree more.

>82 Carmenere: yes I agree too. I'm not very good at setting them free, although I don't have much space left so might have to bite the bullet for those books which I just know aren't going to get read again ever (by me at any rate - I probably should give them the chance to be loved and read by someone else...).

>82 Carmenere: >86 Jackie_K: Next weekend I plan to rearrange the shelves (sort in last year's acquisitions) and I hope I can summon the courage to cull some that I won't read again.

And I finished ROOT #20: Maigret et la vieille dame. My first Maigret ever, and not my last. The case is not very interesting, but he's very clever at using dialogue to characterise people.

#21: Rimrunners was a little disappointing. It's dated and I didn't like the writing style. Too much spacer jargon. Off to a new home.

>87 MissWatson: Oh I love doing that... rearranging the shelves. :) I like trying different organizational structures (genre-based; author-based; title-based; how-I-feel-about-it-based; appearance-based; etc.), but even if I keep it the same, the reorganizing and ensuring everything is in a good place is always enjoyable :)

>90 avanders: I'm sticking with the tried-and-tested method of authors by A-Z, mostly, although I keep fiction and non-fiction separate. And some reference works have their own shelves, such as dictionaries. But I have bought so many new ones still stacking up on the floor and tables that I need to sort in alphabetically that I should be busy most of the weekend.

>91 MissWatson: mmm sounds lovely :) A weekend organizing books! (I know not everyone shares that opinion ;))

Not a bad weekend! I need to do that, but sadly, my shelves are double-stacked now--meaning they are 2 deep.......so I can still only see 50% of them! I hoping by the end of this calendar year to have at least one single shelf that is not double-booked!

>92 avanders: >93 Tess_W: Mine are double-stacked, too, so there will be a lot of re-arranging and dusting. The gravest danger is finding an old favourite in the back row, leafing through and getting stuck in it...

>93 Tess_W: Aaaahhh! My sister does that! I don't know what I would do if I had to start double-stacking books! Reorganize I guess.... ;)

>94 MissWatson: well it sounds like quite the undertaking! You should take before & after pics ;)
lol, well there are worse dangers to fall prey to ;)

#22 Verbrechen. A defense attorney writes about several of his cases which makes for rather uncomfortable reading. I'm passing it on.

On the rearranging shelves front: I managed to resort fiction. And I had the courage to cull a few. There's no room to do the non-fiction section properly. I must stop buying books. I must stop buying books.

I try to tell myself the same (as I have run out of room on shelves to stack books). I hope you're more successful than I am (or that your "cheats" end up being completely worth it!)

>98 Caramellunacy: I know. Sigh. At the least, I must read more than I buy, so that some can find a new home...

>96 MissWatson: yech.. Interesting, even if hard to stomach?

>97 MissWatson: sounds like a huge task! At least it would be in my library ;)
oooh yeah, must stop buying books..... but how??? ;)

>97 MissWatson: Do you think if you repeat it often enough it might work? Every time I have a new load of nonfiction I have to redo my shelves (we are talking 10 book shelves here and some of them are floor to ceiling) but not even that stops me from continuing to buy - I think I am beyond redemption. On a happier note, at least being in the ROOTs group means that I have finally started to read my nonfiction and the stacks of fiction (these are not included in the 10 book shelves. Having a walk in closet helps.)

>100 avanders: >101 Familyhistorian: Yes, that's what it was. Hard to stomach. Real people can be so incredibly brutal, callous, greedy or just plain stupid.

I'm hoping it will work. You know, repetition, repetition, repetition. The problem with non-fiction is that the library doesn't buy nearly enough of the stuff that interests me. So I keep buying it, hoarding against a rainy day, retirement or a world-wide book famine.

Just dropping in to say hello Miss Watson! And you can add me to the list of folks who 1.) enjoy re-organizing bookshelves (but am far less good at letting a book go, even if I know I won't read them again and 2.) can't stop buying books.

