cameling's reads on a beanbag

Well here I am again, filled with renewed optimism that life will continue to be filled with unexpected pleasures, challenges, strong friendships and delightful reads. I look forward to more LT Meetups in 2016 and sharing more food and travel photos in addition to reviews of books I've read. I have been considering a book challenge for 2016, but I didn't do so well on the challenge I had set for myself last year, so I am leaning towards just letting the book fates lead me where they will.




Female Authors: 6
Male Authors: 6

Fiction: 10
Non-Fiction: 2

January Reads
We Need New Names - NoViolet Bulawayo
The Pink Hotel - Anna Stothard
The Most Wanted Man in China - Fang LiZhi
The Murder of Harriet Krohn - Karin Fossum
We Have the Technology - Kara Platoni
No Shred of Evidence - Charles Todd
All Shall Be Well - Deborah Crombie
Leave the Grave Green - Deborah Crombie

February Reads
Shylock is my Name - Howard Jacobson
Blood Brothers - Ernst Haffner
The Mystic Arts of Erasing All Signs of Death - Charlie Huston
After Dark - Haruki Murakami

Wishing everyone a healthy and joyful year ahead filled with wonderful reading adventures.

Happy New Year, Caro and happy reading 2016.

Happy New Year, Caro! Dropping my star...

Happy New Year To You!!!!! May the year be filled with time to read, and lots of great books to delve into.

Happy new year, Caro!

Happy new year, Barbara. I hope you're enjoying a wonderful new year weekend !

>5 Crazymamie: Happy new year Mamie, I'm looking forward to more fun stories from Pecan Paradiso.

>6 Whisper1: Happy new year, Linda. I love the reading kitty. Wishing you many great reads this year.

>7 cushlareads: Happy new year, Cushla. I trust you enjoyed a good first Christmas in your new house. If you're anywhere close to Hamilton, I'll be there in March for a few days. :-)

Happy New Year, Caroline! I'm sorry that we couldn't meet up around Thanksgiving, Christmas or New Year's, but I look forward to seeing you and Edd again later this year.

Happy New Year and Happy new Thread, Caro! Love that topper. That is perfect. Hope to see you around more this year and of course, I am looking forward to our Meet-Up in May. B.A.G.

Happy new year Caroline. Looking forward to all the mouthwatering dishes for 2016 (and the books too, of course!)

Happy New Year, Caro! Did you see that there is a camel in the indicator objects for the tickers this year?

Happy New Year, Caro!

Welcome back!

How many camel images do you have on hand?

Happy 2016!

Hi Caro,
Happiest of new years greetings to you and your camels :)

Happy New Year, Caroline! I wish you all the best and look forward to following your reading, working, playing, and traveling adventures!

Oh yeah, and I've starred your thread, of course. :-)

Happy New Year Caroline. I look forward to the reports on your reading, traveling and eating in 2016. Note to self: Visit thread after a meal.

Have a wonderful bookfilled 2016, Caro dear. The group wouldn't be the same without you.

>10 kidzdoc: Darryl, yes it was too bad timing didn't work out for us at the end of last year, but I'm sure we'll be able to work something out this year. It will be funny if we ended up meeting in a different location though. ;-)

>11 msf59: Mark, I'm hoping for both work and social life to fall into a more settled pattern. Who knew there'd be a time when I'd actually crave some mundane in my life. Haha.. I would have been able to post more often in December while I was in China if not for the GreatFireWall of China blocking access to LT. Weird, just weird.

>12 charl08: Charlotte, happy new year to you too! I can at least promise food, travel and books on this thread. :-) In fact, I have one book already done for the year and will post a review shortly.

>13 ronincats: Happy new year, Roni. Yes, I did notice the camel, but I was thinking the camel probably wouldn't be walking in a floral garden, so opted for the trotting dog instead. :-) I love that beautiful star!

>14 Fourpawz2: Happy new year, Charlotte. Where in SE MA are you? I drive down to the Cape twice a week. Would love to pop in one evening for a chat on my way home one of these days.

>15 drneutron: Happy new year, Jim. Thanks for continuing to make this a wonderful refuge for people like me to hang out with non-judgmental folks with similar interests in food and books.

>16 qebo: Happy new year, Katherine. I save any camel picture or photo I come across that I like. One never knows when one will need a good camel pic. I even use it in my work signature... but only for internal mail. No sense worrying clients and business partners that they may dealing with someone off her rocker.

>17 LovingLit: Hi Megan, my camels drizzle a little spit in greetings to you.

>18 EBT1002: Hi Ellen, I've not made a resolution for fear that I will more than likely break it, but at the back of my mind, I'm considering training for a 10k this summer.

>19 BLBera: Happy new year, Beth. I am just about post a whole slew of food photos so yes, it might be best to revisit after you've had a meal. ;-)

>20 PaulCranswick: Happy new year, Paul. I'm so glad to see you are enjoying the holiday season in England. Have a steaming steak and kidney pie and a pint of Guinness in my name, will you?

I didn't get to post much at the end of last year while I was in China because the government blocked access to LT. Go figure ...I can't see how they could object to any of the conversations around books that take place here. Anyway, I've been bursting to share some foodie photos with you. So gird yourselves ... here goes!

First off are the steamed buns with all sorts of delicious filings. These are my favorite ones:
Steamed buns with a custard filling


Steamed buns with sweet barbequed pork filling




Steamed bun with a sweet salted egg yolk fililng




Steamed yam bun with sweet yam filling




I don't know why some of the photos have come out sideways. I tried to fix them but they're refusing to cooperate.

Hi Caro, unfortunately I can't see a photo in >25 cameling:
Wishing you a lovely weekend.

1. by NoViolet Bulawayo
We Need New Names

Darling is a precocious 10 year old girl who grows up in Zimbabwe with her friends. Their daily lives revolve around games they make up, stealing guavas from richer neighborhoods and vague memories of her father before he went off to South Africa to find work. She knows she will go off to America at some point to live with her Aunt Fostalina, and there she will live a glorious life where she will never be hungry or poor again. The innocence of the child is brought sharply in contrast against the background of the ruthless paramilitary, AIDS and the shocking truth behind a friend's pregnancy. But when Darling arrives in America, she learns that the life of an immigrant is not a bed of roses. Homesick but unable to return because she came on a visitor's visa, she takes part time jobs after school to help with expenses. For many like her, dreams of being a doctor, an engineer, a lawyer or an accountant fizzle rapidly when they realize they can't afford college fees. They work to send money back, to build homes for the families they left behind and hide the truth from those who will come over in the next wave.

A sad and wearying tale of one girl forced to grow up in conditions beyond her control but who never loses sight of who she is and what she will do to survive.

4 stars

>26 Ameise1: Barbara, I fixed some links. Can you see them now?

I can see them, Caro, and they look delicious!

>30 Ameise1: Sorry, I'm still unable to see them. :(

>29 Crazymamie: Thanks, Mamie. I'm glad the links worked. Most of my photos are stored in Google photo, which for some reason doesn't allow me top extract as .jpg files to link on the thread.. I don't know why they changed this.

>30 Ameise1: Barbara,, I tried again to work around the links and I can still see them. If you still can't see them, I don't know what I need to do to change the way I'm uploading the photos to the thread.

I can't see them either. Maybe it's a Mac thing?

>32 BLBera: Kim, it might be a Mac thing. Does your Mac also have Windows OS?

Can you see this? It's a porcelain statue of the Goddess of Mercy at the Forbidden City in Beijing.

>34 cameling: I can see it and it's beautiful.

I can see it, and I'm on a Mac.

Ah ha! Glad I'm figuring out the workaround. I now have to upload my photos onto the Amazon Cloud and share the links from that site.

Thanks for your help, Barbara and Mamie.

>34 cameling: I see it too, from a Mac. I always want to touch statues all over, but I hear it's inappropriate at best and punishable by incarceration at worst. So I try to refrain.

Caro, I guess it's not a mac or windows thing. Some months ago google changed something. My photos couldn't be seen here anymore when I posted them. I store now my photos on photobucket.com an d have no problems.

Happy New Year Caro!



"I wish you never-ending dreams
and the furious desire to realise some of them."
— Jacques Brel

I'm hoping this year to somehow find time to visit my LT friends more than I have, but in any case what is for sure is there is always something interesting to find on your threads, and when I haven't visited in a while, it just means I have that much more to take in. May the book bullets begin! :-)

>23 cameling: "I'm considering training for a 10k this summer."
If my doc gives me clearance and my Plantar Fasciitis stays dormant, I'll join you!

>34 cameling: I can see it. It's beautiful!

>21 cameling: It will be funny if we ended up meeting in a different location though.

That has happened before. I met Fliss and Zoë in San Francisco a couple of years ago (Fliss flew from Cambridge for a conference, and Zoë was spending a term at UC Berkeley), and last March Laura and I saw each other during a Virago Group meet up in London when our vacations overlapped.

>25 cameling: I can see those yummy steamed buns on my Samsung Galaxy smartphone, but not on my iPad.

>34 cameling: I can see that photo on both of my devices.

ETA: I can't see the photos in >25 cameling: on my Windows based laptop either.

Wow. The buns and the statue look lovely.

How scarey to read that China has blocked LT though. As you say, just books.

I read about Burmese protest at the end of last year and tech seems to have played a key part in enabling the move towards popular government. Fascinating book (Rebel of Rangoon).

Starred your thread Caro!

>34 cameling: love the statue Caro.

I can't see the buns either.

It has been said that only virgins of high and noble birth can see a unicorn - perhaps similar rules apply about steamed buns?

and Happy New Year to you and Ed

Statue, yes; buns, no. Camel up top? YES!!!! Starred your thread again. : )

Happy New Year, Caroline! Optimism and book reading are great things to have as 2016 goals. ;-)

>25 cameling: I cannot see the food photos (although I can see the statue in >34 cameling:)... maybe it is a good thing. This way you won't be enticing me your wonderful food images!

>1 cameling: *claps hands for the camel*

>34 cameling: Ah! I thought I recognized the bodhisattva. I have several Kwan Yin figurines on my shelf over my desk at home.

I'm here, ready for the camels! :-)

Happy New Year, Caro! I love the book-laden camel starting out the reading journey with you. I'll be (quietly) following along in lurk mode.

Happy New Year, Caro!

Release the Kraken Camels!

>38 LovingLit: Megan, that's great news. Maybe I've cracked this weird photo linking thing after all. The statue was safe from all eager hands as it was behind a glass case. :-)

>39 Ameise1: Barbara, oh darn .. and here I thought maybe I had managed to fix things. Seriously, why did Google have to mess things up and suddenly not allow photos to be extracted as .jpgs? I have Amazon Prime so maybe I'll start saving my photos there and see if that works.

>40 Smiler69: Happy new year, Ilana. What a beautiful quote. Thank you for sharing that. Thank you also for the beautiful message. I'm hopeful that I will get to check in more often with my LT friends this year as well, and comment more often as well instead of lurking as often as I did last year. I look forward to sharing more reads with everyone.

>41 EBT1002: Ellen, I hope you will be well enough to train for the 10k. I definitely need support and motivation. I was going to start the training this morning but it was 19F when I woke up and I confess I refused to leave the house just to go to the gym at 6.30am

>42 kidzdoc: Darryl, I met Linda Lipko in Newark airport last month when both our flights were delayed, and the funniest thing was that we were in adjoining departure gates. Spent a delightful half hour with her before my flight finally started to board. What a treat!

This photo thing is getting confusing but I'm determined to find a convenient and reliable solution before long. Not tomorrow because I have a full day of meetings (has nobody figured out yet that meetings are often a waste of everyone's time?)

So, the real question is, do you really read on a bean bag? I used to have one of those as a kid (apple green), and then I got one for both my daughters. My son poked a hole in his very quickly and it wasn't replaced. LOL.

>43 charl08: Charlotte, I'm figuring out that if I post the link through a loophole in Google, then Mac users can't see the images, but the Android and PC users can. But if I post the link through a non-Google photo storage app, then everyone can see the images. Ugh! this is like politics .. why can't everyone just get along?

The Chinese government is attempting to prevent influencing events and 'unsubstantiated' news from unapproved sources from being accessed by the general public. Interestingly, one of my business partners there, a man in his early 50s, approved of government's control. His opinion is that there is so much information on the internet these days, and many posted by individuals with suspect agendas, that it is only the government with the resources to ascertain what's the truth and what isn't, what is valuable for population consumption and what isn't, so he's fully supportive of the Chinese government blocking sites. His opinion is that if they're blocking the sites, those must not be sites that would benefit the people.

