Mount TBR 2013 Reading Challenge discussion

I thought I had registered here, but evidently not ... duh! Thanks Bev, for helping me figure out how to do it now.

Here's what I've read so far, & I'm behind so I'd better get busy!

1. Mrs. Ames by E.F.Benson (324 pages)
2. The Gunseller by Hugh Laurie (340)
3. The View in Winter by Ronald Blythe (267)
4. Recalled to Life by Reginald Hill (392)
5. The Dogs of Bedlam Farm by John Katz (265)
6. A Country Doctor's Notebook by Mikhail Bulgakov
7. Crampton Hodnet by Barbara Pym (216)
8. The Eyre Affair by Jasper Fforde (136; abandoned)
9. Shelf Lifeby Suzanne Strempek Shea (221)
10. A Little Gentle Sleuthing by Betty Rowlands
11. Changing Planes by Ursula LeGuin
12. Bill of Wrongs: The Executive Branch's Assault on America's Fundamental Rights by Molly Ivins
13. Father Brown by G.K. Chesterton (411)
14. Narrow Dog to Carcassonne by Terry Darling (312)
15. Narrow Dog to Indian River by Terry Darling (330)
16. The American Senator by Anthony Trollope (561)
17. The Ladies of Grace Adieu by Susanna Clarke (235)

Currently reading: Judgment Day by Penelope Lively

1. Mrs. Ames by E.F.Benson (324 pages)
2. The Gunseller by Hugh Laurie (340)
3. The View in Winter by Ronald Blythe (267)
4. Recalled to Life by Reginald Hill (392)
5. The Dogs of Bedlam Farm by John Katz (265)
6. A Country Doctor's Notebook by Mikhail Bulgakov
7. Crampton Hodnet by Barbara Pym (216)
8. The Eyre Affair by Jasper Fforde (136; abandoned)
9. Shelf Lifeby Suzanne Strempek Shea (221)
10. A Little Gentle Sleuthing by Betty Rowlands
11. Changing Planes by Ursula LeGuin
12. Bill of Wrongs: The Executive Branch's Assault on America's Fundamental Rights by Molly Ivins
13. Father Brown by G.K. Chesterton (411)
14. Narrow Dog to Carcassonne by Terry Darling (312)
15. Narrow Dog to Indian River by Terry Darling (330)
16. The American Senator by Anthony Trollope (561)
17. The Ladies of Grace Adieu by Susanna Clarke (235)
18. Judgment Day by Penelope Lively (210)
19. Educating Alice by Alice Steinbach (282)


Currently reading:
The RealGrey's Anatomy by Andrew Holtz
East Wind Melts the Ice by Liza Dalby (one week at a time)

Another two down!

1. Mrs. Ames by E.F.Benson (324 pages)
2. The Gunseller by Hugh Laurie (340)
3. The View in Winter by Ronald Blythe (267)
4. Recalled to Life by Reginald Hill (392)
5. The Dogs of Bedlam Farm by John Katz (265)
6. A Country Doctor's Notebook by Mikhail Bulgakov
7. Crampton Hodnet by Barbara Pym (216)
8. The Eyre Affair by Jasper Fforde (136; abandoned)
9. Shelf Lifeby Suzanne Strempek Shea (221)
10. A Little Gentle Sleuthing by Betty Rowlands
11. Changing Planes by Ursula LeGuin
12. Bill of Wrongs: The Executive Branch's Assault on America's Fundamental Rights by Molly Ivins
13. Father Brown by G.K. Chesterton (411)
14. Narrow Dog to Carcassonne by Terry Darling (312)
15. Narrow Dog to Indian River by Terry Darling (330)
16. The American Senator by Anthony Trollope (561)
17. The Ladies of Grace Adieu by Susanna Clarke (235)
18. Judgment Day by Penelope Lively (210)
19. Educating Alice by Alice Steinbach (282)
20. The Real Grey's Anatomy by Andrew Holtz
21. Nickel and Dimed by Barbara Ehrenreich


Currently reading:
The Creaky Traveler in Ireland by Warren Rovetch
East Wind Melts the Ice by Liza Dalby (one week at a time)

1. Mrs. Ames by E.F.Benson (324 pages)
2. The Gunseller by Hugh Laurie (340)
3. The View in Winter by Ronald Blythe (267)
4. Recalled to Life by Reginald Hill (392)
5. The Dogs of Bedlam Farm by John Katz (265)
6. A Country Doctor's Notebook by Mikhail Bulgakov
7. Crampton Hodnet by Barbara Pym (216)
8. The Eyre Affair by Jasper Fforde (136; abandoned)
9. Shelf Lifeby Suzanne Strempek Shea (221)
10. A Little Gentle Sleuthing by Betty Rowlands
11. Changing Planes by Ursula LeGuin
12. Bill of Wrongs: The Executive Branch's Assault on America's Fundamental Rights by Molly Ivins
13. Father Brown by G.K. Chesterton (411)
14. Narrow Dog to Carcassonne by Terry Darling (312)
15. Narrow Dog to Indian River by Terry Darling (330)
16. The American Senator by Anthony Trollope (561)
17. The Ladies of Grace Adieu by Susanna Clarke (235)
18. Judgment Day by Penelope Lively (210)
19. Educating Alice by Alice Steinbach (282)
20. The Real Grey's Anatomy by Andrew Holtz
21. Nickel and Dimed by Barbara Ehrenreich
22. Making It Up by Penelope Lively


Currently reading:
The Creaky Traveler in Ireland by Warren Rovetch
East Wind Melts the Ice by Liza Dalby (one week at a time)
The House by the Sea by May Sarton
The Living Garden by George Ordish

1st Quarter Check In

1. Tell us how many miles you've made it up your mountain (# of books read).
16 books read

2. Complete ONE (or more if you like) of the following:

C. Have any of the books you read surprised you--if so, in what way (not as good as anticipated? unexpected ending? Best thing you've read ever? Etc.)
A Country Doctor's Notebook by Mikhail Bulgakov suprised me the most -- I thought it would be another version of the familiar country doctor; instead it was the angst-filled story of a newly-minted doctor sent to the wilds of Siberia with little or no equipment. And how he survived the brutal winter.

D. Which book (read so far) has been on your TBR mountain the longest? Was it worth the wait? Or is it possible you should have tackled it back when you first put it on the pile? Or tossed it off the edge without reading it all?
Mrs. Ames by E.F. Benson. The wait was only because I try to read TBR books in the order they were added to the pile -- I run from 2 to 3 years behind. It was worth reading, but not good enough that I should have read it back then.

Kate Harper | 7 comments 1. Mrs. Ames by E.F.Benson (324 pages)
2. The Gunseller by Hugh Laurie (340)
3. The View in Winter by Ronald Blythe (267)
4. Recalled to Life by Reginald Hill (392)
5. The Dogs of Bedlam Farm by John Katz (265)
6. A Country Doctor's Notebook by Mikhail Bulgakov
7. Crampton Hodnet by Barbara Pym (216)
8. The Eyre Affair by Jasper Fforde (136; abandoned)
9. Shelf Lifeby Suzanne Strempek Shea (221)
10. A Little Gentle Sleuthing by Betty Rowlands
11. Changing Planes by Ursula LeGuin
12. Bill of Wrongs: The Executive Branch's Assault on America's Fundamental Rights by Molly Ivins
13. Father Brown by G.K. Chesterton (411)
14. Narrow Dog to Carcassonne by Terry Darling (312)
15. Narrow Dog to Indian River by Terry Darling (330)
16. The American Senator by Anthony Trollope (561)
17. The Ladies of Grace Adieu by Susanna Clarke (235)
18. Judgment Day by Penelope Lively (210)
19. Educating Alice by Alice Steinbach (282)
20. The Real Grey's Anatomy by Andrew Holtz
21. Nickel and Dimed by Barbara Ehrenreich
22. Making It Up by Penelope Lively
23. The Living Garden by George Ordish


Currently reading:
The Creaky Traveler in Ireland by Warren Rovetch
East Wind Melts the Ice by Liza Dalby (one week at a time)
The House by the Sea by May Sarton
Children of the Archbishop