And as far as your non-fiction collection goes, it sounds less like you should stop buying books and actually buy more of them...you know, for the good of humanity and all. If there is a world-wide book famine, who will help restore the global knowledge base? ;-)

>103 Shutzie27: Hi Christina! It felt like an achievement when I was finished but when I consider I could have actually read a book in that time, I sigh.
As for the knowledge base, it could be a little lopsided. But then, that wouldn't be the first time we're left with dark holes. I just saw a documentary about the renovation of the Parthenon and learned that the ancient Greeks knew more about bronze metalworking than our modern times.

>101 Familyhistorian: lol... I think being at that point of beyond redemption is a wonderful place to be ;)

>102 MissWatson: SO very true. It's.... heartbreaking.

ROOT #23 is Azincourt about the famous battle. Written from the perspective of the archers, and it really concentrates on the campaign. Cornwell certainly knows how to do this sort of book, gripping.

>106 MissWatson: Azincourt is on my read-eventually list! Interesting that it focuses on the archers. Will have to slot it in for when I'm done with the current batch of historical fiction I'm wallowing in :)

Hi MissW!! Just coming to see what is going on over here.
You can add my name to the book rearranging and the book buying list! I love doing those things.

ROOT #24 is Das alte Ägypten which took a bit longer to read. A sound refresher course about Ancient Egypt. He gives a chronological overview interspersed with chapters about religion, institutions etc. Well-written and hardly a typo in sight. Definitely a keeper.

I have also just discovered that some of my favourite books as a teenager are available again in print in English, Gwen Bristow's Plantation trilogy. Of course I splurged money on them and want to read them as soon as they arrive, so it may be a little while until the next ROOT.

>109 MissWatson: sounds really interesting!
>110 MissWatson: that's exciting! Weird how that happens... back in print :)

>110 MissWatson: Hi Ava, yes, I have been looking on and off and had little luck with used copies here in Germany. Somebody up there likes me! Now if only they stand the test of time...

I hope the suckfairy is not coming to visit, MissW. ;-)

>113 connie53: LMAO @ the suckfairy!

>114 Tess_W: LMAO???

>115 connie53: so sorry, it's the cruder form of LOL! (laughing my as_ off!)

>113 connie53: >114 Tess_W: I'll let you know!

#25 is L'étranger by Camus. This book requires further reflection, but on the whole I was impressed. It deserves to be a classic.
And this also takes me to the halfway point of my ROOT goal. Yeah!

>114 Tess_W: >115 connie53: >116 Tess_W: lol! ;) funny how we take our colloquialisms for granted ;)

#26 is Barchester Towers. This took a bit longer to read, what with more than 400 pages and lots of footnotes, but I enjoyed it very much.

>119 avanders: I think that is just the language thing on my side. We have that kind of abbreviations too, so I knew what kind of thing it was, just could not find which words to put in.

#27: Un día después del sábado is a short story by Gabriel García Márquez. I am pleasantly surprised to find that I didn't need a dictionary, but I am somewhat baffled by the plot. Not sure what to make of it.

I have also finished Deep summer, the first volume in the Plantation trilogy which arrived on Friday, and I am happy to report that it is very much as I remembered it. However, one reads books like these with a very different eye today. The attitude towards slavery is probably offensive to many people now. Re-reading it illustrates how much has changed in the last fifty years.

>121 connie53: yes of course :) Though even within 1 language, when those little abbreviations are first getting traction, or if you're using a localized version, it's interesting how some people internalize even new or unfamiliar ones so quickly.... For example, LMK took a while to take hold (let me know), but it eventually did, and in the meantime, some people took it for granted and others had no idea what we were saying ;p And "bwim" (by which I mean) is a very localized one that isn't heavily used and often needs to be explained... When someone who isn't a native speaker asks, it always makes me think about how we take those things for granted. :)

>122 MissWatson: so... only available in Spanish? How would you describe the plot?

