COMPLETED

I’m starting to compile my year list of books I’ve read in 2011 and I’m astounded at the number of mysteries I’ve consumed this past year: about 35% of my reading. That, combined with the fact that I’ve already signed up for the Vintage Mystery Reading Challenge makes Cruisin’ through the Cozies, hosted by Yvonne at Socrates’ Book Reviews an easy fit.

I wasn’t going to enter at the Super Sleuth level but after compiling those stats, I’m thinking it will be a piece of cake to read 13 or more cozy mysteries in 2012.

1. I Am Half-Sick of Shadows (A Flavia deLuce mystery) by Alan Bradley

2. The Innocence of Father Brown by G.K. Chesterton

3. The Mapping of Love & Death (a Maisie Dobbs mystery) by Jacqueline Winspear

4. A Lesson in Secrets (a Maisie Dobbs mystery) by Jacqueline Winspear

5. Elegy for Eddie (a Maisie Dobbs mystery) by Jacqueline Winspear

6. Murder: a Crafty Business by Lila Philips

7. The Crime at Black Dudley (an Albert Campion mystery) by Margery Allingham

8. Falling into Green: an Eco-Mystery by Cher Fischer

9. An Unmarked Grave (a Bess Crawford mystery) by Charles Todd

10. Murder at Hazelmoor by Agatha Christie

11. Dead Man’s Folly (an Hercule Poirot mystery) by Agatha Christie

12. At Bertram’s Hotel (a Miss Jane Marple mystery) by Agatha Christie

13. Postern of Fate (a Tommy & Tuppence Beresford mystery) by Agatha Christie

14. The Dog Who Knew Too Much (a Chet & Bernie mystery) by Spencer Quinn

15. Fistful of Collars (a Chet & Bernie mystery) by Spencer Quinn

16. The Mystery of the Cape Cod Tavern (an Asey Mayo mystery) by Phoebe Atwood Taylor

17. Trixie Belden & the Red Trailer Mystery by Julie Campbell

18. The Tragedy of Z (a Drury Lane mystery) by Ellery Queen

19. Halfway House (an Ellery Queen mystery) by Ellery Queen

Katherine over at November’s Autumn is hosting another Classics Challenge, but this with a bit of a twist. I’m required to read seven classics in 2012, only three of which may be rereads. And then on the 4th of every month, I’ll be posting thoughts on the current book in the challenge by answering a general prompt we find on Katherine’s blog that day.

It’s okay with Katherine if I double up my books for Sarah’s Back to the Classics Challenge, but I’m going to try a mix: some crossovers and a few new ones.

Subject to availability and other favourable circumstance, I’ll read these seven books:

1. Walden by Henry David Thoreau
2. The Bridge of San Luis Rey by Thornton Wilder
3. Age of Innocence by Edith Wharton
The Moonstone by Wilkie Collins
4. The Good Earth by Pearl S. Buck
The Old Man and the Sea by Ernest Hemingway (read in December 2012)
5. The Woman in White by Wilkie Collins
6. Little Women by L.M. Alcott (the only re-read)
7. A Jane Austen other than Pride & Prejudice
Uncle Tom’s Cabin by Harriet Beecher Stowe

COMPLETED

Melissa at Literary Escapism is hosting her 4th annual New Authors Reading Challenge and, since it’s new-to-me, rather than new-to-market authors, I’m in.

I do plan to touch base with a lot of familiar writers this year, by working on my TBR pile, but out of 150 books I must surely be able to read 25 new-to-me authors. So that’s my goal.

How about you? Are you staying with old friends this year or expanding your horizons with new-to-you authors?

JANUARY:
1. Bantock, Nick: Griffin and Sabine trilogy
2. Schwarz, John Burnham : Northwest Corner
3. Wingfield, Jenny: The Homecoming of Samuel Lake
4. McKay, Ami: The Virgin Cure
5. Pratchett, Terry: The Carper People
6. Coady, Lynn: The Antagonist
7. Walker, Sally M.: Blizzard of Glass
8. Beecher Stowe, Harriet: Uncle Tom’s Cabin

FEBRUARY
9. Grenville, Kate: The Secret River
10. Kurelek, William: A Prairie Boy’s Winter
11. McKay, Dr. Gary D.: A Shortage of Bodies
12. Hugo, Nancy: Seeing Trees
13. Twead, Victoria: Chickens, Mules, & Two Old Fools

MARCH
14. Speller, Elizabeth: The Return of Captain John Emmett
15. Thoreau, Henry David: Walden
16. Kotler, Steven: A Small Furry Prayer
17. Edugyen, Esi: Half-Blood Blues
18. Chesterton, G.K.: The Innocence of Father Brown
19. Eccles, Marjorie: Broken Music
20. Wolfe, Inger Ash: The Calling
21. Harbach, Chad: The Art of Fielding