>44 SandDune: Hi Rhian. I've starred your thread too. Still making my way around the group .. is it my imagination or has this group grown since last year?

>45 magicians_nephew: The statue sheds blessings on you Jim. The steamed buns will rise like the phoenix one of these days! ...........once I work things out, that is.

Edd says hi and sends his merry new year wishes to you too. :-)

>46 Berly: Well, 2 out of 3 ain't bad, huh, Kim? Happy new year!

>47 lkernagh: Lori, well, you got the statue at least. The food pics .. I'll still work on those, and once I do, I can promise more food pics through the year to tempt you with. :-)

>48 AuntieClio: >49 AuntieClio: Steph, the camel bows graciously for your applause, well, gently anyway so as not to drop all the books.

I found myself feeling very calm when I cast my eyes upon this statue of Kwan Yin. It was as if the world had fallen away and all around me was hushed. I stood in front of her for quite a long time, with no particular thoughts running through my mind, just following the fluid porcelain and eventually walking away at peace.

>50 AuntieClio: Steph, I have a photo of a camel statue, but I'm going to need to figure out this image linking thing first before I post it so that everyone, regardless of their device, can see it.

>51 Donna828: Hi Donna, lurk away. I hope you'll find something of interest occasionally in my thread, and should the inclination so strike you, feel free to drop a little note every now and again.

>52 jnwelch: Joe, the camels are jostling for position as I type, trying to edge each other out for pole position the next time a spot opens up for a camel post.

>57 cameling: She has that affect on me too.

>53 cameling: darned glass cases ;)
I took W to the local art gallery yesterday, it has been closed since the earthquakes of 2011. The last time my lovely other was in there was because he was working for Civil Defense- the army and local and national government officials used this all glass panelled building as their base during the emergency period after the quakes. I thought about him having to be ushered through an army checkpoint to get in there, and them all lining up for their army kitchen meals during the shifts he had there...intense.
Anyway, it was so so lovely to be back in there. I just love the immense ceilings and the oddities about evy corner.
I was excited, W was bored. Go figure.

>22 cameling: - I live in big, bad, scary, New Bedford, Caro. Hard to believe that LT's foremost world traveler is practically in my neighborhood. Sorry I did not reply earlier. As usual LT at the beginning of the year has exploded and I'm very behind in some quarters.

I am going to hijack your thread for a minute.

Librarything is giving away free passes to the American Library Association winter meeting. The conference will be held in Boston, MA starting this coming Friday, January 8, 2016 and ending on Monday, January, 11, 2016. The passes will get you into the exhibit hall.

Here is the link for the free passes to ALA Boston. They are courtesy of the LT Goddess Abby Blachley.

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

You have to have a lanyard and name tag to get into the exhibit hall. To do that you will take the printed out pass from the above link to the registration area. Go to the line that says Exhibits Only Passes. Once you get that name tag you can then go to the exhibit hall. The pass will be good for all three days of the conference. The passes will not get you in anywhere else but the exhibits. You can get a special pass if you are handicapped, otherwise wheeled apparatus' of any kind are not allowed on the exhibit hall floor.

The exhibit hall is a big wonderland of free, or very reduced price books, and all other things library. The publishers will be giving away ARC (Advance Reader's Copies) of books that will be published between January 2016 to June 2016. They will often sell books as well. Usually paperbacks will be $5.00 and hardbacks will be $10.00. If you are unsure if the books are free or not, just ask one of the sales reps in the booths. They will be happy to help you - but remember that the booths can get quit crowded and so the sales reps can't give you their undivided attention.

I would recommend that if you want to attend that you come on Saturday or Sunday, as those will be full days in the exhibit hall. There will be authors galore on those two days. There will be adult, YA, and children's authors. In the last few years it seems that there are more and more children's authors who will be signing books, but there will be plenty of both. Many of these authors will be new and unknown authors who the publishers want librarians to get to know and then push their books to the public. Often publishers will have free books that the authors will sign for you.

You will get a book that will guide you around the various exhibits in the hall. The exhibits are grouped by type so the book publishers will be in one area, the graphic novel publishers in another. Please take the time to visit the LT booth and talk with Tim and Abbey. They love to hear from LT members.

You can bring suitcases and check them at the bag check. You can't take rolling cases into the exhibit hall without a special pass. You can go in and out of the exhibit hall once you have the name tag, so you can use the suitcases to store your swag and books while you go back to the exhibit floor for more ARC's. (Ask Joe about how many trips he has made in the past to the bag check area!)

I will be around, but have a busy day lined up for Saturday, as I have committee meetings and have a big meeting scheduled for that day. If you want to get me, please e-mail me at this address. bstrnad@ua.edu I will be checking my e-mail while at the conference. You can also post to my profile page here on LT. I will check it when I can do so.

I would love to meetup with any LT members who will be in Boston. Coffee late in the afternoon is great as my feet and shoulders hurt by the end of the day on Sunday. I will also be free for lunch on Monday, but let me know via e-mail if you would like to meetup and I will be happy to do so.

>22 cameling: Well, I would've said I never happen upon camel pictures except on your thread, but today this flit through my Facebook feed:

https://www.facebook.com/Shenandoahcountryq102/photos/a.216691978928.131370.1535...

>62 benitastrnad: Just signed up for the ALA Conference. I think Suzanne is also planning on going.

Caroline? What do you think? Want to go?

>59 AuntieClio: Steph, I'll look out for more Kwan Yin statues in my travels to share with you. :-)

>60 LovingLit: Megan, an all glass paneled building didn't suffer during the earthquake and was used as an emergency base?!! Wow! Did you manage to take any photographs? The art gallery sounds like a beautiful place. W might surprise you one morning with his rendition of one of the art works he saw during the visit. :-)

>61 Fourpawz2: Charlotte, on you are indeed sort of on my way home .... if I take a wiggly route instead of taking Rt24 to 93S for 95N. Let's see if there's an evening that works for the both of us and I'll stop into New Bedford for tea/coffee and a chat. Do you come into Boston at all? If you did, we could get together with Marianne too.

>62 benitastrnad: Benita, thank you, thank you, thank you! The link worked great and I went and signed up for the free pass for myself and for the hubster. Free books?! Who could pass up on that opportunity? Plus to get to talk to some authors and see what the publishers are intending to release is just too tempting. I can't do Monday since I will be at work, but I'd love to Meet up with you on Sunday afternoon if we can make it in. We will probably go to the exhibit hall on Saturday as we have a bruunch engagement with some friends on Sunday. Let me find out what time we are likely to be done with them and I'll email you before Friday.

>63 qebo: Katherine, isn't that a gorgeous photo? It's incredible that the black are the shadows cast by the little white spots and not the camels themselves.

>64 michigantrumpet: Marianne - need you ask? :-) Edd is going too. When are you going in? I'll text you my weekend plans by tomorrow.

2. by Anna Stothard
The Pink Hotel

When a 17 year old English girl learns that her mother, who left her when she was 3, has died, she steals some money and takes a flight to LA. While attending the wake, she manages to fill her mother's suitcase with some of her clothes, shoes and a book and steals away almost unnoticed.
Through letters and a map of sorts she finds in a pocket of the suitcase, she starts to trace her mother's life in Americaa right up to the accident that killed her, meeting people she used to work for and was married to in an attempt to get to know the mother she had no memory of.

Concealing her identify from a photographer she met at the wake and later became involved in leads to surprising twist in the final chapter of her journey.

3 stars

Hi Caro: We Need New Names has been on my list for a while. I'll have to move it up. Nice comments.

I liked The Pink Hotel, too.

Have fun at the conference; I wish I could go. :( You can report, so we can attend vicariously.

>27 cameling: What a great review!

Well, these don't look too bad. They actually look pretty good. Not scary at all :)
Happy New Year Caro....

Nice, concise review of The Pink Hotel, Caro. Hope your week is going well. Are you still liking the "new" job?

I just checked my schedule for the ALA conference and I will be free all afternoon on Sunday, January 10, 2016. I have a meeting at 6:30 p.m. but intend to be in the exhibit hall most of Sunday afternoon.

>65 cameling: Edd is going, too? I'll have to let John know! He was thinking about taking a later train in and meeting for dinner. Maybe he'll come earlier.

>72 benitastrnad: I'll try to get back on Sunday to see you, Benita!

Here is an announcement about a free book available on Saturday.

Hi Benita.

This Saturday, January 9th be sure to stop by booth #913 at ALA Midwinter to meet David Corcoran, the editor of The New York Times Book of Science and get your free signed copy while supplies last. This unique opportunity will take place during the New York Times "Meet the Authors" session at booth #913 from 10am-noon and 3-5pm.

The New York Times Corporate Digital Solutions team will be at the event promoting our flexible access options for libraries. Meet us there to discuss our highly discounted rates for Corporate subscribers, which will enable you to bring direct, digital access to NYTimes.com for all of your patrons, both on your library premises and remotely.

Plus, drop off your business card at our booth to enter our raffle to win a set of 'The New York Times Book of....' books!

Our ALA Midwinter show special rates for new subscribers are available now, so please let me know if you would like more information on our pricing. Otherwise we look forward to meeting you at the show.

Kind regards,

--
Chris Dunne
Manager, Corporate Marketing
The New York Times
(212) 556-4608
christopher.dunne@nytimes.com

Caro! I found you, starred you and wish you a happy new year! Hope you have a wonderful year of books, travels and delicious food.

>65 cameling: - That sounds good. Or instead of you having to come all the way to New Bedford, (which is not convenient to anywhere) we could meet at the Inn in Mattapoisett. You know - closer to the Cape.

I don't go into Boston. Pretty much of a country mouse, I'm afraid. The scaredy-cat kind of country mouse! (A contradiction in terms, I know.)

>65 cameling: >77 Fourpawz2: I would ADORE joining in on that meet up. Too bad I don't get down that way at all. Charlotte and I have an understanding about her not having to come to Boston, so I will just have to bide my time to meet the dear lady.

I contacted Marianne and will call her as soon as I get out of my meeting at 4:00 p.m. I have another meeting at 5:30 p.m. This one is for cocktails and authors and it is at the Westin. I am going to try to get tickets for all of us to this event, but will have to wait until I can talk to the people at Penguin Random House. I will call or text Marianne when I find out.

It is also possible that you guys will be tired and want to just sit and eat, so I'll find out where you are and meet you.

So jealous--a meetup!! Have fun and post a picture.

Enjoy!

I am getting ready to leave for the airport and my trip to Boston. I have Skinwalkers and Thief of Time with me to keep me busy this afternoon. These should be good traveling companions for today. I will arrive in Boston at 10:30 and will wait at the airport for my hotel roommate who arrives at 11:30 p.m. We will then go to the hotel together. Then on Saturday morning my day will start at 7:30 a.m. with a breakfast meeting. I will make contact with you guys on Saturday afternoon for sure. I have Marianne's phone number and should be able to text her or call. Looking forward to meeting you guys and don't forget to stop at the LT booth and say hi to Tim and Abbey.

Wishing you a most lovely weekend, Caro.

Happy Saturday, Caro! Hope you have a terrific time at ALA and I hope you come home with a lot of fine books.

And hooray for Meet-Ups!!

Happy Saturday, Caro! Sounds like you're in for a weekend filled with fun!

>27 cameling: Glad to see you enjoyed that one. Dropping my star since I finally got around to your thread. I don't want to lose it again.

Hi, Caro. A belated Happy New Year. Too bad I couldn't join you folks this weekend at the ALA!

Have fun in Boston and at the ALA!! I just finished Skinwalkers and really like it!

>56 cameling: That is so interesting, the man you work with who has that perspective on government control of information. It's so easy to believe that my perspective is the only reasonable one and to hear you impassively describe another perspective, well, it gives one pause.

I hope you are having a blast at ALA!!

And I see that Mark is planning a visit to Boston in May. You two will so enjoy meeting one another.

So the promised photos of our recent MeetUp .

Suzanne, Marianne and I met and headed to the LT booth of course, and met Kristen and Abby. Had a lovely chat with them and managed to snag these cool tees. Kristen was busy with some visitors to their booth so we could only grab Abby for a group pic.