>123 avanders: It is taken from a collection of short stories, which may be available in translation Los funerales de la Mamá Grande.
This one is set in Macondo and people are scared because birds are smashing the wiremesh screens over the windows and enter houses to die there. The ancient local priest takes quite a long time to take notice and decides to use it for his sermon. A young stranger steps off the train for a break, doesn't get back in time and has to spend the night. He attends church the next day and the priest gives him the contents of the collection box. That's it. So what does it mean?

Edited for touchstone

>124 MissWatson: ah, thanks!
Sounds like another interesting one!

>123 avanders: I have also just loaded my Kindle with the Plantation Trilogy. Hope to start it soon!

>124 MissWatson: that short story sounds very intriguing!

>126 Tess_W: fun! :)

Hi Miss W, Can I just say that I am always so impressed (and a touch intimidated) by the books you read? I enjoy nonfiction, but you really take it to a whole other level!

Regarding >124 MissWatson:, could that be an excerpt from 100 Years of Solitude? I'm in the middle of reading that right now, about 60 pages from the end, and it sounds like that might fit in with everything else that's happened. If I come across that plot thread, I'll let you know.

I'm glad you're enjoying past books just as much as ever. Have a great weekend and happy reading!

>128 Shutzie27: Hi Christina, I think so far my reading this year has been very hodgepodge, but enjoyable.

Regarding >124 MissWatson: The afterword says it was written before 100 years of solitude. He was probably gathering ideas and slowly building his world. One of these days I'm going to read the big one.

>129 MissWatson: (me too.... someday I'll read it!)

>129 MissWatson: That makes sense. I finished it yesterday (at 4 a.m. eek!) and that's not a part of it. Interesting that Marquez wrote the story you read previously because in the back-of-book-interview/blurb I read last night Marquez apparently said the book came to him in a flash, that suddenly he knew how to write the book. Then he closeted himself up in his home for 16 months and wrote, his wife selling off or pawning all their possessions as the months went on.

>130 avanders: Interesting! I'll have to make time for it later in the year. I looked at a copy in my usual bookstore and found the original isn't nearly as long as I thought it would be. It was a bit expensive, though, so I'll borrow it from the library.

#28 The thirty-nine steps. Decent genre fiction, seriously dated. Since my copy is riddled with typos and falling to bits, it goes into the bin.

Oh! I think I saw the play of 39 steps (it was v. funny, poking fun at itself and constantly referring to the hero as having a handsome pencil moustache while he preened). I think there may also be a Rupert Penry-Jones movie/TV version that I've been meaning to have a look at...

Alfred Hitchcock made of movie of The Thirty Nine Steps. It's a b/w, very old, maybe 1930's?

>134 Caramellunacy:, >135 Tess_W:
Yes, it has been made into a movie several times, and they all seem to have taken great liberties with the plot, since they all have prominent female co-stars: Robert Donat and Madeleine Carroll in the Hitchcock version. The TV version with Rupert Penry-Jones is a new one for me, but I can well imagine him as Hannay!

#29 Jonathan Strange & Mr Norrell. This was a real chunkster at 1006 pages, but the amazing thing was that they just flew by. A tale of alternate history set in the Napoleonic wars, where two magicians hope to defeat the French with the aid of magic. Some very quirky characters, historic characters pop up, and a very satisfying ending that I didn't see coming.

>137 MissWatson: I *looooved* that one. I want to re-read it. Fortunately BBC America is airing the mini-series! (and I loved episode 1, though it *has* been ~10 yeas since I read the book!)

>138 avanders: Hi Ava, I'm looking forward to watching it!

#30 The longest afternoon. One of my favourite characters in Cornwell's Sharpe series is Captain Lossow of the KGL (the King's German Legion), so of course I snapped this up as soon as I heard of it. It recounts the action around La Haye Sainte during the battle of Waterloo, where battalions from the KGL had the crucial role of delaying the French attacks against Wellington's centre. It is a very detailed account of the action, with little explanation beforehand, so some knowledge of the campaign is required.
As behoves an academic historian, it's full of footnotes, many of them relating to personal papers consulted for the first time. I wish he had also named the source of his numerous quotes from Victor Hugo!