Kate Harper | 7 comments 1. Mrs. Ames by E.F.Benson (324 pages)
2. The Gunseller by Hugh Laurie (340)
3. The View in Winter by Ronald Blythe (267)
4. Recalled to Life by Reginald Hill (392)
5. The Dogs of Bedlam Farm by John Katz (265)
6. A Country Doctor's Notebook by Mikhail Bulgakov
7. Crampton Hodnet by Barbara Pym (216)
8. The Eyre Affair by Jasper Fforde (136; abandoned)
9. Shelf Lifeby Suzanne Strempek Shea (221)
10. A Little Gentle Sleuthing by Betty Rowlands
11. Changing Planes by Ursula LeGuin
12. Bill of Wrongs: The Executive Branch's Assault on America's Fundamental Rights by Molly Ivins
13. Father Brown by G.K. Chesterton (411)
14. Narrow Dog to Carcassonne by Terry Darling (312)
15. Narrow Dog to Indian River by Terry Darling (330)
16. The American Senator by Anthony Trollope (561)
17. The Ladies of Grace Adieu by Susanna Clarke (235)
18. Judgment Day by Penelope Lively (210)
19. Educating Alice by Alice Steinbach (282)
20. The Real Grey's Anatomy by Andrew Holtz
21. Nickel and Dimed by Barbara Ehrenreich
22. Making It Up by Penelope Lively
23. The Living Garden by George Ordish
24. Children of the Archbishop by Norman Cousins
25. The Law of Attraction by Esther & Jerry Hicks

1/4 of the way up the mountain!


Currently reading:
The Creaky Traveler in Ireland by Warren Rovetch
East Wind Melts the Ice by Liza Dalby (one week at a time)
The House by the Sea by May Sarton
The Double Comfort Safari Club by Alexander McCall Smith

1. Mrs. Ames by E.F.Benson (324 pages)
2. The Gunseller by Hugh Laurie (340)
3. The View in Winter by Ronald Blythe (267)
4. Recalled to Life by Reginald Hill (392)
5. The Dogs of Bedlam Farm by John Katz (265)
6. A Country Doctor's Notebook by Mikhail Bulgakov
7. Crampton Hodnet by Barbara Pym (216)
8. The Eyre Affair by Jasper Fforde (136; abandoned)
9. Shelf Lifeby Suzanne Strempek Shea (221)
10. A Little Gentle Sleuthing by Betty Rowlands
11. Changing Planes by Ursula LeGuin
12. Bill of Wrongs: The Executive Branch's Assault on America's Fundamental Rights by Molly Ivins
13. Father Brown by G.K. Chesterton (411)
14. Narrow Dog to Carcassonne by Terry Darling (312)
15. Narrow Dog to Indian River by Terry Darling (330)
16. The American Senator by Anthony Trollope (561)
17. The Ladies of Grace Adieu by Susanna Clarke (235)
18. Judgment Day by Penelope Lively (210)
19. Educating Alice by Alice Steinbach (282)
20. The Real Grey's Anatomy by Andrew Holtz
21. Nickel and Dimed by Barbara Ehrenreich
22. Making It Up by Penelope Lively
23. The Living Garden by George Ordish
24. Children of the Archbishop by Norman Cousins
25. The Law of Attraction by Esther & Jerry Hicks
26. The Double Comfort Safari Club by Alexander McCall Smith (211)

Currently reading:
The Creaky Traveler in Ireland by Warren Rovetch
East Wind Melts the Ice by Liza Dalby (one week at a time)
The House by the Sea by May Sarton
The Saturday Big Tent Wedding by Alexander McCall Smith

The Gunseller by Hugh Laurie (340)
3. The View in Winter by Ronald Blythe (267)
4. Recalled to Life by Reginald Hill (392)
5. The Dogs of Bedlam Farm by John Katz (265)
6. A Country Doctor's Notebook by Mikhail Bulgakov
7. Crampton Hodnet by Barbara Pym (216)
8. The Eyre Affair by Jasper Fforde (136; abandoned)
9. Shelf Lifeby Suzanne Strempek Shea (221)
10. A Little Gentle Sleuthing by Betty Rowlands
11. Changing Planes by Ursula LeGuin
12. Bill of Wrongs: The Executive Branch's Assault on America's Fundamental Rights by Molly Ivins
13. Father Brown by G.K. Chesterton (411)
14. Narrow Dog to Carcassonne by Terry Darling (312)
15. Narrow Dog to Indian River by Terry Darling (330)
16. The American Senator by Anthony Trollope (561)
17. The Ladies of Grace Adieu by Susanna Clarke (235)
18. Judgment Day by Penelope Lively (210)
19. Educating Alice by Alice Steinbach (282)
20. The Real Grey's Anatomy by Andrew Holtz
21. Nickel and Dimed by Barbara Ehrenreich
22. Making It Up by Penelope Lively
23. The Living Garden by George Ordish
24. Children of the Archbishop by Norman Cousins
25. The Law of Attraction by Esther & Jerry Hicks
26. The Double Comfort Safari Club by Alexander McCall Smith (211)
27. The Saturday Big Tent Wedding by Alexander McCall Smith
28. The Limpopo Academy of Private Detection by Alexander McCall Smith

Currently reading:
The Creaky Traveler in Ireland by Warren Rovetch
East Wind Melts the Ice by Liza Dalby (one week at a time)
The House by the Sea by May Sarton
Songbuilder: The Life & Music of Guy Clark by Nick Evans & Jeff Horne

The Gunseller by Hugh Laurie (340)
3. The View in Winter by Ronald Blythe (267)
4. Recalled to Life by Reginald Hill (392)
5. The Dogs of Bedlam Farm by John Katz (265)
6. A Country Doctor's Notebook by Mikhail Bulgakov
7. Crampton Hodnet by Barbara Pym (216)
8. The Eyre Affair by Jasper Fforde (136; abandoned)
9. Shelf Lifeby Suzanne Strempek Shea (221)
10. A Little Gentle Sleuthing by Betty Rowlands
11. Changing Planes by Ursula LeGuin
12. Bill of Wrongs: The Executive Branch's Assault on America's Fundamental Rights by Molly Ivins
13. Father Brown by G.K. Chesterton (411)
14. Narrow Dog to Carcassonne by Terry Darling (312)
15. Narrow Dog to Indian River by Terry Darling (330)
16. The American Senator by Anthony Trollope (561)
17. The Ladies of Grace Adieu by Susanna Clarke (235)
18. Judgment Day by Penelope Lively (210)
19. Educating Alice by Alice Steinbach (282)
20. The Real Grey's Anatomy by Andrew Holtz
21. Nickel and Dimed by Barbara Ehrenreich
22. Making It Up by Penelope Lively
23. The Living Garden by George Ordish
24. Children of the Archbishop by Norman Cousins
25. The Law of Attraction by Esther & Jerry Hicks
26. The Double Comfort Safari Club by Alexander McCall Smith (211)
27. The Saturday Big Tent Wedding by Alexander McCall Smith
28. The Limpopo Academy of Private Detection by Alexander McCall Smith
29. The Creaky Traveler in Ireland by Warren Rovetch
30. The House by the Sea by May Sarton
31. Songbuilder: The Life & Music of Guy Clark by Nick Evans & Jeff Horne
32. Her Fearful Symmetry by Audrey Neffenegger

Currently reading:

East Wind Melts the Ice by Liza Dalby (one week at a time)
Another Country by Christopher Camuto
Back on the Fire: Essays by Gary Snyder (current car book)

Well,obviously I'm behind schedule -- 16 down. YIKES! The problem is that I've committed to reading the books in my TBR mountain in the order I acquired them, which means I sometimes hit books that are long, or dense, or both. But 6 books per month obviously isn't going to get me to the top of the mountain by the end of the year, so I'd better get cracking!