After a long day hauling books and also sitting through a presentation and cooking demo to promote Prohibition Bakery and My French Family Table which happily included not only book signings but some samplings of their alcoholic cupcakes and soup, we met up with Benita and sat down to some noshes and drinks.

Lovely photos, Caro! Thanks so much for sharing them. Looks like all of you had a fantastic time!

>79 benitastrnad: Benita, it was such a treat to meet you and be able to spend some time with you. You're such great company and I just loved all your stories! I'm bummed you aren't able to stay another day or so but ... next time. :-) Thanks again for the passes to the exhibition. Edd and I had a whale of a time and made out like super bandits.

To anyone who hasn't yet been to an ALA Conference, I strongly urge you to try and attend one that's close to you .. or if you want a holiday at the next venue (Orlando), then fly out and have a nice vacation at the same time. It's such a fun event and for book fans like we all are here, it's an incredible opportunity to meet with new authors and snag a pile of ARCs or buy new releases for $1 - $5.. steals! I recommend comfy shoes, comfy clothes and that you work out in the gym to build upper body and arm strength though because you're going to need it hauling totes filled with galleys and such around. Of course if you also manage to bring along a beast of burden who can be bribed with drinks and food as rewards, (aka someone like Edd) that would be ideal.

>81 DianaNL: I loved that gif. Thank you so much. I hope you had a good weekend too. Alas, now it's back to work.

>83 Ameise1: Thank you Barbara. What a gorgeous photo. I hope you had a good weekend too.

>84 msf59: Mark, I feel a bit guilty about the number of books we brought home after attending the event for 2 afternoons. Btw, I spoke with Marianne yesterday and we are SET for the meet up on 1st May :-) It was so nice speaking to you on the phone yesterday.

>85 Crazymamie: Mamie .. I was like a child in a toy store! I was a little sad that there weren't many graphic novels out on display but I can't be greedy, I was already giddy with glee when I started to unpack them this morning before work. I think I know what Scrooge McDuck feels like every time he goes into his vault to play with his gold coins.

>86 thornton37814: Lori, thank you for the books! I was thrilled to get them in the mail .. good job I saw the 'LT' written next to my name or I would have ripped the package open the day it arrived. :-)

>87 ffortsa: Judy, we missed you. How do you feel about going to Orlando for their big annual conference in June? After attending this one, I'm seriously considering flying out there to visit some friends and attend the event at the same time. Yes, I've been well and truly bitten.

>88 Berly: Kim, someone gave me a copy of Skinwalkers for Christmas and Benita mentioned she was reading it as well, so with your review, I think I'm in for a good time when I get to it. I didn't get as many chores done this weekend as I had hoped but getting loot at the ALA was so worth not cleaning the house. I think we can coexist with a few dust balls for another week. We did finally take the tree down and put it out.

Morning Caro! Glad you had a great time at ALA. Looking forward to you listing some of your favorite "finds".

And hooray, for a Meet-Up, in May. About time, right?

Wow looks like a great meet up. All those books! Look forward to hearing about the shiny new reads.

>92 cameling: and >79 benitastrnad: Yes! Thanks, Benita! We loved meeting you and getting all the inside scoop!

And hooray for husbands who are willing to make multiple trips to the car with all those lovely finds!

Caro--Great meetup photos and what a haul!! Yes, I think it is only fair that you suffer a few dustballs this week to atone for all that sinful glee you are feeling. LOL. Very fun. I only have to wait until January 2019 for the ALA conference to come to Seattle...!

Hi Caro! As usual, I'm a day late and a dollar short, but finally getting around to stopping by and dropping a star. Look forward to seeing what interesting reads you come up with this year. I thoroughly enjoyed We need New Names...great way to start off the year.

>95 msf59: Mark, darn tootin' right it's about time we had a MeetUp. :-)

I think I did pretty good, considering I only took the books I knew I would want to read. I didn't see the sense in taking books I didn't want to read since I do feel obliged to write reviews on all of them, more so because they're ARCs. So I came home with 76 in total.

>100 cameling: I love the idea that you got 70 plus books while restraining yourself. Sentiment I am totally in agreement with.

Looks like a great haul. I am looking forward to hearing about what you think of them and setting the BBs flying.

>96 charl08: Charlotte, I have a mix of fiction and non-fiction as well as 2 cookbooks. The ones I'm most interested in reading as soon as possible are:
At the Existentialist Cafe by Sarah Bakewell
The Curious Charms of Arthur Pepper by Phaedra Patrick
The Statesman and the Storyteller by Mark Zwonitzer
Bread, Wine, Chocolate by Simran Smith
Midnight's Furies by Nisid Hajari
Shylock is my Name by Howard Jacobson

Wow! Nice haul, Caro! You should have left one book off and called it 75 even! That is a magical number around here, you know.

Glad to see you found so many that interested you. Impressive!

>97 michigantrumpet: Marianne, hooray indeed for our uncomplaining husbands. Mine thought he had quite a decent work out in the process and also came away with a number of books he really wanted... as well as chocolate. Apparently there were 3 vendors giving him bars of chocolate!

>98 Berly: Kim, it's definitely more convenient when it's held in your city, since you can just dump books in your car to bring home instead of having to pack and post them in boxes. I have a Roomba for spot cleaning rooms, and I've set it whirring away so at least the living room is sort of being cleaned a little this evening. It's actually not bad, we don't wear shoes in the house, so the floor is usually pretty clean. It's just tables that are covered with books, papers and our living detritus that I try to tidy up a little on weekends so it doesn't look like a bomb went off in the house.

>99 tututhefirst: Tina, thank you for stopping in. I am excited about the books I'll be reading this year, especially with the recent additions compliments of the ALA mid winter conference.

>103 msf59: Haha, Mark .. now why didn't I think of that?! Of course now that I've got them in, I've also realized that it means I've got to make some changes to my reading plans because since most of them are ARCs, I would like to read and review them as quickly as possible. I always feel guilty if I've left ARCs sitting around for too many months when the publishers have been nice enough to give them to me with the expectation that I'll post reviews to entice (I hope there aren't any I'll have to dissuade) others into reading.

>100 cameling: Oooh! Books! Someday, I WILL go to one of these booky things.

Took me a while to make my way over here. Happy New Year! Looking forward to March. *grin* You don't happen to have dates yet, do you?

Thanks for sharing the photos, Caro. What a great haul of books. I just got My Name Is Shylock in the mail today; it was an ER book, so I plan to read and review it soonish.

Stopping by to get caught up and to wish you a lovely week, Caro!

Great to see the ALA pictures! Looks like a great weekend! The closest ALA will be if they ever have it in Seattle, but I will keep my fingers crossed and making note of your great "how to survive ALA" recommendations.

Love your book haul! And good job on showing restraint and only taking the books you knew you wanted to read. ;-)

Totally NOT telling my other half about the Roomba... that would be just another piece of technology that he would feel compelled to open up and "improve". Sometimes it is a chore living with a techie. ;-)

Great pictures, Caro. I especially Love the pic of your book haul! That collection is like 6ish years of winning an ER every month! Woo Hoo!

Love the meetup/ALA pics, Caro! What a blast, right?

I'm like you, I just get ones at ALA that I'll want to read, but it still adds up to a mountain o' books, as I see in >100 cameling:. Maybe heaven is an unending ALA convention, with reading breaks?

Start planning.

Dates for Future Midwinter Meetings and Annual Conferences

2016

Midwinter Meeting, Boston, MA: January 8-12, 2016

Annual Conference, Orlando, FL: June 23-28, 2016

(Registration opens noon Central January 19, 2016)

2017

Midwinter Meeting, Atlanta, GA: January 20-24, 2017

Annual Conference, Chicago, IL: June 22-27, 2017

2018

Midwinter Meeting, Denver, CO: February 9-13, 2018

Annual Conference, New Orleans, LA: June 21-26, 2018

2019

Midwinter Meeting, Seattle, WA: January 25-29, 2019

Annual Conference, DC: June 20-25, 2019

2020

Midwinter Meeting, Philadelphia, PA: January 17-21, 2020

Annual Conference, Chicago, IL: June 25-30, 2020

Here are the dates for Book Expo for this year. (2016) And the schedule. I have never been to this but Chatterbox has, so she might have more information on Book Expo than do I.

Hours/Future Dates
Show Dates: May 11, 12, and 13, 2016 | McCormick Place, Chicago

2.5 Days of Exhibits. 3 Days of Education & Networking.

Event Hours

Wednesday, May 11
9:00 am – 5:30 pm CIROBE Remainders Pavilion Open (Entire exhibit hall opens at 1:00 pm)
9:30 am – 5:30 pm BEA Content & Digital Conference
12:30 pm - 1:30 pm Opening Day Spotlight
1:00 pm – 5:30 pm Exhibit Hall
8:00 am – 5:30 pm Press Room Hours
1:00 pm – 5:30 pm International Rights Center
Thursday, May 12
8:00 am – 9:30 am Adult Book & Author Breakfast (Ticket Required)
8:00 am – 5:30 pm Press Room Hours
9:00 am – 5:30 pm BEA Content & Digital Conference
9:00 am – 5:30 pm Exhibit Hall
9:00 am – 5:30 pm Exhibitor Meeting Rooms
9:00 am – 5:30 pm International Rights Center
Friday, May 13
8:00 am – 9:30 am Children’s Book & Author Breakfast (Ticket Required)
8:00 am – 5:00 pm Press Room Hours
9:00 am – 5:00 pm BEA Content & Digital Conference
9:00 am – 5:00 pm Exhibit Hall
9:00 am – 5:00 pm Exhibitor Meeting Rooms
9:00 am – 5:00 pm International Rights Center
3:30 pm – 4:30 pm Audio Publishers Association (APA) Author Tea (Ticket Required)
Saturday, May 14
BookCon
10:00 am –6:00 pm Show Floor Hours
11:00 am – 6:00 pm Panel Hours

>27 cameling: Oooh, I just realied that I have seen that author speaking, it was at the readers and writers festival here in Chch last year. cool! I hadn't heard great things about the book, but your review picks up my estimations.

I'll see if I can come back with a photo of the all glass earthquake base ;)

The Christchurch Art gallery, glass panels all intact after the earthquakes of 2010/2011 but only just reopened after earthworks under the building took place ( the installation of base isolators, since you ask).

>112 benitastrnad: January 2019. Seattle. Everyone come on out for a visit!!!! :-D

Your experience with ALA sounds like lots of fun, Caroline. 76 books is a pretty hefty haul for someone with your scruples (I wonder if everyone feels some duty to read and review all the books they get for free or nearly-free). Anyway, I will bookmark January 2019 now and look forward to snagging some books and (hopefully) some LT meet-ups.

3. by Fang LiZhi

The Most Wanted Man in China

Fang LiZhi's memoir traces his emotional and philosophical journey. As a child, he revered Mao Tze Tung and believed in the Communist movement, but as he became involved in science, more specifically the realm of physics where facts ruled, he found conflicts in Mao's policies. As a result of a letter coauthored by himself, a friend and his girlfriend, they were branded reactionaries, removed from their posts in their respective universities and sent to rural areas to perform hard labor.

Fang's honest and at times humorous reflections provide an insight into the inconsistencies and at times cruel policies under Mao's rule, how he adapted to survive while retaining his integrity and what he did to strive towards change.

4 stars

ETA : I got this as an ER book. :-)

>106 nittnut: Jenn, you (actually nobody in this group) will not regret attending one of the ALA conferences. The challenge will be to not go wild and just grab all the books that are being offered free because you could really leave the place with quadruple what I brought home if you include poetry, children's books, YA, horror, business non-fiction and magazines.

No dates as yet, but getting closer. Waiting for my Australia partner to confirm location and dates because I have to hit up Australia before I head down to New Zealand.

>107 BLBera: Beth, oooh, I'm jealous. That was one of the books I requested as well and didn't get. Oh well ... better luck next time. Then again, I think given the number of ARCs I obtained from the ALA, I'm going to give others a chance and not request any more ERs until I have gone through this pile.