APRIL
22. Seth, Vikram: A Suitable Boy
23. Hewitt, Robert G.: Winnie & Gurley
24. Harris, Jane: Gillespie & I
25. McCleen, Grace: The Land of Decoration

MAY
26. Kaufman, Andrea Kayne: Oxford Messed Up
27. Fox, Ian: Promise Me Eternity
28. Asher, Jay: 13 Reasons Why
29. Johnston, Wayne: The Colony of Unrequited Dreams
30. Collins, Wilkie: The Woman in White
31. Law, Phyllida: Notes to My Mother-in-Law

JUNE
32. Philips, Lila: Murder is a Crafty Business
33. Humphrey, Mrs.: Manners for Women
34. Allingham, Margery: The Crime at Black Dudley
35. Spillane, Mickey: One Lonely Night
36. Leonard, Annie: The Story of Stuff
37. Stenson, Fred: Lonesome Hero
38. Tomaiuolo, Nicholas G.: UContent

JULY
39. Fischer, Cher: Falling Into Green
40. Ferguson, Will: 419
41. Barnes, Julian: The Sense of an Ending
42. Bronte, Charlotte: Jane Eyre
43. Livesay, Margot: The Flight of Gemma Hardy

AUGUST
44. Scanlan, Lawrence: Heading Home: On Starting a New Life in a Country Place
45. Boyne, John: The Absolutist
46. Anderson-Dergatz, Gail: A Recipe for Bees
47. Savage, Sam: Firmin
48. Cole, Trevor: Practical Jean
49. Godden, Rumer: The Dolls’ House

SEPTEMBER
50. Sherrill, Steven: The Minotaur Takes a Cigarette Break
51. Wilder, Thornton: The Bridge of San Luis Rey
52. Lawson, Mary: Crow Lake
53. Marshall, William: Yellowthread Street

OCTOBER
54. Rushdie, Salman: Midnight’s Children
55. Vanderpoole, Claire: Moon Over Manifest
56. McKay, Leo Jr.: Twenty-Six
57. Llewellyn, Richard: How Green Was My Valley
58. George, Jean Craighead: Julie of the Wolves

NOVEMBER
59. Camus, Albert: The Stranger
60. Glass, Julia: Three Junes
61. Innes, Michael: Death at the President’s Lodging
62. DeWitt, Patrick: The Sisters Brothers
63. Christie, Michael: The Beggar’s Garden
64. Sachar, Louis: Holes
65. Waugh, Evelyn: Men at Arms
66. Trudeau, Pierre Elliott: Memoirs

DECEMBER
67. Powers, Richard: The Echo Maker
68. Gowdy, Barbara: Mr. Sandman
69. Ondaatje, Michael: Cat’s Table
70. Hemingway, Ernest: The Old Man and the Sea
71. Foran, Charles: Mordecai: the Life and Times

COMPLETED

Sarah, in my native Southern Ontario, blogs on Workaday Reads and won the lottery to host the official eBook Reading Challenge for 2012.

Since I won a Kindle in the fall and have yet to get into a really regular routine of reading from it, I thought I’d enter this to provide a little motivation. But just a little: I’ve joined at CD level – a commitment to read 10 eBooks in 2012. After all, I have that TBR mountain to climb.

SUCCESS!

1. Uncle Tom’s Cabin

2. Dove Creek

3. A Shortage of Bodies by Dr. Gary D. McKay

4. Chickens, Mules, & Two Old Fools by Victoria Twead

5. The Innocence of Father Brown by G.K. Chesterton

6. The Calling by Inger Ash Wolfe

7. Winnie & Gurley by Robert G. Hewitt

8. Promise Me Eternity by Ian Fox

9. The Woman in White by Wilkie Collins

10. The Moonstone by Wilkie Collins

11. Falling into Green by Cher Fischer

Over the last few years, I’ve let slide reading classics so The Back to Classic Challenge 2012 hosted by SarahReadsTooMuch seems perfect to me.

Just what is a classic? Sarah defines it as “any book that has left its mark on the world.(…)In most cases these books are old.” The only question I have: What constitutes “old”? Something published in the 1950s is over half a century already, but is that a classic?

Nonetheless, I’ve tried (with one exception) to keep to books published before 1930. I admit that I’ve had trouble coming up with ideas to fit these categories (set by Sarah), so if any of you have any suggestions, I’d be glad to hear them.