1. Mrs. Ames (324 pages)
2. The Gun Seller(340)
3. The View in Winter(267)
4. Recalled To Life(392)
5. The Dogs of Bedlam Farm: An Adventure with Sixteen Sheep, Three Dogs, Two Donkeys, and Me (265)
6. A Country Doctor's Notebook (158)
7. Crampton Hodnet(216)
8. Crampton Hodnet(136; abandoned)
9. Shelf Life: Romance, Mystery, Drama, and Other Page-Turning Adventures from a Year in a Book store(221)
10. A Little Gentle Sleuthing (268)
11. Changing Planes (244)
12. Bill of Wrongs: The Executive Branch's Assault on America's Fundamental Rights (214)
13. Father Brown(411)
14. Narrow Dog To Carcassonne (312)
15. Narrow Dog to Indian River(330)
16. The American Senator (561)
17. The Ladies of Grace Adieu and Other Stories (235)
18. Judgment Day(210)
19. Educating Alice: Adventures of a Curious Woman(282)
20. The Real Grey's Anatomy: A Behind-The-Scenes Look at The Real Lives of Surgical Residents(305)
21.Nickel and Dimed: On (Not) Getting By in America (221)
22. Making it Up (215)
23. The Living Garden: The 400-Year History of an English Garden (288)
24. Children of the Archbishop (576)
25. The Law of Attraction: The Basics of the Teachings of Abraham (192)
26. The Double Comfort Safari Club(211)
27. The Saturday Big Tent Wedding Party (213)
28. The Limpopo Academy of Private Detection (257)
29. The Creaky Traveler in Ireland: Clare, Kerry and West Cork - A Journey for the Mobile But Not Agile (238)
30. The House by the Sea (288)
31. Songbuilder (184)
32. Her Fearful Symmetry (416)
33. Another Country: Journeying toward the Cherokee Mountains (319)
34. Mansfield Park Revisited: A Jane Austen Entertainment(201)
35. A Carrion Death (462)
36. Murder Most Austen (291)

Currently reading:
East Wind Melts The Ice: A Memoir Through The Seasons
Back on the Fire: Essays (current car book)
Your Money or Your Life: Transforming Your Relationship with Money and Achieving Financial Independence
Charade

1. Mrs. Ames (324 pages)
2. The Gun Seller(340)
3. The View in Winter(267)
4. Recalled To Life(392)
5. The Dogs of Bedlam Farm: An Adventure with Sixteen Sheep, Three Dogs, Two Donkeys, and Me (265)
6. A Country Doctor's Notebook (158)
7. Crampton Hodnet(216)
8. Crampton Hodnet(136; abandoned)
9. Shelf Life: Romance, Mystery, Drama, and Other Page-Turning Adventures from a Year in a Book store(221)
10. A Little Gentle Sleuthing (268)
11. Changing Planes (244)
12. Bill of Wrongs: The Executive Branch's Assault on America's Fundamental Rights (214)
13. Father Brown(411)
14. Narrow Dog To Carcassonne (312)
15. Narrow Dog to Indian River(330)
16. The American Senator (561)
17. The Ladies of Grace Adieu and Other Stories (235)
18. Judgment Day(210)
19. Educating Alice: Adventures of a Curious Woman(282)
20. The Real Grey's Anatomy: A Behind-The-Scenes Look at The Real Lives of Surgical Residents(305)
21.Nickel and Dimed: On (Not) Getting By in America (221)
22. Making it Up (215)
23. The Living Garden: The 400-Year History of an English Garden (288)
24. Children of the Archbishop (576)
25. The Law of Attraction: The Basics of the Teachings of Abraham (192)
26. The Double Comfort Safari Club(211)
27. The Saturday Big Tent Wedding Party (213)
28. The Limpopo Academy of Private Detection (257)
29. The Creaky Traveler in Ireland: Clare, Kerry and West Cork - A Journey for the Mobile But Not Agile (238)
30. The House by the Sea (288)
31. Songbuilder (184)
32. Her Fearful Symmetry (416)
33. Another Country: Journeying toward the Cherokee Mountains (319)
34. Mansfield Park Revisited: A Jane Austen Entertainment(201)
35. A Carrion Death (462)
36. Murder Most Austen (291)
37. Charade
38. Granta 23: Home
39. Still Life With Chickens by Catherine Goldhammer

Currently reading:
East Wind Melts The Ice: A Memoir Through The Seasons
Back on the Fire: Essays (current car book)
Your Money or Your Life: Transforming Your Relationship with Money and Achieving Financial Independence
Wuthering Heights

I am a complete failure as a reader! I couldn't stand Wuthering Heights! I keep on reading it, thinking it was bound to get better, after all, everyone else in the world loves it. Gave up on page 216 (out of 298.) Counting it as read & moving on ...

1. Mrs. Ames (324 pages)
2. The Gun Seller(340)
3. The View in Winter(267)
4. Recalled To Life(392)
5. The Dogs of Bedlam Farm: An Adventure with Sixteen Sheep, Three Dogs, Two Donkeys, and Me (265)
6. A Country Doctor's Notebook (158)
7. Crampton Hodnet(216)
8. Crampton Hodnet(136; abandoned)
9. Shelf Life: Romance, Mystery, Drama, and Other Page-Turning Adventures from a Year in a Book store(221)
10. A Little Gentle Sleuthing (268)
11. Changing Planes (244)
12. Bill of Wrongs: The Executive Branch's Assault on America's Fundamental Rights (214)
13. Father Brown(411)
14. Narrow Dog To Carcassonne (312)
15. Narrow Dog to Indian River(330)
16. The American Senator (561)
17. The Ladies of Grace Adieu and Other Stories (235)
18. Judgment Day(210)
19. Educating Alice: Adventures of a Curious Woman(282)
20. The Real Grey's Anatomy: A Behind-The-Scenes Look at The Real Lives of Surgical Residents(305)
21.Nickel and Dimed: On (Not) Getting By in America (221)
22. Making it Up (215)
23. The Living Garden: The 400-Year History of an English Garden (288)
24. Children of the Archbishop (576)
25. The Law of Attraction: The Basics of the Teachings of Abraham (192)
26. The Double Comfort Safari Club(211)
27. The Saturday Big Tent Wedding Party (213)
28. The Limpopo Academy of Private Detection (257)
29. The Creaky Traveler in Ireland: Clare, Kerry and West Cork - A Journey for the Mobile But Not Agile (238)
30. The House by the Sea (288)
31. Songbuilder (184)
32. Her Fearful Symmetry (416)
33. Another Country: Journeying toward the Cherokee Mountains (319)
34. Mansfield Park Revisited: A Jane Austen Entertainment(201)
35. A Carrion Death (462)
36. Murder Most Austen (291)
37. Charade
38. Granta 23: Home
39. Still Life With Chickens by Catherine Goldhammer
40. Wuthering Heights by Emily Bronte

Currently reading:
East Wind Melts The Ice: A Memoir Through The Seasons
Back on the Fire: Essays (current car book)
Your Money or Your Life: Transforming Your Relationship with Money and Achieving Financial Independence
Every Last Cuckoo by Kate Maloy

I hope my resonance differs because I'd like to try Jane Austen and the Brontes. But I hear what you're saying if I compare it to films. How's this for disliking the mainstream?

I couldn't stand "Slumdog Millionaire", "The Godfather", "Marley & Me", wouldn't think of watching stuff like "Precious", "The Colour Purple", "Water For Elephants" (no animal death or harm). I find Johnny Depp hype annoying, couldn't care less about Brad Pitt or Bradley Cooper, and don't think George Clooney is handsome - but talented; I would watch his films.

C. wrote: "I hope my resonance differs because I'd like to try Jane Austen and the Brontes. But I hear what you're saying if I compare it to films. How's this for disliking the mainstream?

I couldn't stand..."

LOL, you're after my own heart -- a person of independent mind! I love Jane Austen, so far haven't taken to the Brontes at all. Jane Eyre is on my list for this challenge -- let's hope it proves better than Wuthering Heights was!

May I ask what you disliked (I doubt a non-mystery really has spoilers)? I always love meeting people after their heart and mind. :) "Independent mind" is kind. "Odd" has been my categorization! And to be honest I take it as a compliment. Heeheehee. Carolyn in south central Canada.

It was turgid, murky, overproduced. Lots of nastiness & hatred based on incomprehensible motives. None of the characters were very likeable -- either they were weak, sickly, alcoholic or else vicious, vindictive. The plot wasn't much either: as far as I can tell it was about how Heathcliff had plotted to bring the downfall of everyone involved in his life -- to have the power to make their lives miserable. From pure meanness.

All of this delivered in the thud & blunder of melodramatic Victorian prose -- pages & pages of wordy description. The whole thing was excruciatingly boring! Granted, I jumped ship in despair before reading the last 100 pages or so, so it might have gotten better. But it had already had 200 pages to get better & hadn't, so I think the odds were against any miraculous recovery!