>108 lkernagh: Lori, to prep for the ALA conference, you will need super comfy shoes, a big breakfast to tide you through the day (you could find yourself forgetting to eat), a bottle of water, a willing beast of burden to help haul your loot repeatedly to the car (or bag check area) and more importantly, I'd recommend doing a once walk through of the whole hall first so you are familiar with the lay of the land so to speak, before then hitting the sections in the hall with publishers you are most interested in. Otherwise, you'll find yourself unnecessarily zig-zagging all over the place just because a publisher's booth somewhere happened to catch your eye, and you could miss some smaller gems along the way. If I go to another ALA, I will bring a bag of nuts to munch on as well through the day. Haha..

Hey if you get a Roomba and your other half makes improvements, he could sell his changes to iRobot :-) I love my Roomba.

>109 Carmenere: Lynda, I know, right? I'm not going to request for anymore ERs until I whittle this pile down substantially. My library will also probably wonder where I am since I won't need anything from them for a while either. I could, I suppose leave off reading the ARCs I brought back from the ALA but I feel obliged to get reviews out as soon as possible.

>110 jnwelch: Joe, I read a couple of a good short GNs while I was there that were on display but not being sold or given away. One such GN, Up, Up and Away in Paris was seriously the most beautiful GN I've read. It's really more of a child's book about walking around in Paris. It was all in black and white, and each page had a beautiful and delicate paper cut-out of a Parisian scene that fit in with the short script on the facing page. It was more art book than child's GN. In fact, I'm not so sure I"d let a child near the book because the cut outs would be ripped in no time.

>111 benitastrnad: Thank you for posting the schedule, Benita. It was such a fun event. Thank you again. I'm bummed that Boston isn't a venue again through 2020. I hope it comes back after that. While it would be fun to visit another ALA in a different city, one thing that did make this one much more convenient was that I could just truck all the books home in my car, and I didn't have to go through the hassle of boxing and mailing them back to myself. This doesn't mean that I'm not going to attend another ALA in a different visit though. :-)

>112 benitastrnad: After Suzanne's description of the crowds and the savages that rush and push for free books, I'm not attracted to the event.... unless I find an outfit that includes spikes on the sleeves and pants to keep people at least a decent distance away.

>113 LovingLit: >114 LovingLit: Megan, that glass art gallery is gorgeous! How did it remain intact through all the earthquakes?!! I need to go to Christchurch. How far is that from Hamilton?

>115 EBT1002: Ellen, I'd love to visit Seattle for the 2019 ALA. I haven't been to Seattle since the turn of this century! I would like to think that everyone who snagged ARCs at the event will read and review every book they took ... it would be a shame if people abused the privilege because maybe there won't be as many offered at future ALAs.

Have a lovely weekend!

>118 cameling: That sounds excellent, Caro. I think I found it on Amazon, under the title Paris, Up, Up and Away by Hélène Druvert. It looks great, and comes out here later this year. Putting it on the WL.

>118 cameling: and >121 jnwelch: I second Caroline's appreciation for Paris, Up, Up and Away. I looked at it over Caroline's shoulder and it was truly one of the most unique, beautiful books I've seen in a long while!

>122 michigantrumpet: Good to hear! Thanks, Marianne.

>119 cameling: not far for a seasoned international traveller like yourself! Also not far for someone used to the looooong distances between cities like you have in the US. Rally, it's not that far....
*do it do it do it*
:)

PM me your address, Caro, and I'll send you Shylock Is My Name when I've finished it. (It might be a while).

I was surprised at this ALA because there was a dearth of Graphic Novels. This was very unusual as both Mark and Joe can attest. For the last 6 ALA's there has been a separate area in the exhibit hall devoted to graphic novels. This area has had large booths from the more well known publishers of graphic novels. It also has lesser known and independent publishers as well. There are also booths for authors and authors who are signing at the publisher booths. The area is always full of people and getting around the aisles there can be a problem. I was very surprised that there was not a separate area for graphic novels at this conference and asked about it when I visited the Papercutz booth. The sales rep there told me that there will be many more publishers at the summer conference because with the higher attendance at summer the publishers get more bang or the amount of money they spend.

I got three boxes of books today so only have to wait on that last one. I am sure it will be here by Tuesday. I am always surprised by the efficiency of the Post Office. I mailed those boxes on Monday in Boston and they arrived in Tuscaloosa on Friday. That is not even First Class or Priority rates - that is Library Rate! The cheapest package rate the USPS offers.

>117 cameling: It would definitely take a lot of restraint not to take all the books that are on offer lol. Worse still, I'd be picking up books for my kids too...

The only thing that might throw a wrench in meetup plans is that my brother's family arrives March 18. That said, my SIL probably wouldn't be opposed to a grab-a-seat day trip either. :)

>90 cameling: & >100 cameling: I'm not sure why I cannot see those photos Caro but it is a tad frustrating.

Trust that you will have a great weekend my dear.

>120 DianaNL: Thank you. I'm looking forward to a restful weekend after a very long and busy week at work. I wish you a wonderful weekend too.

>121 jnwelch: Joe, it's an absolutely beautiful book. You're are going to love it. In fact, you're going to love it so much you may make everyone wear gloves if they want to read it.

>124 LovingLit: Tempting, Megan, tempting .... I will have to see if there's a client in Christchurch because that will give me the ultimate excuse to add it on to my trip. :-)

>125 BLBera: Beth, you're too kind. :-) I think given the pile of loot I have yet to make a start in, I won't be in any hurry so take your time. haha... I didn't like The Finkler Question but I did like Kalooki Nights so I'll hope this falls into the positive category.

Arrghhh....!

I just lost everything I typed and it was a nice long one too! Not going to rewrite everything because I've got to head out the door in 10mins.

>126 benitastrnad: Benita, I did take photos of some covers so I can look for them on Amazon or Barnes and Noble later this afternoon since we're going to the movies and there's a B&N next door. Although I suppose I really shouldn't be buying any books but I do have a gift card I need to use. :-) There is no hope for me, is there? *sad sigh*

I was at the post office this morning to mail a book to a bookmoocher and I was happy to see a notice on the window inviting interested candidates to apply for positions as city carrier assistants. If my post office is hiring that gives me the assurance that they're not going to close. I do like the postal officers in my town and my mail carrier is a sweetie.

>127 nittnut: Paul, Noooo..... I thought now that I moved my photos over to a different cloud server, I resolved the pic sharing problems I had earlier on. Are the last 2 the only ones you can't see or can you not see any photos at all in this thread?

By the way, I'm heading over into your neck of the woods again at the end of February. Feb 23 - 27 to be exact. So I'm giving you the opportunity to quickly find a vacation or demanding client so as to avoid having to hang out with me again. ;-)

4. by Karin Fossum
The Murder of Harriet Krohn

This is the first in the Inspector Sejer series where the story centers around the murderer and not Inspector Sejer's investigations. We get a different perspective from the eyes and thoughts of a man who planned to rob a rich old lady, but who ended up killing her instead in the process. The murderer is a gambler and is estranged from his daughter following his wife's death. He's desperate and needs to pay off his gambling debts, seeing this as the only way he'll be able to reconcile with his daughter. His plan involves buying a large bouquet of flowers and posing as a delivery person. When things go awry and he brutally murders the woman and then steals her things, the only clue Inspector Sejer has is the bouquet of flowers he brought to the house. Still, he's heard of Inspector Sejer's investigative skills and dogged determination and fear starts to gnaw away at him. Will his conscience allow him to accept responsibility for his actions, or will he continue to try to live in denial?

While this was an interesting perspective and I am a huge fan of Karin Fossum, I didn't like this as much as I had others in the series. I think it's because I could not like the murderer and I didn't like that Inspector Sejer didn't appear until about halfway through the book. OK, so I'm more of a fan of Inspector Sejer and I want him to take centerstage where I think he belongs.

It's probably unfair, but because of the above I have to award this a mere 2.5 stars .... and hope this is not a trend the author intends to continue with.

Caro, I wish you a relaxed weekend.

I've wanted to start the Fossum series because it gets so many positive comments around here. Is the series uneven, or is this one an outlier?

Along with the lack of graphic novels there seemed to me to be fewer non-fiction titles as ARC's. It might have been my timing in the Exhibit hall, but I only picked up a few non-fiction ARC's.

Two travel weary friends had a lovely respite when to our wonderful surprise, we were just a gate away from each other.

I'm still smiling when I think of our pre-Christmas spontaneous meet up at the Newark, NJ airport.

>129 cameling: :)
I'm just not sure I can swing the night away from the whanau or the flights/accomm etc. It would be wonderful if it could happen though, I won't rule it out just yet.

Lucky Patriots...

Nasty patriots. I hope they all become cheeseheads.

Happy Sunday, Caro!

>136 Whisper1: Yay!

Happy Sunday, Caro!

Sunday is almost over. Happy Monday!!!

>133 Ameise1: Thank you Barbara. I hope you enjoyed your weekend. The weekend was wonderfully relaxing. I slept in, got a nice bit of reading in, watched a movie with the hubster, and met up with michigantrumpet and her lovely husband for brunch on Sunday. Weekends are too short!

>134 BLBera: Beth, I've enjoyed Fossum's Inspector Sejer series up until this one. So I think it's just a hiccup from which I hope she recovers. :-) She released another book The Drowned Boy in 2015 and from the reviews, she appears to have done so. I will get this book after I return from Singapore in March and remain optimistic. So do give her a shot, it has been, until this one, a very enjoyable series. Then again, perhaps I'm the outlier among her fans not to have enjoyed her giving us a different perspective.

>135 benitastrnad: Benita, Edd only reads non-fiction and he managed to pick up 26 titles that he was very excited about reading. I managed to snag 13 non-fictions so perhaps it was a timing thing. Sorry you didn't manage to add more to your loot. Perhaps you'll do better in the summer conference. It's looking more like we won't be attending the summer conference because it conflicts with a visit to a friend in San Francisco we had planned.... unless we convince him (another voracious reader) to holiday with us in Orlando instead. :-) One never knows .. stranger things have happened.

>136 Whisper1: Linda, that chance meeting was the highlight of 2015 for me. I had always laughed that with my travels I would probably meet someone in transit somewhere before ever getting to meet them in their home city/state/country ....and it actually happened! The thought of that meetup still makes me smile too. Seriously, as tired as I was .. it was the best meetup ever because it was such a delightful surprise.

>137 LovingLit: Megan, so where exactly in NZ are you? It would of course, be lovely to see you but don't sweat it. I know I"ll be back again next year, and perhaps I can push for a client visit somewhere within driving radius to you. ;-)

>138 kidzdoc: Darryl ... there's always some luck involved but they played well against the Chiefs. *nyah* On to the Broncos this Sunday! You can bet I'm not making any plans to do anything except to watch the game.

>139 benitastrnad: Benita ... et tu Brute? They're lovely boys, really they are! :-)

>140 lkernagh: Thank you, Lori. It was a lovely Sunday, I hope you had a good one too.

>141 jnwelch: Joe, Marianne, our 2 bromancing husbands and I met just before 1pm and laughed at the thought of not making it back to the car before 4pm when I think it would then have been an offence to park where we did. Well, we actually barely made it by the skin of our teeth. Who knew we could have chatted and ate for 3 hours?!

>142 Berly: Kim ..boooo.... it is over. Still, it's not been a bad Monday. On the other hand, the next 3 days are likely to be monstrous. *sigh*

I received a surprise gift in the mail today. The Mystic Arts of Erasing All Signs of Death by Charlie Huston and The Pirates Own Book by the Marine Research Society were kindly mailed to me .... with no return address! I have no idea who sent these books to me, but the postmark is Utah. Adding to the mystery... I don't know anyone in Utah!

How nice! I had the same this week (although I did know who it was from, just that it wasn't expected).

I wish I could take credit for sending The Mystic Arts of Erasing All Signs of Death. I love Charlie Huston and I loved this stand-alone. Whoever it was has good taste.

Hi, Caro! Love the photo of you and Linda. Two of my favorite LTers. Nice!

>144 cameling: I'm in Christchurch. South Island. We have an international airport!
Me and Jenn / Nittnut were talking about your upcoming Hamilton visit today when we had our meetup. We were conspiring :) But now that her brother is potentially visiting her, she is unsure of her ablity to commit. Tsk tsk, the NZ contingent is flaking!

>145 cameling: wonderful! What a lovely surprise, now for some detective work?

>132 cameling: I think it would be strange to read an Inspector Sejer mystery where he isn't the star. That isn't on of the ones awaiting to be read on my Kindle. I need to get back to reading those. I downloaded a bunch when they were on sale.