Any 19th Century Classic
WALDEN by Henry David Thoreau

Any 20th Century Classic
The Bridge of San Luis Rey by Thornton Wilder
THE INNOCENCE OF FATHER BROWN by G.K. Chesterton

Reread a classic of your choice
To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee
LITTLE WOMEN by Louisa May Alcott

A Classic Play
Macbeth by William Shakespeare
A MIDSUMMER NIGHT’S DREAM by William Shakespeare

Classic Mystery/Horror/Crime Fiction
THE MOONSTONE by Wilkie Collins

Classic Romance
JANE EYRE by Charlotte Bronte

Read a Classic that has been translated from its original language to yours
Essays by Michel de Montaigne

THE STRANGER by Albert Camus

Classic Award Winner
The Age of Innocence by Edith Wharton Pulitzer Prize for Literature 1921
THE OLD MAN AND THE SEA by Ernest Hemingway (read in December 2012) Winner of the Pulitzer Prize for Literature 1953

Read a Classic set in a Country that you (realistically speaking) will not visit during your lifetime
The Good Earth by Pearl S. Buck (set in China)
THE BRIDGE OF SAN LUIS REY by Thornton Wilder (set in Peru)

Who doesn’t love a challenge? Well, it’s not me, even though I’ve tried hard over the last two decades to defeat a dominant family “competitiveness gene.”

COMPLETED

Once again, it’s that time of year when reading challenges are being posted and I see so many I’d like to join, my head spins. In fact, I’m an addict and I’m going to prove it by joining the Reading Challenge Addict challenge at the “In-Flight” level of 11-15 completed challenges.

Two years ago, I signed up for several and, although I completed most of them, I didn’t blog about the results. This year, I’ll do better!

So here’s a master list of the challenges I’ve taken on so far, and I’ll update this as I add more (although I don’t think you’ll get updates). I’m going to set up a page for each challenge and update those separate pages as I go but, again, I don’t think you’ll see any of those reports, so I’ll be sure to note any ‘challenges met’ in my monthly summary of books I’ve read.