This is the only time I've ever thought that if I saw the film, I might have been able to make sense of/enjoy the book.

It just occurred to me that I do like Dickens, & his books of course have a lot of those same characteristics: people living in squalor & meanness, lots of heavy description, etc. The difference being the writing style, I think. There are generally several likeable characters in amongst the thieves & blackhearts in Dickens, but there weren't any in WH. And I think that made all the difference.

I think people generally put me in the "strange" or "different" category -- I certainly don't share much interest or philosophy with most people. Nor do I read what most people do. It's been amazing to me how many here on GR read nothing but chick lit or romance rather than something with a little more depth to it. But then I'm a big mystery reader, so I guess I can't point fingers!

Nice to meet you!
Kate, in Sacrademento, California

Is that a typo of your state's capital or a town I haven't heard of? I've been to southern California a little bit and loved it. A 19 year-old vacationing solo to meet a few penpals. :-) It's nice to meet you too Kate.

Who's to say mystery isn't of depth or quality, because it's mainstream? Don't some of these become classics too, whoever it is that sits upon a dais and judges what it is that scholars should fawn over or scorn? I've you've read any Conan Doyle, A Christie, Charlotte MacLeod; the language alone leaves my jaw gaping in my presumption that *I* possessed mastery of eloquence.

If I draw from the film industry again, the sobbing or violent pictures commonly earning 'Oscars' aren't what most people flock to see. Isn't that odd? Omitting the over-hyped Johnny Depp / Brad Armpit (blech) and trilogy idolizing drugged idiots for getting a "Hangover"; we find that the films enjoyed by the average person aren't 'Oscar' material. When Peter Jackson first won for "Lord Of The Rings", he said thanks for breaking the habit of excluding 'the F word', aka FANTASY.

As for reading something of quality and what you touched on, about 'homesticking', I would call it; I now turn to music. A person must have favourites. It is indeed how I mentally identify someone I've met. But to listen to only one type of music, is like only exercising one mood in your emotions. For literature it's worse if you pinpoint one narrow type: 'vampires', or what scares me most is the proliferation of 'young adult'. Do enjoy some vampire stories but the amount of crap out there boggles the mind.

Among my reviews, partly for reading challenges, there is a great deal of 'YA' / children. Some is fantastic, so good one doesn't notice age. But I fear for a generation of 25+ year-olds PRIMARILY reading that! By the time I reached 30, I couldn't bear a story about a 15 year-old in high school. Of course she has special powers but keeps it a secret and then finds out the bad boy in her class belongs to an adversary clan. However they're attracted to each other and will meet in the forest when she's done babysitting that evening and he has finished delivering his newspapers. {GAG}

C. wrote: "I hope my resonance differs because I'd like to try Jane Austen and the Brontes. But I hear what you're saying if I compare it to films. How's this for disliking the mainstream?

I couldn't stand..."

I'm with you on almost all of this--I did see "The Color Purple" (in college)--and while it was a powerful movie, I can't say it's one I would have chosen to see for entertainment. I don't like the Depp hype--but I do like watching the man act. And Brad Pitt and George Clooney do nothing (zip, zero, nada)for me. No opinion on Bradley Cooper (in fact, I'll have to go look him up on Google, 'cause I can't even place him. :-) ). So, I for one, don't think you're odd at all--unless being odd means being cool. Then I want to join your ranks. :-)

I caught the triumphant ending of "The Colour Purple" on TV, maybe last year but found the latter 30-45 minutes mean enough. I had a used book and couldn't stand the first sentence, about assault and killing a resulting infant. I thus avoid Alice Walker.

Because I enjoy "Ellen DeGeneres Show" from whence my entertainment news derives, I'm aware Bradley Cooper is in the hangover movies, with Ed Helms. I know HIM from "The Office", which I loved. I am mainstream in my delight of that, "Community", and "Big Bang Theory". As far as I'm concerned, Star Trek didn't win enough awards, in films or in television. hehehe

When it comes to the mass of 'reality' and CSI stuff, including police-driven literature; not for me. I relate to non-professional heroines, who teach what WE'D do in a given situation. I prefer mysteries consisting of no crime, which are very rare! Lyn Hamilton, Robert Arthur, Rebecca Hale... Give me a riddle, map, or ghost story any day! Know of others? Please direct me to them.

C. wrote: " As far as I'm concerned, Star Trek didn't win enough awards, in films or in television."

Yes. Absolutely. Yes.

Yay Bev! You see why I'm a "Big Bang Theory" fan, with references if not guest appearances from Trek royalty! Until the two Chris Pine / Zachary Quinto films emerged, it was all I had. Fun Carolyn trivia: the sole audio book I own is Bill Shatner's autobiography ~ I look forward to it in his own voice. Hahaha! An odd footnote here is that I have never desired to read sci-fi. My Ray Bradbury attempt didn't have any lightness at all.

Some sci-fi is great! I don't care much for the "hardware or technology" genre, but the "anthropological" genre is great! C.J. Cherryh is particularly good at it -- I took an anthro class at community college that was about sci-fi. Did an ethnography on her Faded Sun trilogy, which is excellent! Also really like her Morgaine series. Love Andre Norton, & Pamela Sargeant & Patricia Wrede. I'm always at a loss of memory when I try to remember beloved authors' names, so there are definitely more! I just can't remember who they are at the moment ...

Aww...no to Bradbury? I like both hard SF and the people stories. But Kate is right--especially about Pamela Sargeant! James Tiptree, Jr. (aka Alice Bradley Shelden) is also really good.

I only tried "Dark They Were & Golden-Eye". Perhaps because Ray did an early form, I found it bleak. Maybe I like the emotional attachment and jocularity of the Trek actors, which is why novels prompt no interest. But I'm learning sci-fi can mean a whole lot more. Both you fine ladies are reinforcing that now. I LOVE archaeology (hence Lyn Hamilton).

So no one misses the end of comment #21: I seek mysteries that don't have to do with crime. Ghosts are the awesome ultimate but optional. As long as a synopsis doesn't suggest a ghost but not put out. Argh! If I wanted 'a logical explanation', I wouldn't CHOOSE something with "spirit of", "haunted", or "ghost" in a title! Jeepers, when will authors have the balls to actively USE the paranormal in storylines they dangle? {'Balls' and 'dangle' in the same sentence was unintentional}.

As for good quality sci-fi, I'm willing to try it. Wasn't into fantasy until my early 20s. A peculiar predicament required that I borrowed a paperback. I've intended to blog about the story for ages. It would be hilarious. I have long enjoyed fantasy and also sci-fi films.

We have that in common Carolyn--I love archaeology too, so much that I majored in it. I read anything that has to do with archaeology. I think I would even read a bodice ripper that had archaeology in it. No wait! I have done, & that was going way too far! LOL

When comparing material, I beamed that you added several Lyn Hamilton to your interest list. She is my recently-discovered, favourite Canadian author of all time and I love her direct writing style. It astounded me to find a successful example (hurray!) of how I have approached my first authoring attempt. Uncanny, I thought! Detail where you want it but skimming where unnecessary, natural dialogue, and a single woman of her 40s.

Ladies & gentlemen, I haven't yet been a Mom but have a spouse. My most recent birthday -er- concluded my 30s. I continue to realistically consider myself very young, healthy, and (if not exactly taut); a fair lady. How hard is it to find: a 40s protagonist portrayed as young and beautiful, who is not a parent, or bitter divorcée? Lyn's character is divorced but into dating and running around the world for artifacts. I tired of 18 year-olds being the symbol of attractiveness and agility; especially voluptuous-looking urban fantasy covers! Anyway I'm happy with 30 year-old heroines, if anyone knows of mysteries or adventures that don't hinge on crime.

Archaelogy: I'm a "Relic Hunter" television show fan. I have unread shelves stuffed with Elizabeth Peters / Barbara Michaels to try out. It has dawned on me a few times that my calling might have been archaeology. Perhaps to compensate and because these are my strengths, one thing I studied formally is languages. I would excel at deciphering scripts, records, stone. Climbing Chichen Itza, México in 2004 was a dream. Nearby: Xel-ha and Tulúm were gorgeous but Cobá? Unbelievable.

Re Your mysteries w/o crime comment. Hmmm. Let me think on it. Most of the mysteries I read are murder mysteries...but I prefer the Golden Age where there's little blood and gore, so I'm mostly in it for the puzzle.