>146 charl08: Charlotte, the mystery continues .. I still don't know who sent the books to me. I called or texted everyone I know who may have been the generous donor, but to no avail. My secret gifter remains cloaked in the shadows. I hope he/she knows that I tried to find him/her so I can properly thank him/her.

Unexpected gifts are so touching. :-)

>147 msf59: Mark, I'm eager to get to this. I may even have to *gasp* put this in between my ARCs. Maybe make it a plane read next weekend on my flight to Singapore. I haven't read that many of Huston's works. So far, I've only read Already Dead, Six Bad Things and My Dead Body. I'm looking forward to this. I really should get more of the Joe Pitt books.

The best part of meeting Linda, apart from meeting her, is that it was all so unexpected and unplanned. I wonder now how many other LTers I would have met in transit if only I had known they were at the airport at the same time.

>148 LovingLit: Megan, it would be absolutely wonderful if I could swing a Christchurch leg to the visit. I will be finalizing my schedule, dates and locations before the 2nd week of February and will let you all know.

Alas, Sherlock I am not, for I have thus far, failed to uncover the identity of my mysterious book giver.

>149 thornton37814: Alan, it was really strange to have him play more of a secondary role in the book . I was surprised at how much that disturbed me though. I wonder if this means I am more rigid in what I expect from authors when they write about my faved characters.

Yesterday my favorite dog passed on to the glorious other world of never-ending meadows, beaches and food. His name was Prince but he was a king among dogs because he had the best temperament of any dog I've ever known, absolutely loved people, was infinitely patient with children of all ages, including the little ones who insisted on pulling on his ears and sitting on him, and he was always happy. He rivaled the vacuum cleaner when it came to snuffling up any and all food that fell from our table or the unwary child's hands. He was 10 years old and loved us all unconditionally and was loved by all who were lucky enough to have known him.

I'm very sad.

I am so sorry, Caro.

{{{{Caro}}}} It is so hard to lose our short-lived fur people! What a great tribute you have written for your Prince. You have my complete sympathy.

>153 Crazymamie: Thank you, Mamie.

>154 ronincats: Thank you, Roni. You're so right. It doesn't matter that I've had so many dogs, cats, ferrets, rabbits and chickens as pets through the year, because they're so much a part of the family, it's hard every time one of them passes on. My heart aches and I'm glad I'm working from home today because I find myself weeping every time I think of him.
Edd wants to make a collage of some photos of Prince and framing it for my mom, who's a wreck. But I wonder if it might be too soon to give it to her and if perhaps we should wait a couple of weeks when the pain isn't quite so intense.

Yes - wait a couple of weeks. We lost our oldest dog in October, and I was a wreck for the first few weeks.

>152 cameling: I m sorry Caro, they always leave too soon...
((((hugs))))

Caro--I am so sorry. I think the collage is a wonderful idea and, yes, wait a little while before giving it. Sorry. You wrote a wonderful tribute to Prince. Big Hugs.

I'm sorry for you, Caro. xx

Sorry to hear about your Prince, Caro. The collage is a great idea.

Happy weekend, Caro. Thinking of you. Hugs xx

So sorry to hear about the loss of Prince. I still mourn the death of Willie. It's always hard to lose a beloved pet, but I, for one, cannot imagine not risking the certain pain of their going. The picture collage of your noble friend sounds like a really good idea. I'm sure your mom will appreciate it whenever you give it to her.

oh dear. Sorry about Prince, Caro. Our animal companions creep into our hearts, don't they?

I'm looking out my window at a real snowstorm here. Beautiful, but I know it can be dangerous. Are you at home? I hope your roof holds up this year.

Caro, I'm really sorry about Prince. He sounds like he was such a sweetheart; you wrote a lovely tribute. We do grow so attached to our furry friends.

Hi Caro, i am very sad to hear of Prince's death. He looks such a lovely dog from the fb picture you had up. I bet you were glad to work from home that day.

Sorry to see that Prince has died, Caro - was he with you in Boston?

Your celebratory words of his influence over those that encountered him are exactly how our pets should be remembered and honoured. xx

On a brighter note - there was a lovely card in my mailbox this morning. In it was a beautiful bookmaker. Thanks much and I will have to consider a trip to Boston in the future. I have a friend (a librarian who was from my hometown in Kansas) who lives in Rhode Island and I would like to go there to see her and to see the mansions in Newport. Boston would make a great addition to that trip.

So sorry to hear about your dog. The collage sounds like a lovely idea.

Happy Sunday, Caro! How hard are you guys getting hit, up in Boston? Hope it isn't as bad, as south of you.

My condolences about Prince, too, Caro.

Did you get hit with a lot of snow? Hope you're doing okay.

Hi Caro. So sorry to hear about Prince. ...just tiptoeing through while watching Pats trying to self-destruct. SIGH...

>156 Crazymamie: Mamie, I think you're right. We will get a collage done but wait a few weeks before giving it to her. The hubster also has a few videos he took of him which are quite funny, and he'll transfer them off his iPad and onto my mom's.

>157 FAMeulstee: Thank you for your hugs and support, Anita.

>158 Berly: Kim, thank you. I was going through some of the photos and already having a hard time myself looking at them and remembering the moments, so the hubster said he'll take on the project.

>159 DianaNL: Thank you, Diana. I appreciate the support.

>160 BLBera: Thank you Beth.

>161 Ameise1: Thanks, Barbara. It's a pretty and sunny day today, which makes all the snow covered trees look beautiful. I hope you're enjoying a wonderful weekend.

>162 Fourpawz2: Charlotte, the relatively short lifespan of our furfriends is the downside of sharing our hearts with them, but you are correct, they add so much to our lives that we accept the certainty of the pain that will come. There is no other source of unconditional love as that from a furfriend.

>163 ffortsa: Thank you, Judy. It certainly doesn't take long for our furfriends to make a firm encampment in our hearts.

I'm north of Boston so we didn't get more than 1.5" yesterday and we weren't expecting to get much anyway, so I went out for breakfast with a dear friend I hadn't seen in months, and then a birthhday party at a friend's in the evening. We had a new high tech roof put in last summer so I'm not worried at all about snow and ice damage this year. It's a nice feeling. :-) You got a fair bit from the storm, didn't you? How did you make out? Be careful of icy sidewalks when you head out over next few days.

>164 tymfos: Thank you, Terry. The pain will take a while as I know from past experiences, so I just have to be patient and wait for the day when I will think of Prince and be able to talk about him without tearing up.

>165 LovingLit: Megan, thank you. Yes, it was good that I was working from home on Friday because I would have been a right mess in the office and confused my coworkers with the frequent unplanned weeps. The hubster has been wonderfully supportive and gently helpful around the house, dousing me with copious mugs of comforting tea and generously dispensing big hugs and snuggles.

>166 PaulCranswick: Thank you, Paul. Prince lived with my mom, so I only got to see him whenever I visited. But we were close companions and whenever I was there, he would sleep in my room next to my bed, and when I did any work at the table, he would pad over and put his head in my lap for a little chat and head rubs. If I lay on the floor to watch tv, he'd come over and lie down next to me, offering himself as a cuddly pillow, occasionally nosing my ear or nudging me with a paw to remind me I hadn't scratched him behind his ears in a while.

>167 benitastrnad: Oh I'm so glad you received the bookmark, Benita. I figured you might find some use for it. :-) It would be so lovely if you did visit Boston again soon, and even if you couldn't add Boston on to your trip, Rhode Island is only an hour and a half's drive, which is nothing, so we could meet up down in Newport too. Actually if you came in the Fall, there is a delightful practice in Providence where they have floating platforms with baskets filled with firewood in the canals which are lit in the evenings on weekends that I know you would enjoy too. It's called WaterFire : http://waterfire.org/

>168 charl08: Thank you Charlotte.

>169 msf59: Mark, it was a good Sunday until the game started and the Pats decided to play like dolts! Now it's just becoming an aggravating Sunday. Grrrr..... If there's any consolation, at least if they need to lose this game, it's to the Broncos since I admire Peyton Manning. We didn't get more than just under 2" in yesterday's 'storm' .. so we only did a little shoveling last night before heading out to a birthday party 2 towns over. And with the temps forecasted to warm up in the week ahead, all of it will probably melt by next weekend.

>170 jnwelch: Thank you, Joe, both for the support and for the concern about the storm. I'm north of Boston, so was well out of the storm's path and all we got were the edges of her fury. I hope Mother Nature felt so sorry about unleashing her anger on us last winter that she's going to give us a break this year with warmer than normal temps and just little snow sneezes.

>171 tututhefirst: Thank you, Tina. Self-destruct is right. What the heck are they doing out there?! Are they hungover? Who misses a field goal for heaven's sake?! Arrrghhhh.

The Patriots look a bit lost. Maybe they can get it together in the 2nd half. Broncos look tough, especially on defense.

Yah for only 2 inches of snow! Did you get my texts, from earlier?

5. by Kara Platoni
We Have the Technology : How Biohackers, Foodies, Physicians, and Scientists Are Transforming Human Perception, One Sense at a Time

How do we know what and how we are seeing, hearing, tasting, touching and smelling? If someone loses one or more of their senses, what technology is available today to help the person if not regain the lost sense at least a sort of perception of the sense? How do scientists identify and study brain activity when someone actually hears something and when that person 'hears' an internal voice in his head? Can this internal voice be replicated through technology to help those who have lost their ability to hear external sounds? That's just one of the chapters. In this fascinating book, scientists, researchers, gamers, roboticists, body artists and physicists with brilliant ideas or intense curiosity have contributed to research and innovation to help augment or enhance our sensory perceptions.

4.5 stars

>176 msf59: Mark, the Broncos have a great defense. I will give them that, but the Pats should be playing better. They just aren't reading the Broncos well.

I just looked at my phone and don't see a text from you?

>177 cameling: Book bullet! That sounds awesome. Sorry about the Pats.

>179 Berly: Kim, I mentioned this to a friend today at brunch who is a neuro scientist and as I happened to have the book with me, he read the first few pages and asked if we would stop in at a bookstore on the way back so he could buy a copy. :-)

I'm so sorry about Prince, Caro. It's so hard to let them go, isn't it?

>181 scaifea: Thank you, Amber. Yes it is always hard but I wouldn't trade the time we had together and the memories for anything.

This is really bizarre weather.... not that I'm complaining. It was almost 50F this afternoon!

I'm starting to clear stuff off my plate early this week so I have time to pack for the month away. Biggest challenge will be what books to bring. I've made 3 passes on the pile of books I'm bringing with me already and I keep moving them on and off the pile.

I'm glad that you, Marianne et al. escaped the worst of Jonas's wrath, Caroline. It's been unusually warm here as well; it was 57 F when I drove back to the hospital this afternoon, and it's supposed to hit the low 60s here tomorrow. Weird.

>173 cameling: Well, New York almost broke the record - we were two tenths of an inch shy, so lets say about 26" in Central Park. Being an apartment dweller with staff, on a main drag in Manhattan, it was more a weekend of cabin fever than anything. Jim and I went to breakfast through the snowstorm Saturday morning, and it was a bit exhilarating, but after that we stayed in. Sunday was gorgeous, if cold, and by the time I went to work today, the sidewalks were almost entirely shoveled and even the corners were clear. My boss was worried as you were about icy pavements, but it doesn't seem to apply to the places I need to walk.

As for the Patriots, this is a game Mr. Brady will have nightmares about for years to come. That Broncos defensive line certainly had him figured out.

>174 cameling: copious amounts of comforting tea are good on two counts, you get the tea, and the thoughtful intent on the part of the provider :)

>177 cameling: Oooh, this one could be useful prepatory reading for my philosophy of science class.

>177 cameling: Love the sound of this one, adding it to the wishlist. I was looking at a coursera on gaming theories ans how they can be applied to education. Fascinating area.

Glad to hear you escaped the worst of the snow. I am still waiting for some proper fall here. It is rare enough to be a nice thing (better than flooding anyway, due later in the week).

>182 cameling: Amen, sister.

Dropping by to think about Prince and other good dogs I've know in my life.

We will all meet again on the other side of the fence.

>184 kidzdoc: Darryl, after last winter, I'm all for a warmer winter this year for a change, especially the month of February since I'll be away and would like not to have to worry about snow piling up around the house, although i do have a kind friend who will come plow my driveway if there is more than 6" of snow.