>139 MissWatson: as someone who's read the book much more recently, I'll be very curious to hear your take!

>137 MissWatson: On to the Wish List it goes!

>141 avanders: Ava, I liked it very much. Her characters are all so very English, there are many historical figures popping up, and the whole felt instantly familiar, like a Regency novel by Georgette Heyer. She also makes deft use of some words (such as shew instead of show) that take you back to Jane Austen. And yet it is an easy read, the pages just flow by, because you want to know what will happen next.

>143 MissWatson: {{long siiiiiigh}} Yes, exactly, somehow instantly familiar... yes, I do want to read that one again....... {{contented smile}}

Actually, there have been multiples times over the years, since I've read it, where I try desperately to find something else that will make me feel that same way... so wrapped up cozily inside the story. Fortunately, I have found other favorites, though I'm not sure they are really every quite the same... they couldn't ever be, could they. And although the Ladies of Grace Adieu is nice and, of course, well written.. it's not the same because it's stories and not a whole novel.

But books I sort of put in that same "grouping" in my head include Shadow of the Wind, The Night Circus, Thirteenth Tale, Ready Player One, and Night Film. Of course none of those are really remotely similar to Jonathan Strange in most ways, but for me, they they took me away completely to another place....

Hi MissW, just popping in and waving.

I loved Jonathan Strange & Mr Norrell

>144 avanders: That's the best kind of book, when you open it and you step into a world that is a second home.

>145 connie53: Hi Connie!

>146 MissWatson: yes, completely agree!! Although it seems obvious... it doesn't actually seem to be true for everyone. I.e., I know lots of people who think the "best" kind of book is one in which you learn something; one in which you feel like you're getting smarter; one that others agree is the best; etc. But for me, I completely agree with you... the BEST kind of book is the one in which, "when you open it, you step into a world that is a second home"

>147 avanders: Yes, I've run across that attitude occasionally, and I think it explains why some people find reading so off-putting. It comes with too much baggage for them.

>148 MissWatson: But even if I read a book purely for pleasure, I come away with at least one thing I did learn, whether is a vocab. word, a factoid, a sense of a different time/place, etc.

>148 MissWatson: yes, that makes sense!

>149 Tess_W: but of course .. me too! ;)

>149 Tess_W: >150 avanders: I suppose it boils down to whether you decide for yourself that you have learned something from a book, or whether you have it stuffed down your throat...

#31 The great siege. This is a book from which I learned a lot. It's a chronicle of the siege of Malta in 1565, when the sultan Soliman the Magnificent despatched a huge army to seize Malta, and the knights of St. John and the people of Malta defended the fortress for nearly three months without any support from other Christian nations. It was written in 1961, and its age shows. I wished for a little more detail about how one of his main sources managed to find the time and materials to keep a diary while the siege went on, among the incessant shelling etc. Lots to follow up on!

#32 The doctor's wife by Mary Elizabeth Braddon. I downloaded this from Gutenberg last year and have been reading it off and on since then. It often felt like a reply to Madame Bovary, and it doesn't come off well in the comparison. The heroine is far too insipid for my taste.

>151 MissWatson: that probably does have a lot to do with it! :)

>153 MissWatson: I really enjoyed Lady Audley's Secret by Braddon... have you read that one? How does it compare? I haven't yet read Madame Bovary, but it's on the shelves!

>154 avanders: Lady Audley's Secret is much, much more fun! The heroine is a woman with a mind of her own and a certain ruthlessness. Whereas Isabel, the doctor's wife, is a naive girl who confuses trashy romance with real life. I'm not sure if Braddon wanted to warn against overindulgence in reading romantic novels, or whether she thought Emma Bovary misrepresented, but I couldn't like the book, especially the ending, which in my mind flies in the face of everything that went on before.

#33 Philipp II. is a biography of King Philip II of Spain. I picked it up because Bradford in The great siege repeatedly called him Emperor Philip which to my knowledge was incorrect. And so it proves. This was another short book, very concise, but it contains one blatant error, so I won't keep it.