Thank you Beverly. hehe Let me try another way. 'Bodies' are über common (why authors specify 'dead body' is redundant). Thus it can contain that old tune, or thievery. However I'd like to find novels or series FOCUSED on hidden places, mystical phenomenon, codes, ancient secrets, new discoveries, secret rooms.... any wonderful, REAL mystery material.

If we additionally throw in a non-maternal (and non-nun) protagonist over 30, without going as far as Mrs. Pollifax or Marple; by gum I want that author's F'n autograph, never mind their books!

C. wrote: "Archaelogy: I'm a "Relic Hunter" television show fan. I have unread shelves stuffed with Elizabeth Peters / Barbara Michaels to try out. It has dawned on me a few times that my calling might hav..."

Well bother! Relic Hunter isn't on Netflix. I didn't see it when it aired down here. And don't tell me you've been to Chichen Itza, Xel-ha, Tulúm & Cobá!!! They're all on my bucket list, and have been all my life.

Have you read Richard Halliburton? You will gobble him up, I promise! Ditto Tony Hillerman. Ditto Loren Eisley. They should keep you occupied & happy for a while!

Canada came up with a few good programs, short-lived or not. "Mysterious Ways" was another: also at a university, with a Mulder & Scully vibe going on. A male professor investigates miraculous phenomena with a smart chick pupil, a psychiatrist colleague is skeptical but tags along. FYI, the actress formerly played the little girl who called Oprah 'ugly' in "The Colour Purple". I believe the male professor is the husband of the lead Dixie Chicks singer.

One needn't rely on 'Itunes' or 'Netflix'. Download software for torrents: Azareus, Utorrent, Shareaza. Then search on 'ThePirateBay.org'. "Relic Hunter", "Mysterious Ways" are there.

You won't envy me to know (A) It wasn't made clear to me that using the other stairs atop the pyramid, did not go to the same place. No one told me of a pyramid inside a pyramid until we were leaving! It also wasn't stated clearly that if I sought a grass-level entrance, I'd be priviledged to visit a tomb! I tried to enter but was told to wait for a party to exit, then was urged to run for our bus. :(

(B) My fiancé & I happened to have a huge tiff, after being harrassed by timeshare sharks for 3 hours (whereby, with me speaking Spanish, we did get the moula promised by an idiot at the airport). So feel free to laugh if you picture my fiancé & I furious with each other, stomping up the stairs of the largest pyramid! (And me killing him for not clarifying the other stairs & tomb entrance, earlier).

I'm happy to say, all was well at the Xel-ha marine life resort. {When they rent snorkles, no one explains how to use them}.... It was the most gorgeous place I ever saw. A few miles away is Tulúm. Although small, I'll never forget the bright vibrant view of pyramids against ocean.

Cobá, no one had heard of. You are still first to know what I speak of. When we went, it had just been unearthed 5 years prior! You couldn't get a postcard but acceptable, for such an honour. You could even see the mounds of some pyramids, still buried! I loved it best. It's unpolished. The rougher, STEEPER stone; that it's still so dusty and wild all over. It also turns out to be oldest of the sites.

1. Mrs. Ames (324 pages)
2. The Gun Seller(340)
3. The View in Winter(267)
4. Recalled To Life(392)
5. The Dogs of Bedlam Farm: An Adventure with Sixteen Sheep, Three Dogs, Two Donkeys, and Me (265)
6. A Country Doctor's Notebook (158)
7. Crampton Hodnet(216)
8. Crampton Hodnet(136; abandoned)
9. Shelf Life: Romance, Mystery, Drama, and Other Page-Turning Adventures from a Year in a Book store(221)
10. A Little Gentle Sleuthing (268)
11. Changing Planes (244)
12. Bill of Wrongs: The Executive Branch's Assault on America's Fundamental Rights (214)
13. Father Brown(411)
14. Narrow Dog To Carcassonne (312)
15. Narrow Dog to Indian River(330)
16. The American Senator (561)
17. The Ladies of Grace Adieu and Other Stories (235)
18. Judgment Day(210)
19. Educating Alice: Adventures of a Curious Woman(282)
20. The Real Grey's Anatomy: A Behind-The-Scenes Look at The Real Lives of Surgical Residents(305)
21.Nickel and Dimed: On (Not) Getting By in America (221)
22. Making it Up (215)
23. The Living Garden: The 400-Year History of an English Garden (288)
24. Children of the Archbishop (576)
25. The Law of Attraction: The Basics of the Teachings of Abraham (192)
26. The Double Comfort Safari Club(211)
27. The Saturday Big Tent Wedding Party (213)
28. The Limpopo Academy of Private Detection (257)
29. The Creaky Traveler in Ireland: Clare, Kerry and West Cork - A Journey for the Mobile But Not Agile (238)
30. The House by the Sea (288)
31. Songbuilder (184)
32. Her Fearful Symmetry (416)
33. Another Country: Journeying toward the Cherokee Mountains (319)
34. Mansfield Park Revisited: A Jane Austen Entertainment(201)
35. A Carrion Death (462)
36. Murder Most Austen (291)
37. Charade
38. Granta 23: Home
39. Still Life With Chickens by Catherine Goldhammer
40. Wuthering Heights by Emily Bronte
41. Every Last Cuckoo by Kate Maloy
42. Spiderweb by Penelope Lively
43. The Headmaster by John McPhee
44. Confessions of a Jane Austen Addict by Laurie Viera Rigler

Currently reading:
East Wind Melts The Ice: A Memoir Through The Seasons
Back on the Fire: Essays (current car book)
Your Money or Your Life: Transforming Your Relationship with Money and Achieving Financial Independence
Case Histories by Kate Atkinson

I'm beginning to wonder if I'm going to make it to the top this year! Here we are in August, & I've only read 43 books! ARGH! Life has become complicated so that I don't have as much time to read as I used to. And the next book up on my TBR list is To Serve Them All Their Days by R.F. Delderfield & it's 624 pages long!

Wow, that's an impressive reading list! What did you think of The Ladies of Grace Adieu and Other Stories? I loved it, especially the first story where we see Strange again (but then, Jonathan Strange and Mr Norrell is in my top 5 favourite books).

Also, what did you think of Confessions of a Jane Austen Addict? I really like Austen's novels, but I've never picked up a contemporary novel about her, maybe because I feel I'm bound to be disappointed.

Here's my review of Confessions of a Jane Austen Addict: http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/...

Here's my review of The Ladies of Grace Adieu:http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/...
I haven't had the chance to read Jonathan Strange and Mr Norrell yet, although I have it in my TBR mountain. It's such a **big**book, it's rather daunting! But I know a lot of people have really liked it, so I'm going to plunge in when it comes up as the next book to be read.

1. Mrs. Ames (324 pages)
2. The Gun Seller(340)
3. The View in Winter(267)
4. Recalled To Life(392)
5. The Dogs of Bedlam Farm: An Adventure with Sixteen Sheep, Three Dogs, Two Donkeys, and Me (265)
6. A Country Doctor's Notebook (158)
7. Crampton Hodnet(216)
8. Crampton Hodnet(136; abandoned)
9. Shelf Life: Romance, Mystery, Drama, and Other Page-Turning Adventures from a Year in a Book store(221)
10. A Little Gentle Sleuthing (268)
11. Changing Planes (244)
12. Bill of Wrongs: The Executive Branch's Assault on America's Fundamental Rights (214)
13. Father Brown(411)
14. Narrow Dog To Carcassonne (312)
15. Narrow Dog to Indian River(330)
16. The American Senator (561)
17. The Ladies of Grace Adieu and Other Stories (235)
18. Judgment Day(210)
19. Educating Alice: Adventures of a Curious Woman(282)
20. The Real Grey's Anatomy: A Behind-The-Scenes Look at The Real Lives of Surgical Residents(305)
21.Nickel and Dimed: On (Not) Getting By in America (221)
22. Making it Up (215)
23. The Living Garden: The 400-Year History of an English Garden (288)
24. Children of the Archbishop (576)
25. The Law of Attraction: The Basics of the Teachings of Abraham (192)
26. The Double Comfort Safari Club(211)
27. The Saturday Big Tent Wedding Party (213)
28. The Limpopo Academy of Private Detection (257)
29. The Creaky Traveler in Ireland: Clare, Kerry and West Cork - A Journey for the Mobile But Not Agile (238)
30. The House by the Sea (288)
31. Songbuilder (184)
32. Her Fearful Symmetry (416)
33. Another Country: Journeying toward the Cherokee Mountains (319)
34. Mansfield Park Revisited: A Jane Austen Entertainment(201)
35. A Carrion Death (462)
36. Murder Most Austen (291)
37. Charade (188)
38. Granta 23: Home (253)
39. Still Life With Chickens by Catherine Goldhammer (179)
40. Wuthering Heights by Emily Bronte (216)
41. Every Last Cuckoo by Kate Maloy (277)
42. Spiderweb by Penelope Lively (218)
43. The Headmaster by John McPhee (147)
44. Confessions of a Jane Austen Addict by Laurie Viera Rigler (293)
45. Case Histories by Kate Atkinson (310)

Currently reading:
East Wind Melts The Ice: A Memoir Through The Seasons
Back on the Fire: Essays (current car book)
Your Money or Your Life: Transforming Your Relationship with Money and Achieving Financial Independence
To Serve Them All My Days by R.F.Delderfield

Kate wrote: "Here's my review of Confessions of a Jane Austen Addict: http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/...