But 60F at this time of the year is downright weird. Do you drive a convertible ? if you do, you can even drive with your top down.

>185 ffortsa: Judy, I'm glad the sidewalks were all shoveled by the time you had to get to work. We're doing well here.. with the higher temps over the last 2 days, almost all the snow around my property has melted. It looks weirdly like we're in the middle of Fall.

One thing about cabin fever ... you get lots of lovely time to read. :-)

We now have our flight booked and our lodging set, for our trip to Boston. Getting pumped and mighty thirsty...

>186 LovingLit: Megan, speaking about tea, I had read a lovely book about tea a couple of years ago, For All the Tea in China and it gave me a deeper appreciation for my favorite brew. i am even now, nursing a tall mug of green tea.

We Have the Technology was an impulsive grab from the library and it was a delightful surprise from the very first page. It was interesting to realize how much we've already allowed our senses to be enhanced through technology through the years. But is there a point where we may want to draw the line ? Each chapter conntains topics you could spend days discussing social benefit and moral concerns.

>187 charl08: Charlotte, there is a good book on gamification titled Superbetter by Jane McGonigal that you may enjoy. She was on a book tour and came to MIT one evening. She delivers a good presentation and made the audience play a game that had everyone interating with strangers in a manner of minutes.

Sorry to hear floods are expected in your area. Stay safe and I hope there won't be any inconveniences such as power outages.

>188 scaifea: Amber, I loved your description of waking in the morning to a 6yo dancing and singing while he plays with his Lego bricks. And were the dogs suitably impressed by his Rihana impression?

>189 magicians_nephew: Jim, I absolutely believe they'll all be waiting for us to finally show up on their side of the fence with tongues lolling in their big doggy grins.

>191 msf59: Mark, great! I suspect you're going to really enjoy that link I sent you, if you haven't already succumbed to temptation and started to pour through the list of breweries. I'm so looking forward to your visit.

All packed (except for toiletries but those get thrown in in the morning) for my flight to Singapore tomorrow. Finally decided on the books I will bring with me and they're safely and snuggly packed in my check in luggage. Now the only thing I need to do is download a few more books into my Kindle and I'll be all set.

Have a safe trip, Caro! Hope you are bringing along some promising reads.

>190 cameling: Agreed, Caroline. I like consistent seasonal weather, but that hasn't happened in Atlanta this winter. It will hit 55 F today, after a few days of seasonably cold weather, but it will reach 64 F and 65 F on Saturday and Sunday. It's hard to complain about weather like that in late January, though.

Have a safe flight and a fabulous trip to Singapore! Will Edd join you while you're there?

Have a safe trip and a wonderful weekend!

Safe trip, Caro.

Be safe. Have fun!! Read lots.

What books did you finally decide to take?

#192 I have For All the Tea in China on my wishlist and my TBR pile as well. Someday I will get to it. I hope that you and Paul have a good meal with some kind of tea included. I drink tea year round. I drink hot tea in the winter and iced tea in the summer. I also host tea parties back in my home town. I do one every New Years afternoon. It is my White Tea and, of course, we drink white tea, and I make white deserts. In March I do a Green tea and do the same thing. My mother has a lovely set of turquoise glass luncheon plates that she purchased back in the early 60's when such luncheon accouterments were the ultimate in ladylike refinement. It is so much to fun to get them out and use them. However, this winter I chipped one of the cups and that made me blue.

Safe travels to Singapore, Caro. Looking forward to tales of your adventures there.

Waving hello. I am So sorry to hear about Prince. I love the picture of never ending meadows, beaches and food. That's where I picture my dogs too.

Happy travels! Be safe. :)

>152 cameling: favorite dog
Oh, I'm sorry. I marked your thread as read-to-here at the meetup photos and missed your sad news.

>177 cameling: BB.

Oh Caro, I am so sorry I haven't checked in sooner and seen the news about Prince. I know you are still heartbroken. They reach in and tie strings of lights around our hearts and letting them go is so very hard.

You are also your usual busy self, traveling and reading and enjoying life. I hope your week ahead is wonderful.

>195 msf59: So far I'm enjoying the reads I've brought along and I hope the trend continues for the rest of this trip, Mark.

>196 kidzdoc: Darryl, the flights (yes, in the plural unfortunately) were all thankfully uneventful and I arrived well fed (I flew Singapore Airlines this time and the food and service are heads above United) and rested. Edd will be arriving later tonight. He left after me because he wanted to spend a couple of days with his parents before his month long trip away.

I've been keeping an eye on the weather in Boston as well and am quite pleased that it's unseasonably warm because I don't have to worry about snow build up in my driveway. :-) I hope it stays thiis way until I get back at the end of Feb.

>197 DianaNL: Haha.. what a fabulous grin! Thanks, Diana.

>198 BLBera: Thank you, Beth. I have been here for 3 days and have yet to fall over my own feet ... which for me is quite a major achievement! I can only keep my fingers crossed that perhaps I'm becoming less klutzy in my advancing years. :-)

>199 Berly: Thanks Kim. I read quite a bit on the flights over but then since I've arrived, my reading hours have been brought up short because I've got a very tight schedule this week with work and social engagements, and spending time with my mom whose dementia has worsened since my last visit last year.

>200 benitastrnad: Benita, I brought City of Thorns, No Shred of Evidence, The Pier Falls and other Stories, Blood Brothers, How to be Good, After Dark, Shylock is My Name, Democracy at Work, A King's Ransom, The Mystic Arts of Erasing All Signs of Death, Leave the Grave Green, All Shall be Well ... and then I have about 80 unread titles in my Kindle just in case. :-)

I love your concept of White and Green tea parties. What a fantastic idea. I may have to poach this idea for myself later on in the year. You can even expand this into Red Tea and make red desserts. Black tea and make ... hmmm... ok maybe not then. I can't think of many black colored desserts that could look appetizing. I drink green tea mostly, although I do like white tea and unsweetened ice tea in the summer. I buy white tea leaves when I manage to go to a good tea shop in China that sells white tea from the Anhui province. It's very light and has a refreshing slightly minty aftertaste.
Sorry to hear you chipped one of your turquoise plates, was the piece that chipped off too small to glue back?

>201 jnwelch: Thanks Joe. It's only been a few days since I arrived, and since I leaped into work mode the morning after, I haven't had time for adventures yet. I plan to change this on Friday when my meetings end at noon. :-) Next week should be a much more relaxing (in terms of work) week because it's the Chinese New Year/Spring Festival season so a number of my business partners and clients will be on holiday from Monday through Wednesday, some taking the entire week off. So I'm looking forward to spending time with family and friends without work deadlines looking over my head.

>202 nittnut: Thank you Jenn. It's odd how I still forget that Prince is no longer here but gamboling away in a pretty meadow or splashing about in the surf in his new world, because I'll look around for him when I walk into the kitchen expecting to see him curled up in his favorite corner or wait to hear his nails clicking on the stairs as he sneaks upstairs at night to sleep under my bed, I think the starkest reminder that he's gone is I don't see his favorite bright red ceramic dish next to the blue one used by Bruno, his brother from another mother. Visual changes can be so jarring sometimes.

>203 qebo: Thank you, Katherine. Wow, it's not often I hit you with a BB. I hope you'll enjoy the book.

>204 EBT1002: Ellen, that is so true .. they so very quickly become your best confidantes and loving companions .. and they are usually much nicer beings than most humans I know. It's Hump Day here in Singapore now and so far, the first half of this week has been very productive and I've had some very good meetings. I've also eaten a fair number of delicious meals and will share photos shortly. :-) I have hopes that the weekend will be even better .. since I won't need to work. Yaaay

6. by Charles Todd
No Shred of Evidence

One thing I like about this series is as the series progresses, the reader (if he/she reads in some sort of order) sees the strengthening change in Inspector Rutledge as he gradually comes to gripes with the mental trauma suffered during WW1.

This is the first time I'm seeing him work on what he thinks is a homicide when all signs seem to point to a suicide and be able to bring more focus to his investigation without too much jarring interference from Hamish, the Scottish ghost who followed him back from Somme.

As the title implies, there really doesn't seem to be foul play following the death of a woman, his neighbor, who had been battling a fierce fight against cancer. What seems like self-inflicted overdose of morphine just doesn't sit well with Inspector Rutledge. As he starts interviewing her friend, another neighbor, her brother and her nursing aid, he finds small inconsistencies and some startling surprises that raises his suspicions that she may have been murdered after all.

4 stars

7. by Deborah Crombie
All Shall Be Well

8. by Deborah Crombie
Leave the Grave Green

This is the second and third in the Inspector Duncan Kincaid and Gemma James series and I'm glad I started on this series. They are quick reads and no less interesting for being so. I read All Shall Be Well on the flight from Boston to San Francisco and Leave the Grave Green in the first half of my flight from San Francisco to Seoul. I like the camaraderie between Inspector Kincaid and his Sargent, Gemma. There's an attraction between them, but it doesn't get in the way of their superlative working partnership. They each have different strengths when it comes to criminal investigations that supplement the weakness in the other.

I shall look forward to continuing on with this series.

3.5 stars

I *ADORE* long plane trips for reading. No interruptions. Looks like you've made some real headway on your books!

Weather here continues to be unseasonably mild. It was in the 50's yesterday. They are talking about the possibility of snow next Tuesday, though. Too soon to say how much.

Hugs to you and Edd.

Morning, Caro! I love that Deborah Crombie series, and I need to get back to it. Your reviews of the Inspector Rutledge books make me want to give him a try, so I will look up the first book.

I love what you shared about the absence of Prince's dish being jarring - so true about visual reminders. The first time we took our dogs to the groomer after we lost our Biscotti, and I went to get the leashes - there were four hanging there, and I needed only three - it made me cry. And now when I see just three hanging there it is almost more of a reminder.

and then I have about 80 unread titles in my Kindle just in case. :-)

Glad to read you've got all your reading options covered! I am hoping to get to the NY celebrations in Manchester, they already have red lanterns up in the city centre and there are dragon parades and activities for the kids.

>152 cameling:, I am so sorry for your loss. Your tribute to Prince was so loving! It hurts badly when we loose a beloved pet. It takes a long time to process the pain. Thinking of you dear one!!!!

And regarding our meet up, I loved hearing about your new job and your interview process! It was such a joy to connect in a deep, spontaneous way.

I still smile thinking of it! What were the chances????

I'm going to snag a copy of A Share in Death for some vacation reading. Crombie is getting some good love around here.

Caro, I'm so far behind. I just try to catch up with threads. I hope doing better from now on. I wish you a wonderful day.

I am reading Goldfinch and having trouble with it. Last Saturday I spent two hours in a coffee shop, by myself, in the sunshine, waiting for people to show up who never did and all I had with me was Goldfinch. It turned out that I read almost a hundred pages in it, but since then I have had trouble finding sustained reading time, so I am not doing well with it.

On-the-other-hand, I sent the following warble to my sister and friends for a good fun read that is causing me some trouble at work.

I am in the middle (literally) of reading a fun new YA series. The title of the series is The Goddess War by Kendare Blake. Book 1 in the series is Antigoddess and book 2 is Mortal Gods. Book 3 hasn’t come out yet but is titled Ungodly and will be out later this fall.

The series is a take-off on the Iliad and the Odyssey. It’s about the Trojan war. The author has spun the story so that Athena is a punk rocker 21 year-old, Hermes is a Tommy Hilfiger poster-boy, Cassandra is still in love with Apollo (or he with her) and they all live in Kincaide, New York and go to High School. What Marissa Meyer did for the Cinderella story in the Lunar Chronicles, Blake has done for the Trojan War. It is great fun to see how she has spun the story and in the process has made it so much fun. I have been reading them during my lunch hour and I keep trying to drag out the lunch hour so I can read longer. If you are looking for something fun to occupy your reading time – try this series.

Since black tea is actually brown in color, couldn't we have chocolate with it? Glad your travels went well, Caro, but sorry to hear about your mom.

#215
Good idea. That works for me.

>207 cameling: I must have read that Crombie pre-LT. I love the series though. I liked it better when Duncan and Gemma were partners though.

Happy weekend, Caro.

Hi Caroline, I am taking advantage of a holiday Monday to try and get caught up with some threads. Condolences on the loss of your fur-friend Prince.