#34 Die Johanniter is another follow-up to The great siege, a brief history of the Order of the Knights of St. John. The author is a specialist in the field and it shows, he forgets to explain some of the more unusual technical terms.

>156 MissWatson: Miss...being a historian (but not in that area) I was surprised at your comment that Philipp II was not an emperor, but he ruled an empire? Tell me why because I'm not understanding the argument.

>158 Tess_W: Basically, it's the same as with the British Empire: a vast amount of territories under British rule, but no such thing as an emperor. Queen Victoria was named Empress of India when the English got paranoid about German expansion, but they never felt comfortable with it. Philip's father was the Emperor Charles V of the Holy Roman Empire, but this title stayed with the Austrian line of the Habsburgs.

>159 MissWatson:. that's what I thought!

>160 Tess_W: Yes, well, the ins and outs of this Holy Roman Empire have kept the legal minds busy for centuries. The next emperor after Charles was his brother Ferdinand, who also succeeded him in the German/Austrian territories.

>155 MissWatson: ah, good to know! blech -- confusing trashy romance w/ real life. :P

And congrats on your progress!!

>162 avanders: Thanks, Ava. I've got a few more Braddons ahead of me and I hope they are like Lady Audley.

>163 MissWatson: keep us apprised! :)

>164 avanders: Will do!

#35: Aurora Floyd was the second novel of M.E. Braddon, a so-called sensation novel. Boy, does she deliver on that! There's bigamy and murder and a very wilful, impetuous heroine. And much more stuff that I would not expect in a Victorian novel, it shows that the author had a very checkered career and actually knew what was going on in real life.
I'm pleased to report that it compares well to Lady Audley's Secret.

>166 MissWatson: Glad you enjoyed the read! I love Victorian novels!

>167 Tess_W: So do I. In fact, almost all my favourite authors wrote in the 19th century. Sometimes I wonder why, because I certainly would not have wanted to live in those times.

>166 MissWatson: thank you for the update/comparison! Now it'll have to go on the ol' list....

#36: El capitán Alatriste is a historical romp in early 17th century Madrid. The Prince of Wales and the (then) Marquis of Buckingham have arrived in Madrid incognito to expedite the planned wedding with the Princess María. Political intrigue and lots of swordplay ensue. I struggled a bit with the Spanish, the tale is told by Alatriste's page and the style is very vernacular. But fun.

#37: Les lames du Cardinal was a fun read. Basically it's The Three Musketeers with dragons, although I was disappointed to find that the dragons have assumed human form and there are only pet dragons and vyverns used as steeds for messengers. Still, there's a fiendish plot against France to be thwarted, so Richelieu calls back his group of expert swordsmen and off we go. Lots of swordfights, treason and intrigue. I've ordered the two next books in the series already.

It was also an interesting complementary read to El capitán Alatriste, the books are set only ten years apart and cover pretty much the same ground, but from separate sides of the fence.

ETC

>171 MissWatson: The Three Musketeers w/ dragons! Sounds fun! :)
Has it been translated to English?

>172 avanders: Hi Ava, yes, it's available in English as The Cardinal's Blades.

#38 The Prince and the Infanta is the non-fiction book telling about Charles Stuart and Buckingham travelling to Madrid to expedite the prince's marriage to the infanta María and how things fell apart.
The whole affair was pretty much a sideshow to the start of the Thirty Years War and is probably only known to specialists in the history of Stuart England. I found it less than satisfying for a general reader.

>173 MissWatson: thank you! (darn BB ;))

Hi MissW. Hope you are doing well! I've been trying to catch up on LT today. There are still a lot of threads to read but I had to go and visit your thread!

Hi Connie, nice to see you. Keeping up with all the threads is time-consuming, but fun!

I know. It's summer break for me now. So I try to spend more time here and start reading those threads.

Are you having a proper summer? Here on the Baltic it has been rain, rain and rain.