Here's my review of The Ladies of Grace Adieu:http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/...
..."

I certainly won't waste my time with Confessions of a Jane Austen Addict : it sounds like the main character is really annoying.

And, concerning The Ladies of Grace Adieu, the same thing often happens to me : I buy a book and when I get around to reading it, the subject doesn't really interests me anymore. Still, even if this book was not a five stars for you, you might like Jonathan Strange and Mr Norrell, especially if you like 19th century England.

La_mariane wrote: "Kate wrote: "Here's my review of Confessions of a Jane Austen Addict: http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/...

Here's my review of The Ladies of Grace Adieu:http://www.goodreads.com/review/s..."

I do like 19th century England, & am actually looking forward to reading it. I have it in HB, & wish it was PB, I think ti would lighter & easier to hold. But I will read it, as soon as it pops up on the TBR list. I do try to read TBR books in the order I got them. That way I'm only a couple of years behind ...:p

Kate wrote: "La_mariane wrote: "Kate wrote: "Here's my review of Confessions of a Jane Austen Addict: http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/...

Here's my review of The Ladies of Grace Adieu:http://www.goo..."

You're better organised than I am, then. I can't even remeber in which order I bought my books...

Well, actually it's not the order I got them in, but the order I put them on my wishlist. And GR tracks that for me. I do track what I've read in a month, & what books I've acquired in a month, in a vlaient but vain effort to read more than I acquire, so the TBR pile will go down. So far? Not even close! :(

I take advantage of deals and have been buying in bulk since I was about 20. Which means it HAS TO BE years before many of them crack a page. I make room for them and like their colourful presence around me, as I pick and choose through the years.

Cleaning out titles I didn't like is fine. I'm not against whittling down. Pre-collecting in bulk when I find an awesome opportunity is worth it. But I'm not necessary getting to them in the same decade!

Kate Harper | 28 comments 1. Mrs. Ames (324 pages)
2. The Gun Seller(340)
3. The View in Winter(267)
4. Recalled To Life(392)
5. The Dogs of Bedlam Farm: An Adventure with Sixteen Sheep, Three Dogs, Two Donkeys, and Me (265)
6. A Country Doctor's Notebook (158)
7. Crampton Hodnet(216)
8. Crampton Hodnet(136; abandoned)
9. Shelf Life: Romance, Mystery, Drama, and Other Page-Turning Adventures from a Year in a Book store(221)
10. A Little Gentle Sleuthing (268)
11. Changing Planes (244)
12. Bill of Wrongs: The Executive Branch's Assault on America's Fundamental Rights (214)
13. Father Brown(411)
14. Narrow Dog To Carcassonne (312)
15. Narrow Dog to Indian River(330)
16. The American Senator (561)
17. The Ladies of Grace Adieu and Other Stories (235)
18. Judgment Day(210)
19. Educating Alice: Adventures of a Curious Woman(282)
20. The Real Grey's Anatomy: A Behind-The-Scenes Look at The Real Lives of Surgical Residents(305)
21.Nickel and Dimed: On (Not) Getting By in America (221)
22. Making it Up (215)
23. The Living Garden: The 400-Year History of an English Garden (288)
24. Children of the Archbishop (576)
25. The Law of Attraction: The Basics of the Teachings of Abraham (192)
26. The Double Comfort Safari Club(211)
27. The Saturday Big Tent Wedding Party (213)
28. The Limpopo Academy of Private Detection (257)
29. The Creaky Traveler in Ireland: Clare, Kerry and West Cork - A Journey for the Mobile But Not Agile (238)
30. The House by the Sea (288)
31. Songbuilder (184)
32. Her Fearful Symmetry (416)
33. Another Country: Journeying toward the Cherokee Mountains (319)
34. Mansfield Park Revisited: A Jane Austen Entertainment(201)
35. A Carrion Death (462)
36. Murder Most Austen (291)
37. Charade (188)
38. Granta 23: Home (253)
39. Still Life With Chickens by Catherine Goldhammer (179)
40. Wuthering Heights by Emily Bronte (216)
41. Every Last Cuckoo by Kate Maloy (277)
42. Spiderweb by Penelope Lively (218)
43. The Headmaster by John McPhee (147)
44. Confessions of a Jane Austen Addict by Laurie Viera Rigler (293)
45. Case Histories by Kate Atkinson (310)
46. High Wages by Dorothy Whipple
47. Back on the Fire: Essays by Gary Snyder
48. The Moon by Whale Light by Diane Ackerman

Currently reading:
East Wind Melts The Ice: A Memoir Through The Seasons
The Long-legged House by Wendell Berry (current car book)
Your Money or Your Life: Transforming Your Relationship with Money and Achieving Financial Independence
Sea Road by Ursula LeGuin

Inching my way towards the top...
1. Mrs. Ames (324 pages)
2. The Gun Seller(340)
3. The View in Winter(267)
4. Recalled To Life(392)
5. The Dogs of Bedlam Farm: An Adventure with Sixteen Sheep, Three Dogs, Two Donkeys, and Me (265)
6. A Country Doctor's Notebook (158)
7. Crampton Hodnet(216)
8. Crampton Hodnet(136; abandoned)
9. Shelf Life: Romance, Mystery, Drama, and Other Page-Turning Adventures from a Year in a Book store(221)
10. A Little Gentle Sleuthing (268)
11. Changing Planes (244)
12. Bill of Wrongs: The Executive Branch's Assault on America's Fundamental Rights (214)
13. Father Brown(411)
14. Narrow Dog To Carcassonne (312)
15. Narrow Dog to Indian River(330)
16. The American Senator (561)
17. The Ladies of Grace Adieu and Other Stories (235)
18. Judgment Day(210)
19. Educating Alice: Adventures of a Curious Woman(282)
20. The Real Grey's Anatomy: A Behind-The-Scenes Look at The Real Lives of Surgical Residents(305)
21.Nickel and Dimed: On (Not) Getting By in America (221)
22. Making it Up (215)
23. The Living Garden: The 400-Year History of an English Garden (288)
24. Children of the Archbishop (576)
25. The Law of Attraction: The Basics of the Teachings of Abraham (192)
26. The Double Comfort Safari Club(211)
27. The Saturday Big Tent Wedding Party (213)
28. The Limpopo Academy of Private Detection (257)
29. The Creaky Traveler in Ireland: Clare, Kerry and West Cork - A Journey for the Mobile But Not Agile (238)
30. The House by the Sea (288)
31. Songbuilder (184)
32. Her Fearful Symmetry (416)
33. Another Country: Journeying toward the Cherokee Mountains (319)
34. Mansfield Park Revisited: A Jane Austen Entertainment(201)
35. A Carrion Death (462)
36. Murder Most Austen (291)
37. Charade (188)
38. Granta 23: Home (253)
39. Still Life With Chickens by Catherine Goldhammer (179)
40. Wuthering Heights by Emily Bronte (216)
41. Every Last Cuckoo by Kate Maloy (277)
42. Spiderweb by Penelope Lively (218)
43. The Headmaster by John McPhee (147)
44. Confessions of a Jane Austen Addict by Laurie Viera Rigler (293)
45. Case Histories by Kate Atkinson (310)
46. High Wages by Dorothy Whipple (316)
47. Back on the Fire: Essays by Gary Snyder (160)
48. The Moon by Whale Light by Diane Ackerman (240)
49. Sea Road by Ursula Le Guin (193)