Taking a BB for the Platoni book.

Have a happy weekend.

Caro a belated Gong Xi Fa Cai to you my dear. I don't think I will be on the move this month again so hopefully we will have the chance to get together shortly. xx

Oh and by the way a not-so-belated Happy Birthday!

>208 michigantrumpet: Hugs back, Marianne. The boon of long flights is indeed the amount of uninterrupted time to read, except when I'm sleeping or watching movies if they have a good selection of international or independent ones.

By now, you'll have gone through about 2 storms since I left Boston, although I hear they weren't terribly bad. But temps are dropping well into the negative this weekend, I hear. Wrap up warm, please. Better yet, stay indoors where it's nice and warm and read. :-) Perfect excuse not to go out.

>209 Crazymamie: Mamie, as with most long running series, there are some Inspector Rutledge books that are better than others, but what I do like about this series is that you don't need to read them in order. They're just as good standalones because there is sufficient background in them to catch you up to the psyche of Inspector Rutledge and his ghostly companion, Hamish, for you not to be wondering who the shadowy figure is.

I am desperate to know how the relationship between Kincaid and Gemma evolve in the Crombie series because they really do make a good team and I like that they're not superheroes, but have individual weaknesses that make them so identifiable as regular people.

I can see that Bruno, the remaining dog, has finally come to terms with missing Prince. He seems to be almost back to his usual self again, and follows us around in the evening .. which is his way of telling us that we're supposed to be taking him for a walk. When we first came to my mom's after Prince died, he was all depressed and didn't have any enthusiasm for anything or anyone. Now his tail has been wagging again and his eyes are alert and bright. His ears prick though whenever the name Prince is uttered, because we've caught ourselves forgetting that he's gone and called out to him occasionally, realizing even as his name leaves our lips that he's no longer with us. *sigh*

>210 charl08: Charlotte, did you manage to get to the celebrations in Manchester? It was crazy down here in Singapore .. food, family and friends ... almost all in that order! Lots of pugilistic troops driving around going to various houses to perform their lion dances to bring good fortune for the year ahead to the occupants of the homes, so the sound of crashing cymbals and pounding drums have been almost constant for 3 days.

Good job I have the Kindle, because I'm almost done with my dead tree books. I only have 2 left. oops.. I must have accidentally left a few at home before the trip.

>211 Whisper1: Thank you, Linda. It's a little more painful being here because there are a few Golden Retrievers in the neighborhood who were Prince's friends. We'd see them whenever we took him out for walks in the evening and he always liked to go sniff and snuffle with them for a few minutes. Now we see them, smile and say hello to the owners and then we hurry along because the reminder that their pal Prince is no longer going to greet and chat with them a while is still rather sharp.

I smile every time I think of our chance meet up in Newark too. Seriously, what are the chances! I hope it happens again ... now THAT would be just too funny.

>212 EBT1002: Ellen, I think you're going to like the Crombie series. I was very pleasantly surprised and so glad I allowed myself to be tempted by the reviews I'd read on other threads for it.

>213 Ameise1: Barbara .. YOU'RE far behind?! I am running behind a bullet train here, trying to catch up to everything I've missed in the last week and a half. One one hand, I'm missing everyone and wish I've been able to spend more time on LT in the last week and a half, and on the other hand, I've also been enjoying the fullness of RL which has presented me with a crazy work schedule that I actually like and spending time with family and friends. So it's a problem that I'm fortunate to have, really.

>214 benitastrnad: Benita, hooray (?) for you getting an unexpected reading time in the sunshine but boo to the people for not showing up. Despite not being to get back into the swing of the Goldfinch, did you enjoy the 100 odd pages and do you find it easy to get back into the story when you do manage some time for a few pages?

You're the 2nd person to send me a tantalizing warble about Kendare Blake's Goddess Wars series, so it must indeed be a good read. I've added Ungodly to my OWL and will order a copy through the library a week before I return to the Boston. I don't want to do it now because with my luck, they'll have a copy available right away and I won't be able to pick it up in time.

>215 ronincats: Thanks Roni. I'm trying to be more patient with my mom, since I realize she can't help the deterioration of her memory, but her stubbornness can be so frustrating. Edd is extremely good with her, and I'm so grateful to him for being so kind and caring towards her, taking extra time to not just talk to but with her, to point things out that he thinks might be of interest to her and to think of places to take her where she might enjoy herself. I'm blessed in my choice of a life partner and I remind myself everyday not to take him for granted. Now if only I could be half as kind and thoughtful as he is...

I met 2 friends from junior high for dinner the other night and as we were catching up and asking after each other's families, their stories about challenges with their aging parents were similar. One of their mother's is clinically depressed too and tried to kill herself one day, which was shocking to hear, because back when I knew her, she was a really energetic and fun woman. It's sad that her mental health has deteriorated to the extent that she needs to be on medication for her own safety. It brings home the sober point that one should never brush off or ignore anyone who talks about suicide, even in passing, but take it as a red flag that it could be an urgent cry for help.

>216 benitastrnad: Benita.. you know, I've had a chai tea with chocolate in it once which wasn't bad. Maybe time for a little experimenting when I get home. I wonder which black or red tea would work well with this.

>217 thornton37814: Alan.. wait, what?! Duncan and Gemma eventually stopped being partners?! Oh noooooo! When does this happen? I really need to put the next few in the series on my order list at the library before I head home.

>218 Ameise1: Barbara, what a beautiful picture. It's so hot and humid here that I really welcomed that cool snowy gif. I hope your weekend's going well.

>219 lkernagh: Lori, I'm behind in my own thread and will be spending parts of the weekend catching up with the other threads as best I can. I really don't know how so many people are good about being current on all the threads.. I must be a terrible time manager :-(

Thank you for your condolences... it hurts less now when I think of my funny fur-friend and I am grateful to everyone for their kind support.

I hope you enjoy the Platoni book. It was one of those impulsive shelf grabs that I'm glad I made.

>220 DianaNL: LOL ... Diana .. the dog has it right! I hope I'm a well loved dog in my next life. :-) Have a great weekend.

>221 PaulCranswick: Thanks, Paul for the CNY and birthday greetings. I'm glad you had a wonderful trip, the photos Hani posted were great! But it's always such a relief to be home, isn't it? Although I'm having a good time here, I'm also looking forward to finally going back home at the end of the month. I'm off to Manila next week and then KL the week after.

9. by Haruki Murakami
After the Dark

This is a wonderful little gem. When most of Tokyo's residents are winding down for the night and preparing for sleep, night denizens emerge in the hours before midnight through dawn to conduct their activities under the cloak of darkness. These are 3 interwoven stories of some of these individuals. Individuals who are lonely, who mask a nefarious self beneath a veneer of ordinariness, who harbor secrets that has them living on the edge, with an eye cast over their shoulder, and sinister individuals whom we instinctively cringe against.

They captivate us, intrigue us, thrill and mystify us.

A definite keeper for re-reads

4 stars

>224 cameling: running behind a bullet train :)
Yup!
I had wondered where you were, just down the feed, as it were. I had scrolled to find you, and durn it (my latest adopted expressioion, directly stolen from As I Lay Dying) if I wasn't interrupted by some thing, then another.

>227 cameling: Oooh. This one appeals.

10. by Howard Jacobson
Shylock is my Name

Firstly, let me say I don't understand why this book won the Man Booker Prize. Secondly, I have come to the decision that the author and I are just not meant to be.

A supposedly modern twist to Shakespeare's Merchant of Venice, I think the Bard is not only turning in his grave but jumping up and down in indignation that his classic tale is being associated with this twaddle. Mr Jacobson's 2 protagonists struggle with their daughters who do not, in their opinion, embrace their Jewish heritage, as well as their own identity and how they see themselves and each other.

I think perhaps I am not Mr Jacobson's target reader. I have decided to part ways with him and I don't think I'll pick up anything else he writes. Too many books, too little time. Best not to waste my time with works that leave me wishing I'd made a different choice.

2 stars

11. by Ernst Haffner
Blood Brothers

A book banned during the Nazi movement, and the whereabouts of the author unknown soon after. This book tells the tales of young boys who have escaped from borstals and juvenile detention centers, who, to survive, become members of gangs. Food, drink and shelter are foremost in the minds of these street children, when they're not keeping a close eye out for the police. Most would be captured and returned to the institutions from which they'd escaped, a plight to be avoided at all costs. When some turn to criminal activities in order to survive, is all hope lost to them? Or will some turn away and work against the forces towards an honest living?

A gritty look at the lives of others, but one that is well written and compelling.

4 stars

12. by Charlie Huston
The Mystic Arts of Erasing All Signs of Death

Can work cleaning up crime scenes and suicides really be what will help Web pull himself out of the downward spiral he finds himself in?

(sorry, I'm late for something.. I'll come back and write more details)

4 stars

Happy Birthday, Caro! I'll bet it's nice to celebrate back home with your family as well as Edd.

>225 cameling: I don't remember which book number it is . . . but they are both in the book after that.

Happy Birthday, Caro.

Happy Birthay, Caro! I'm glad you're enjoying what sounds like a long trip, and that you get to spend time with family on your birthday.

I'm sorry to hear about your mother's decline. I know about lacking patience - Jim was much better with my mother than I was, and I appreciated the support and talent deeply.

I'm way behind but wanted to wish you a happy birthday!

>230 cameling: I get the impression that Blood Brothers would contain some harrowing sections? I've never heard about this book/story before.

Happy belated!

Happy Valentines Day to you my friend!!!



The touchstones are whacky for the past few days. After The dark comes up as a Harry Potter book. Yikes! I am going to read After the Dark. I am also one of the who has not read the Harry Potter series. Perhaps some day I'll read that as well.

I'm thinking of you are your loss of Prince. There is a golden in our neighborhood. We all like Sasia very much. She is so loving and the neighbors all think of her as "our dog." There is something so lovely about these affectionate loving dogs.

Happy Valentine's Day, Caro!

*I missed your birthday? Hope it was full of happy!

Just wanted to let you know that The Goddess War is a series of three books. The first in the series is Antigoddess. Book 2 is Mortal Gods and book 3 is Ungodly. I will be reading Ungodly shortly.

>227 cameling: Yes! Totally agree, Caro.

Happy Birthday and Happy Valentine's Day!

Loved your comments on Shylock Is My Name, Caro. I had a hard time with it, too, although I think I liked it a little more than you did. It's the only one I've read by Jacobson, and I won't rush off to look for others by him.

>230 cameling: Dang, a BB Blood Brothers. It goes right to my library list.

>231 ronincats: Thanks Roni. It was a quiet birthday spent with my mom at lunch time, and then dinner at a friend's house with just my best friends and their spouses. Edd was rather put out because usually he likes to surprise me with a birthday celebration with my close friends but because I arrived in Singapore a few days before he did and I met 2 of my best friends for dinner, they suggested having something at one of their houses to which I agreed. When he asked one of my friends why they suggested the dinner, she said he didn't text her prior to his coming to Singapore like he did in the past, so they thought he wasn't intending to do anything this year. Haha..

>232 thornton37814: Alan, ok, as long as they're still in the book. But darn it, I was hoping they'd hook up though because they have such compatible personalities. I guess I'll have to continue reading the series to see what happens and how.

>233 BLBera: Thanks Beth

>234 ffortsa: Thank you, Judy. I don't really celebrate my birthday... most of the time, I'm reminded of it only when I wake up to cards and a present from Edd. I've never really been excited about birthdays even as a child, although my parents would hold parties for me and my friends would come and we'd have a grand time. Not sure why but I've just always been pretty nonchalant about it, and it's not because I am afraid of aging. I just think of it as another day. But Edd seems happy to want to make a bit of a celebration of it and he is especially gleeful if he manages to surprise me on the day, sweet man. But when I want to have a party for him on his birthday, he shuns that too! haha.. go figure.

I think we always think of our parents as being the people who grew up with, strong, capable and always there for us. It's sobering to come visit each time and see them gradually deteriorate and to realize that we're now in the position of a role reversal. Now I'm the one nagging my mother to do or not do stuff, watching out for her when we're out in crowds to make sure she doesn't get lost, and to be concerned over her health, while she asks for my opinion more and (sometimes) will ask for my advice. I'm very grateful that Edd is so very kind and generous towards her and she likes him too, and is cheery when he's around. I think she sees him as her ally since I'm the one to nag her while he is sympathetic towards her.