It is getting better now. The past few days were cold with rain and very heavy wind. Real heavy, lots of damage to houses, cars and trees on the coast. We are near the German border and it was no weather to be outside reading, but tomorrow nice weather is coming our way. So I spend the last few days cleaning and doing laundry.

Yes, it's the same here. There have been far too many storms this summer.

>179 MissWatson: I hadn't realised you were in the Baltic. Here in Scotland we say "it's Baltic" when it's really cold.

>182 Jackie_K: Thankfully, I'm on the far western edge of the Baltic, where it's usually mild. Is that saying a relic from the old days when the Royal Navy cruised everywhere?

>183 MissWatson: I'm not sure, I only came across it once I moved to Scotland. I certainly understood the expression when I visited Helsinki one December!

>184 Jackie_K: I'm currently reading a book which says the Eastern half of the Baltic is frozen during winter, that would certainly account for the saying. I confess I've never taken notice of this in the weather reports.

>184 Jackie_K: >185 MissWatson: I have a friend from Ireland who moved to the U.S., and he has always said 'The weather's going Baltic on us," meaning it's getting really cold! When I asked him many years ago, he said that is and Irish/Scottish slang word.

>186 Tess_W: so interesting! maybe I can start incorporating that into my vernacula..... oh wait, I live in the dessert. :P

#39 The Thirty Years War is a narrative history, the War strictly in chronological order and with names, battles and places kept to a minimum. It was disappointing because there are hardly any notes and no proper bibliography, so there's no way to check some of her more obscure facts and opinions. It will go to a new home.

>188 MissWatson: Sorry to hear this book wasn't up to your expectation, MissW. I tend to google a lot when I read such a book to check facts.

>189 connie53: It was a good recap of the matter, but when I read non-fiction I like to know how reliable the author's information is by checking the sources, and in that respect it fell short.

>188 MissWatson:, I have that book on my shelves. Not in any hurry to read it. Perhaps I can cull..........

>191 Tess_W: IMO, it doesn't meet modern academic standards. Roy Strong says as much in his introduction, so I was forewarned. There just were too many instances of "Where did she find this??" It's a good overview for an interested general audience, but no more.

ETC

Thanks for the info, Miss. Since this area is not my area of expertise, I think it would be do for me!

#40 and the second ROOT of August is Pure. A young engineer from Normandy comes to Paris and is tasked with liquidating a vast cemetery. He meets a few people, finds a mistress, and accomplishes his job, which is described in detail, but not the final destination of the disinterred bones. Interesting, but in the end not very memorable. I think I can safely part with this.

ETC

#41 is Captive universe by Harry Harrison, which I bought secondhand more than thirty years ago when I was more into science fiction than I am now. At least they wrote short books in those days, no epic doorstoppers like current fantasy. The story has aged better than I thought it would.

>195 MissWatson: I've the Eden trilogy by Harry Harrison, Birgit. And read it long before I started on LT. The general feeling I remember is a good. In fact I bought the books after reading them, because I wanted them to be on my shelves ;-))

>197 MissWatson: Hi Connie! I bought them on a trip to the States because I enjoyed his Stainless Steel Rat series. On reading the others now, I find it is very much hit and miss. His humour can be crude and does not always age well.

#42 is Verbrannte Erde, an account of the Great Northern War between Sweden and Russia in the early 18th century, and here in particular the Russian campaign which ended at Poltava. I knew next to nothing about this, and therefore I learnt quite a lot. However, the author bases his account on other people's monographies published in German and English, some of them very old. There are no primary sources, and nothing published in Swedish or Russian, so it all feels a little secondhand. The author is definitely not a specialist on the topic.
Of course, it is a rather obscure field of research, I checked the library catalogue and did not find much recently published in languages I can read. I might at some time try the books Peter Englund has written, they look promising.

#43 is Der schwedische Reiter which takes place at the time of the Great Northern War. A thief impersonates a Swedish nobleman so he can save the estate of a young orphaned woman and marry her. He has some good times, but fate eventually catches up with him. It's a wonderful book, and I especially loved the language, which sounds amazingly authentic.