Currently reading:
East Wind Melts The Ice: A Memoir Through The Seasons
The Long-legged House by Wendell Berry (current car book)
Your Money or Your Life: Transforming Your Relationship with Money and Achieving Financial Independence
The Circle by Peter Lovesy

1. Mrs. Ames (324 pages)
2. The Gun Seller(340)
3. The View in Winter(267)
4. Recalled To Life(392)
5. The Dogs of Bedlam Farm: An Adventure with Sixteen Sheep, Three Dogs, Two Donkeys, and Me (265)
6. A Country Doctor's Notebook (158)
7. Crampton Hodnet(216)
8. Crampton Hodnet(136; abandoned)
9. Shelf Life: Romance, Mystery, Drama, and Other Page-Turning Adventures from a Year in a Book store(221)
10. A Little Gentle Sleuthing (268)
11. Changing Planes (244)
12. Bill of Wrongs: The Executive Branch's Assault on America's Fundamental Rights (214)
13. Father Brown(411)
14. Narrow Dog To Carcassonne (312)
15. Narrow Dog to Indian River(330)
16. The American Senator (561)
17. The Ladies of Grace Adieu and Other Stories (235)
18. Judgment Day(210)
19. Educating Alice: Adventures of a Curious Woman(282)
20. The Real Grey's Anatomy: A Behind-The-Scenes Look at The Real Lives of Surgical Residents(305)
21.Nickel and Dimed: On (Not) Getting By in America (221)
22. Making it Up (215)
23. The Living Garden: The 400-Year History of an English Garden (288)
24. Children of the Archbishop (576)
25. The Law of Attraction: The Basics of the Teachings of Abraham (192)
26. The Double Comfort Safari Club(211)
27. The Saturday Big Tent Wedding Party (213)
28. The Limpopo Academy of Private Detection (257)
29. The Creaky Traveler in Ireland: Clare, Kerry and West Cork - A Journey for the Mobile But Not Agile (238)
30. The House by the Sea (288)
31. Songbuilder (184)
32. Her Fearful Symmetry (416)
33. Another Country: Journeying toward the Cherokee Mountains (319)
34. Mansfield Park Revisited: A Jane Austen Entertainment(201)
35. A Carrion Death (462)
36. Murder Most Austen (291)
37. Charade (188)
38. Granta 23: Home (253)
39. Still Life With Chickens by Catherine Goldhammer (179)
40. Wuthering Heights by Emily Bronte (216)
41. Every Last Cuckoo by Kate Maloy (277)
42. Spiderweb by Penelope Lively (218)
43. The Headmaster by John McPhee (147)
44. Confessions of a Jane Austen Addict by Laurie Viera Rigler (293)
45. Case Histories by Kate Atkinson (310)
46. High Wages by Dorothy Whipple (316)
47. Back on the Fire: Essays by Gary Snyder (160)
48. The Moon by Whale Light by Diane Ackerman (240)
49. Sea Road by Ursula Le Guin (193)
50. The Circle by Peter Lovesy (358)

Currently reading:
East Wind Melts The Ice: A Memoir Through The Seasons
The Long-legged House by Wendell Berry (current car book)
Your Money or Your Life: Transforming Your Relationship with Money and Achieving Financial Independence
The Secret Garden by Stephanie Barron

Still struggling up the mountain ...

1. Mrs. Ames (324 pages)
2. The Gun Seller(340)
3. The View in Winter(267)
4. Recalled To Life(392)
5. The Dogs of Bedlam Farm: An Adventure with Sixteen Sheep, Three Dogs, Two Donkeys, and Me (265)
6. A Country Doctor's Notebook (158)
7. Crampton Hodnet(216)
8. The Eyre Affair(136; abandoned)
9. Shelf Life: Romance, Mystery, Drama, and Other Page-Turning Adventures from a Year in a Book store(221)
10. A Little Gentle Sleuthing (268)
11. Changing Planes (244)
12. Bill of Wrongs: The Executive Branch's Assault on America's Fundamental Rights (214)
13. Father Brown(411)
14. Narrow Dog To Carcassonne (312)
15. Narrow Dog to Indian River(330)
16. The American Senator (561)
17. The Ladies of Grace Adieu and Other Stories (235)
18. Judgment Day(210)
19. Educating Alice: Adventures of a Curious Woman(282)
20. The Real Grey's Anatomy: A Behind-The-Scenes Look at The Real Lives of Surgical Residents(305)
21.Nickel and Dimed: On (Not) Getting By in America (221)
22. Making it Up (215)
23. The Living Garden: The 400-Year History of an English Garden (288)
24. Children of the Archbishop (576)
25. The Law of Attraction: The Basics of the Teachings of Abraham (192)
26. The Double Comfort Safari Club(211)
27. The Saturday Big Tent Wedding Party (213)
28. The Limpopo Academy of Private Detection (257)
29. The Creaky Traveler in Ireland: Clare, Kerry and West Cork - A Journey for the Mobile But Not Agile (238)
30. The House by the Sea (288)
31. Songbuilder (184)
32. Her Fearful Symmetry (416)
33. Another Country: Journeying toward the Cherokee Mountains (319)
34. Mansfield Park Revisited: A Jane Austen Entertainment(201)
35. A Carrion Death (462)
36. Murder Most Austen (291)
37. Charade (188)
38. Granta 23: Home (253)
39. Still Life With Chickens by Catherine Goldhammer (179)
40. Wuthering Heights by Emily Bronte (216)
41. Every Last Cuckoo by Kate Maloy (277)
42. Spiderweb by Penelope Lively (218)
43. The Headmaster by John McPhee (147)
44. Confessions of a Jane Austen Addict by Laurie Viera Rigler (293)
45. Case Histories by Kate Atkinson (310)
46. High Wages by Dorothy Whipple (316)
47. Back on the Fire: Essays by Gary Snyder (160)
48. The Moon by Whale Light by Diane Ackerman (240)
49. Sea Road by Ursula Le Guin (193)
50. The Circle by Peter Lovesy (358)
51. The White Garden by Stephanie Barron

Currently reading:
East Wind Melts The Ice: A Memoir Through The Seasons
The Long-legged House by Wendell Berry (current car book)
Your Money or Your Life: Transforming Your Relationship with Money and Achieving Financial Independence
Clinging to the Wreckage by John Mortimer

Excelsior?


1. Mrs. Ames (324 pages)
2. The Gun Seller(340)
3. The View in Winter(267)
4. Recalled To Life(392)
5. The Dogs of Bedlam Farm: An Adventure with Sixteen Sheep, Three Dogs, Two Donkeys, and Me (265)
6. A Country Doctor's Notebook (158)
7. Crampton Hodnet(216)
8. The Eyre Affair(136; abandoned)
9. Shelf Life: Romance, Mystery, Drama, and Other Page-Turning Adventures from a Year in a Book store(221)
10. A Little Gentle Sleuthing (268)
11. Changing Planes (244)
12. Bill of Wrongs: The Executive Branch's Assault on America's Fundamental Rights (214)
13. Father Brown(411)
14. Narrow Dog To Carcassonne (312)
15. Narrow Dog to Indian River(330)
16. The American Senator (561)
17. The Ladies of Grace Adieu and Other Stories (235)
18. Judgment Day(210)
19. Educating Alice: Adventures of a Curious Woman(282)
20. The Real Grey's Anatomy: A Behind-The-Scenes Look at The Real Lives of Surgical Residents(305)
21.Nickel and Dimed: On (Not) Getting By in America (221)
22. Making it Up (215)
23. The Living Garden: The 400-Year History of an English Garden (288)
24. Children of the Archbishop (576)
25. The Law of Attraction: The Basics of the Teachings of Abraham (192)
26. The Double Comfort Safari Club(211)
27. The Saturday Big Tent Wedding Party (213)
28. The Limpopo Academy of Private Detection (257)
29. The Creaky Traveler in Ireland: Clare, Kerry and West Cork - A Journey for the Mobile But Not Agile (238)
30. The House by the Sea (288)
31. Songbuilder (184)
32. Her Fearful Symmetry (416)
33. Another Country: Journeying toward the Cherokee Mountains (319)
34. Mansfield Park Revisited: A Jane Austen Entertainment(201)
35. A Carrion Death (462)
36. Murder Most Austen (291)
37. Charade (188)
38. Granta 23: Home (253)
39. Still Life With Chickens by Catherine Goldhammer (179)
40. Wuthering Heights by Emily Bronte (216)
41. Every Last Cuckoo by Kate Maloy (277)
42. Spiderweb by Penelope Lively (218)
43. The Headmaster by John McPhee (147)
44. Confessions of a Jane Austen Addict by Laurie Viera Rigler (293)
45. Case Histories by Kate Atkinson (310)
46. High Wages by Dorothy Whipple (316)
47. Back on the Fire: Essays by Gary Snyder (160)
48. The Moon by Whale Light by Diane Ackerman (240)
49. Sea Road by Ursula Le Guin (193)
50. The Circle by Peter Lovesy (358)
51. The White Garden by Stephanie Barron
52. Clinging to the Wreckage by John Mortimer