>235 EBT1002: Thanks Ellen. I'm way behind in every which way here on LT as well. I don't know how February got to be so hectic!

>236 Berly: Thanks for the dual wishes, Kim. I hope you had a lovely Valentine's Day too. Love the gifs.

>237 LovingLit: Megan, yes, there are some harrowing scenes in Blood Brothers when you consider how young the boys are, how they're treated in the borstal institutions, and the conditions they've become accustomed to in order to survive.

Well my dates and location are in for New Zealand and unfortunately Christchurch did not make the cut because I'm going down during Easter week. So I'll be zipping into Hamilton on Sunday March 21 and leaving March 23. I will probably not see you then BUT .. .never fear, I shall be back, probably next year and next time, I will be going to Christchurch. :-)

>238 Whisper1: Happy belated Valentine's Day to you, Linda. What a lovely gif.

Goldens are I think the most affectionate of the doggy species, with Labs coming a close, very close second.

>239 Crazymamie: Thanks Mamie. I had a fun day, mainly because my best friends are insane and I love them dearly. I don't get to see them as often as I would like clearly, since I live so far away, so everytime we get together are frenetic treasured moments. I hope your Valentine's Day was full of chocolatey loving goodness.

>240 benitastrnad: Benita, because I have all 3 books on a frozen hold at the library and will 'unfreeze' them a few days before I leave for Boston so that they'll be ready for me to pick up when I get back. :-)

>241 jnwelch: Thank you, Joe. I hope you had a lovely Valentine's Day too. I generally don't do much on Valentine's because I hate that restaurants try to pressure you into ordering their 'special' menu for the day. I also don't like red roses much, so Edd's spared having to run the traditional route of Valentine's. Instead we went for a lovely swim and celebrated the day with both our favorite activity .... sitting in a cosy cafe and reading. Doesn't get better than that, I say :-)

>242 BLBera: Beth, I've accepted that Howard Jacobson and I are not meant to be bosom buddies. Having also suffered through The Finkler Question, he's on my 'never again' list of authors. Thankfully this is a relatively short list, so I don't mind since there are so many other authors out there for me to discover and spend time with. I do know that he's not going to pine for my readership because there are many readers out there to whom he speaks a thrilling tune and they've written a good many wonderful reviews. I hope it's not because his publishers paid them to do so. ;-)

>243 Ameise1: Heh heh .. gotcha, Barbara! You won't regret adding Blood Brothers to your reading list.

I'm now in Manila where the traffic is almost as bad as Jakarta

I was having breakfast this morning and reading the English papers when a couple sat at the table next to me. I happened to look up and caught the guy's eye and he leaned over and asked me where I found the milk --- in Dutch. Oddly enough that's one of the few Dutch phrases I know, so I just pointed to a table in the distance and said in English that it was next to the table of fruits and yoghurt. They said thanks in Dutch and went on their way. Came back to their table and proceeded to smiling make some additional comments to me in Dutch. I waited until they paused and said I don't speak Dutch and they really looked shocked. I mean really.... why did they think I would speak Dutch? I don't look Dutch in the very least. That I happened to understand their question about milk was a fluke.

And yesterday I was standing at the lights waiting to cross the street, when 3 Koreans with a street map came up and asked me for directions ... in Korean.

I'm now waiting for someone to speak to me in Pashtun and expect me to understand. LOL

>247 cameling: I'm always freaked out when this happens to me - I have been asked in Afrikaans and German for directions and just been a bit shocked that I didn't look a tourist (I was) both times.

I love your description of an ideal valentine's day.

Goededag, Carolijn!

>247 cameling: Many Dutch people think it's all about them. Of course everyone speaks Dutch, come on! :-)

The Dutch incident is so funny! I have seen Caro and she just looks competent. I could easily imagine her able to speak Dutch. I think the propensity to have people ask you questions is largely about looks - competent and confident people are the people of whom others ask questions. Having a nice smile also helps. I have the same problem with people asking me questions. A few years ago I was called to task about wearing a name tag at work. It was made mandatory and I wasn't complying. I said I didn't need to wear one because people had no trouble asking me questions about where things were or for help in the library. If they doubted that fact they could look up my statistics and see how many questions I answered - without a name tag.

I am of course proficient in double dutch. Have a great Sunday and look forward to seeing you next week. xx

Are you guys having a meet-up again? So jealous! But happy for you. : ) Can't wait to hear what language you decide to converse in. LOL

>253 Berly: Hahaha Kimmers! Our mouths were full of food for much of the time but we still managed to gossip a fair bit in between.

Caro thanks for your company for a lovely lunch this afternoon. I was blessed by your presence as usual. Thanks for the books my dear and sorry for rushing to you with mine left in the office.

Give Ed our best wishes on a speedy recovery and not to worry because I am sure that he is a lot tougher than I am and I recovered from the same thing without much ado. xx

Caro, are all your family ok after the earthquake reported today? And have you heard from Paul?

*waves*

I wish you a wonderful weekend, Caro.

Hello everyone .... I'm going to be a lot less active here for the next few months. Nothing bad, just that for the next 6-8 months I'm going to be extremely busy with work and won't have all that much spare time. LT is a great place, but every time I log in, I end up spending about 2 hours at a minimum here if I am to catch up on threads and update my own properly. So I might pop in periodically to see how everyone's doing but I probably won't be able to do much posting. Life should get back to a more even keel after September or October. *she sez, keeping her fingers crossed*

However, I have been and will still find the time to read of course, and when I can, I will update my reading list and if possible write short reviews of the books read. I have about 4 books to post here so far. Yikes!

I'm off to Australia next week and then Hamilton, NZ from March 20-23. Short trip, but I need to be back for Easter.

Take care and no pressure. Safe journey.

>259 cameling: I completely understand about the amount of time it takes to catch up with threads. Hope you'll pop in when you can.

>259 cameling: Most of us will be here when you return :-)

Hope your travels go well. It all sounds exciting.

I'll follow along as you uodate your reading (I like the book bullets you reliably deliver). And >262 FAMeulstee: of course.

Take it easy Caro dear. I know all about the pressures of work but it seems that you have found a working place that both appreciates you and fulfills.

I will be waiting here with your legion of fans for your periodic returns. xx

I have some trips half planned and had hoped to fit in a trip to NZ near your planned visit but time will pass me by too quickly to manage it. Bearing in mind our lunch conversation the other week I will be in Sao Tome in mid April with the idea eventually of providing an alternative air route and hub to the Arabian Gulf and in order to avoid all those danger spots at the same time. Fingers crossed one day you'll fly the right way around the world again to an airport your buddy had a hand in realising. I will be in the UK for a few days at the end of this month on business and paying a call on my mum.

I am out of here for the next week as it is now our Spring Break. I am headed home to Kansas and hope to fit in some long leisurely hours of reading. It isn't going to be all fun as I have some business to attend to with my mother and for my mother, but I hope to relax.

I will miss reading of your adventures, but you are correct. LT can be a big time suck and at times, it is hard to keep up with all my friends. I will look forward to hearing from you periodically.

Caro--Best of luck with all things not LT and I will be looking for your book updates in the meanwhile. Pop in when you can--without guilt that it is not more--and we will see you when you can. Thanks for the heads up! : )

Just stopping by to say hello, Caro.

Me, too, Caro. Hello.

Miss you, Caro, but glad you are enjoying your job. We'll be here when you come by.

You weren't kidding about not being around were you?!

See if anyone can tell me why I am posting this picture.

Because it is Camelback Mountain, which is, of course, perfect for Caro and this thread!! LOL

Have a wonderful Easter.

Caro, I wish you a fabulous weekend.

>270 PaulCranswick: and >271 Berly: LOVE it!!

I hope you are doing well, Caro!

Stopping by to wish you a Happy Easter, Caroline.

And all the other days too. :)

Yup!

>247 cameling: you have a helpful face! The mark of an accomplished international traveler, you look at home wherever you are :)
Hoppy Easter (you see what I did there??!!), glad you made it to NZ, even if it was so fleetingly!

Hope you're having a good weekend, Caro.

Just keeping the thread warm here...! : )

Hey Caro - just a drive-by 'Hi!'

We miss you, Caro!

*waves to Caro*

Missing you, Caro! But the Boston Meet-up is getting closer and closer. Big grin...

*wave* Hope you enjoyed NZ.

I'm reading the latest Sonchai Jitpleecheep, Bangkok Asset, and it made me think of you, Caro. Hope all is well.

I googled "Happy camel" and look what showed up. It made me smile as I remembered your use of it in prior thread years.

>289 EBT1002: I remember that too, Ellen.

Come back every now and then and tell us your news Caro, dear. xx

>289 EBT1002: I still absolutely LOVE that image!

Missing you, Caro, and wishing you well.

Miss you, Caro, dear

The thread of

Had a fantastic time at the Meet-Up, Caro. I knew you were a lovely person, but did not expect you be to quite that wonderful. Smiles...

I wish we could have had more time...

Good to see you in the meetup photo, Caro. Looks like you all were having quite the excellent time together.

>295 Crazymamie: what a hoot!

>297 ffortsa: *grin*

Just a drive-by hello!! :)

>295 Crazymamie: where *do* you find these things!? (oh, the Internt you say?)

Hi Caro, I thought of you this morning when I packed some Camel brand dates into my kids' lunch boxes. Just thought to stop by and say that :)

Hello? Anyone out there?

>301 Berly: She was visiting a museum in Taipei earlier today, and experienced a mild earthquake during dinner last night, according to her Facebook posts.

Just wanted to remind you that ALA is in Orlando in June. When I get back to work I will put up more details for you.

I will be contacting Tim and Abby soon to get the information about the free passes to ALA. Are you still planning on going?

>40 Smiler69: What a fantastic quote! I'd like to steal it for my own use. ;)

Best wishes, Caro. I've starred your past threads, but never commented.

It is time for the summer American Library Association Conference. It is going to be held in Orlando, FL from June 24 - 27, 2016. Once again the LibraryThing gods are giving people free passes to the exhibits. Here is the link.

https://www.compusystems.com/servlet/ar?evt_uid=133&oi=ZUA4vg3DqUrHoIiGjo9vo...

Just go there and fill out the registration form and print your free pass. The free pass will allow you to collect free, or low cost, books from the publishers. Please take advantage of this offer. It is well worth the time and effort to go to the convention center and get free books. Caro, Suzanne, Marianne, and their husbands all met me in Boston for the ALA Mid-Winter conference and we all got loads of great stuff. Come join the fun!

*wave*

*hug*

*waves to Caro*

You are missed. Hope all is okay with you.

What Roni said.

Lots of Meet Up pics over at my place/thread!

I recall you saying you'd be snowed under and away until September. Looks like that was as optimistic as my own forecasts!

I do hope you'll be back again soon, dear Caro, as I am one of many here missing your presence. xx

>314 PaulCranswick: Speaking of snowed under, I noticed one of my friends in Canada complaining about the snow already. She said she hoped it would melt by next week. I told her she was getting an early start on that stuff.

I hope you emerge from the snow really soon! Miss you.

I am thankful for being able to count you as a friend. Hey Macik come on, you said September!!

Ahem. Now would be a good time to reappear!!

>319 Berly: I agree!! Hope you are well.

I will have to check.......did she say which bloody September?!

Wouldn't it be nice if 2017 was a year of peace and goodwill.
A year where people set aside their religious and racial differences.
A year where intolerance is given short shrift.
A year where hatred is replaced by, at the very least, respect.
A year where those in need are not looked upon as a burden but as a blessing.
A year where the commonality of man and woman rises up against those who would seek to subvert and divide.
A year without bombs, or shootings, or beheadings, or rape, or abuse, or spite.

2017.

Festive Greetings and a few wishes from Malaysia!

Merry Christmas Caro. I hope you are well and I hope your holidays are full of joy and good food!

Have a Happy Christmas Caro and a Great New Year!

This is the Christmas tree at the end of the Pacific Beach Pier here in San Diego, a Christmas tradition.

To all my friends here at Library Thing, I want you to know how much I value you and how much I wish you a very happy holiday, whatever one you celebrate, and the very best of New Years!

Merry Merry and Happy Happy!!

Looking forward to your continued company in 2017.
Happy New Year, Caro

Are you having a thread in 2017? I hope so!!