Currently reading:
East Wind Melts The Ice: A Memoir Through The Seasons
The Long-legged House by Wendell Berry (current car book)
Your Money or Your Life: Transforming Your Relationship with Money and Achieving Financial Independence
A Walk Through the Year by Edwin Way Teale

1. Mrs. Ames (324 pages)
2. The Gun Seller(340)
3. The View in Winter(267)
4. Recalled To Life(392)
5. The Dogs of Bedlam Farm: An Adventure with Sixteen Sheep, Three Dogs, Two Donkeys, and Me (265)
6. A Country Doctor's Notebook (158)
7. Crampton Hodnet(216)
8. The Eyre Affair(136; abandoned)
9. Shelf Life: Romance, Mystery, Drama, and Other Page-Turning Adventures from a Year in a Book store(221)
10. A Little Gentle Sleuthing (268)
11. Changing Planes (244)
12. Bill of Wrongs: The Executive Branch's Assault on America's Fundamental Rights (214)
13. Father Brown(411)
14. Narrow Dog To Carcassonne (312)
15. Narrow Dog to Indian River(330)
16. The American Senator (561)
17. The Ladies of Grace Adieu and Other Stories (235)
18. Judgment Day(210)
19. Educating Alice: Adventures of a Curious Woman(282)
20. The Real Grey's Anatomy: A Behind-The-Scenes Look at The Real Lives of Surgical Residents(305)
21.Nickel and Dimed: On (Not) Getting By in America (221)
22. Making it Up (215)
23. The Living Garden: The 400-Year History of an English Garden (288)
24. Children of the Archbishop (576)
25. The Law of Attraction: The Basics of the Teachings of Abraham (192)
26. The Double Comfort Safari Club(211)
27. The Saturday Big Tent Wedding Party (213)
28. The Limpopo Academy of Private Detection (257)
29. The Creaky Traveler in Ireland: Clare, Kerry and West Cork - A Journey for the Mobile But Not Agile (238)
30. The House by the Sea (288)
31. Songbuilder (184)
32. Her Fearful Symmetry (416)
33. Another Country: Journeying toward the Cherokee Mountains (319)
34. Mansfield Park Revisited: A Jane Austen Entertainment(201)
35. A Carrion Death (462)
36. Murder Most Austen (291)
37. Charade (188)
38. Granta 23: Home (253)
39. Still Life With Chickens by Catherine Goldhammer (179)
40. Wuthering Heights by Emily Bronte (216)
41. Every Last Cuckoo by Kate Maloy (277)
42. Spiderweb by Penelope Lively (218)
43. The Headmaster by John McPhee (147)
44. Confessions of a Jane Austen Addict by Laurie Viera Rigler (293)
45. Case Histories by Kate Atkinson (310)
46. High Wages by Dorothy Whipple (316)
47. Back on the Fire: Essays by Gary Snyder (160)
48. The Moon by Whale Light by Diane Ackerman (240)
49. Sea Road by Ursula Le Guin (193)
50. The Circle by Peter Lovesy (358)
51. The White Garden by Stephanie Barron
52. Clinging to the Wreckage by John Mortimer
53. The Long-legged House by Wendell Berry
54. Hummingbird Nest by Kristine O'Connell George
55. True Nature by Barbara Bash
56. Cornish Prelude by Denys Val Baker
57. All Passion Spent by Vita Sackville-West
58. Stories of Country Life


Currently reading:
East Wind Melts The Ice: A Memoir Through The Seasons
Hope, Human and Wild: True Stories of Living Lightly on the Earth by Bill McKibben(current car book)
Your Money or Your Life: Transforming Your Relationship with Money and Achieving Financial Independence
Idyll Banter: Weekly Excursions to a Very Small Town by Chris Bohjalian

Kate Harper | 35 comments 1. Mrs. Ames (324 pages)
2. The Gun Seller(340)
3. The View in Winter(267)
4. Recalled To Life(392)
5. The Dogs of Bedlam Farm: An Adventure with Sixteen Sheep, Three Dogs, Two Donkeys, and Me (265)
6. A Country Doctor's Notebook (158)
7. Crampton Hodnet(216)
8. The Eyre Affair(136; abandoned)
9. Shelf Life: Romance, Mystery, Drama, and Other Page-Turning Adventures from a Year in a Book store(221)
10. A Little Gentle Sleuthing (268)
11. Changing Planes (244)
12. Bill of Wrongs: The Executive Branch's Assault on America's Fundamental Rights (214)
13. Father Brown(411)
14. Narrow Dog To Carcassonne (312)
15. Narrow Dog to Indian River(330)
16. The American Senator (561)
17. The Ladies of Grace Adieu and Other Stories (235)
18. Judgment Day(210)
19. Educating Alice: Adventures of a Curious Woman(282)
20. The Real Grey's Anatomy: A Behind-The-Scenes Look at The Real Lives of Surgical Residents(305)
21.Nickel and Dimed: On (Not) Getting By in America (221)
22. Making it Up (215)
23. The Living Garden: The 400-Year History of an English Garden (288)
24. Children of the Archbishop (576)
25. The Law of Attraction: The Basics of the Teachings of Abraham (192)
26. The Double Comfort Safari Club(211)
27. The Saturday Big Tent Wedding Party (213)
28. The Limpopo Academy of Private Detection (257)
29. The Creaky Traveler in Ireland: Clare, Kerry and West Cork - A Journey for the Mobile But Not Agile (238)
30. The House by the Sea (288)
31. Songbuilder (184)
32. Her Fearful Symmetry (416)
33. Another Country: Journeying toward the Cherokee Mountains (319)
34. Mansfield Park Revisited: A Jane Austen Entertainment(201)
35. A Carrion Death (462)
36. Murder Most Austen (291)
37. Charade (188)
38. Granta 23: Home (253)
39. Still Life With Chickens by Catherine Goldhammer (179)
40. Wuthering Heights by Emily Bronte (216)
41. Every Last Cuckoo by Kate Maloy (277)
42. Spiderweb by Penelope Lively (218)
43. The Headmaster by John McPhee (147)
44. Confessions of a Jane Austen Addict by Laurie Viera Rigler (293)
45. Case Histories by Kate Atkinson (310)
46. High Wages by Dorothy Whipple (316)
47. Back on the Fire: Essays by Gary Snyder (160)
48. The Moon by Whale Light by Diane Ackerman (240)
49. Sea Road by Ursula Le Guin (193)
50. The Circle by Peter Lovesy (358)
51. The White Garden by Stephanie Barron
52. Clinging to the Wreckage by John Mortimer
53. The Long-legged House by Wendell Berry
54. Hummingbird Nest by Kristine O'Connell George
55. True Nature by Barbara Bash
56. Cornish Prelude by Denys Val Baker
57. All Passion Spent by Vita Sackville-West
58. Stories of Country Life
59. Idyll Banter: Weekly Excursions to a Very Small Town by Chris Bohjalian


Currently reading:
East Wind Melts The Ice: A Memoir Through The Seasons
Hope, Human and Wild: True Stories of Living Lightly on the Earth by Bill McKibben(current car book)
Your Money or Your Life: Transforming Your Relationship with Money and Achieving Financial Independence
Oleander, Jacaranda by Penelope Lively