1. Reading Challenge Addict
COMPLETED

2. 150+ Reading Challenge
FAILED TO COMPLETE

3. Outdo Yourself Reading Challenge
COMPLETED

4. Mount TBR Reading Challenge
FAILED TO COMPLETE

5. Vintage Mysteries Reading Challenge
FAILED TO COMPLETE

6. Bucket List Reading Challenge
FAILED TO COMPLETE

7. Back to the Classic Reading Challenge
COMPLETED

8. A Classics Challenge with a Twist
FAILED TO COMPLETE

9. New Authors Reading Challenge
COMPLETED

10. eBook Reading Challenge
COMPLETED

11. Cruisin’ through the Cozies Reading Challenge
COMPLETED

12. TBR Double Dare
COMPLETED

13. TBR Pile Reading Challenge
COMPLETED

14. Off the Shelf Reading Challenge
FAILED TO COMPLETE

15. 12 in ’12 Reading Challenge
COMPLETED

16. Dead End Follies Smooth Criminals Reading Challenge
FAILED TO COMPLETE

17. What’s In a Name Reading Challenge
COMPLETED

18. Reading the (2011) Award Winners Challenge
COMPLETED

19. Mixing It Up Reading Challenge
COMPLETED

20. Wish List Reading Challenge
COMPLETED

21. Tea & Books Reading Challenge
COMPLETED

22. War Through the Generations Reading Challenge
COMPLETED

23. Southern Literature Reading Challenge
COMPLETED

24. European Reading Challenge
COMPLETED

25. Evie’s TBR Pile Reading Challenge
FAILED TO COMPLETE

26. Reading Shakespeare: A Play a Month
FAILED TO COMPLETE

27. Non-Fiction Non-Memoir Reading Challenge
COMPLETED

28. Battle of the Prizes – American
COMPLETED

29. Battle of the Prizes – British
COMPLETED

30. Read Canadian Award Winners Challenge
COMPLETED

31. First in a Series Reading Challenge
COMPLETED

32. Finishing the Series Reading Challenge
COMPLETED

33. ‘I Want More’ 2012 Reading Challenge
COMPLETED

34. 2nds Reading Challenge
COMPLETED

35. Truth in Fiction Reading Challenge
FAILED TO COMPLETE

36. Classic Doubles 2012 Reading Challenge
FAILED TO COMPLETE

37. The Illustrated Year Picture Book Challenge
COMPLETED

38. The 3660 Minute Reading Challenge
FAILED TO COMPLETE

39. The (Newbery & Printz) Award Winning Reads Challenge
COMPLETED

40. The A – Z Reading Challenge
COMPLETED

41. The Short Story 2012 Reading Challenge
COMPLETED

42. The 2012 Chunkster Reading Challenge
COMPLETED

43. The Time Travel Reading Challenge
COMPLETED

44. The Memorable Memoir Reading Challenge
COMPLETED

45. South Asian Reading Challenge
COMPLETED

46. The Read Your Name Challenge 2012
COMPLETED

47. The Sir Terry Pratchett Reading Challenge
COMPLETED

48. The Find the Cover Challenge 2012
COMPLETED

49. The Mammoth Book 2012 Reading Challenge
COMPLETED

50. The Books I Started But Didn’t Finish 2012 Reading Challenge
FAILED TO COMPLETE

51. Books Won 2012 Reading Challenge
COMPLETED

52. The Global 2012 Reading Challenge
COMPLETED

53. Books That Made Me Love Reading Challenge
FAILED TO COMPLETE

54. Color Coded Reading Challenge
COMPLETED

55. Short Story Reading Challenge
FAILED TO COMPLETE

56. Australian Women Authors Reading Challenge
COMPLETED

57. Birth Year Reading Challenge
COMPLETED

58. Books Published in the First Years of My Life Reading Challenge
COMPLETED

59. A-Z Double Whammy Reading Challenge
COMPLETED

60. Read Amazon Best of 2011 Challenge
COMPLETED

61. Criminal Plots Reading Challenge
COMPLETED

62. Dewey Decimal Reading Challenge
COMPLETED

63. Books in Translation Reading Challenge
COMPLETED

NOT COMPLETED

Wow – the last time I checked, this challenge was only for 100 books – and I thought I was laughing. BUT, this year Amy at My Overstuffed Bookshelf has upped the ante to 150. GULP!

But since I’ve read over 120 books in each of the past two years, I’m going to try it: 150 – pure and simple.

1. Griffin and Sabine by Nick Bentock
2. Sabine’s Notebook by Nick Bantock
3. The Golden Mean by Nick Bantock
4. Uncle Tom’s Cabin by Harriet Beecher Stowe
5. Dove Creek by Paula Marie Coomer
6. Northwest Corner by John Burnham Schwartz
7. The Homecoming of Samuel Lake by Jenny Wingfield
8. I Am Half-Sick of Shadows by Alan Bradley
9. The Virgin Cure by Ami MacKay
10. The Carpet People by Terry Pratchett
11. Blizzard of Glass: The Halifax Explosion of 1917 by Sally M. Walker
12. The Antagonist by Lynn Coady
13. These Happy Golden Years by Laura Ingalls Wilder
14. A Midsummer’s Night Dream by William Shakespeare
15. Macbeth by William Shakespeare
16. Trixie Belden and the Red Trailer Mystery by Julie Campbell
17. The Secret River by Kate Grenville
18. Searching for the Secret River by Kate Grenville
19. A Prairie Boy’s Winter by William Kurelek
20. A Shortage of Bodies by Dr. Gary D. McKay
21. Seeing Trees by Nancy Ross Hugo and Robert Llewellyn
22. Chickens, Mules, and Two Old Fools by Victoria Twead
23. My Financial Career and Other Follies by Stephen Leacock
24. The Return of Captain Emmett by Elizabeth Speller
25. Walden by Henry David Thoreau
26. A Small Furry Prayer by Steven Kotler
27. Half-Blood Blues by Esi Edugyen
28. The Innocence of Father Brown by G.K. Chesterton
29. Broken Music by Marjorie Eccles
30. White River Junctions by Dave Norman
31. The Saturdays by Elizabeth Enright
32. The Calling by Inger Ash Wolfe
33. The Art of Fielding by Chad Harbach
34. A Suitable Boy by Bikram Seth
35. The Mapping of Love and Death by Jacqueline Winspear
36. Winnie & Gurley: The Best-Kept Family Secret by Robert G. Hewitt
37. Gillespie & I by Jane Harris
38. A Place for Johnny Bill by Ruth Juline Bishop
39. The Land of Decoration by Grace McCleen
40. Oxford Messed Up by Andrea Kayne Kaufman
41. Promise Me Eternity by Ian Fox
42. 13 Reasons Why by Jay Asher
43. The Colony of Unrequited Dreams by Wayne Johnston
44. The Woman in White by Wilkie Collins
45. The Moonstone by Wilkie Collins
46. Notes to My Mother-in-Law by Phyllida Law
47. African Love Stories edited by Ama Ata Aidoo
48. Murder: A Crafty Business by Lila Philips
49. Manners for Women by Mrs. Humphrey
50. The Crime at Black Dudley by Margery Allingham
51. One Lonely Night by Mickey Spillane
52. The Story of Stuff by Annie Leonard
53. A Dog’s Journey by W. Bruce Cameron
54. Lonesome Hero by Fred Stenson
55. Murder at Hazelmoor by Agatha CHristie
56. UContent by Nicholas G. Tomaiuolo
57. Falling Into Green by CHer Fischer
58. 419 by Will Ferguson
59. The Sense of an Ending by Julian Barnes
60. Jane Eyre by Charlotte Bronte
61. The Flight of Gemma Hardy by Margot Livesay
62. An Unmarked Grave by Charles Todd
63. A Lesson in Secrets by Jacqueline Winspear
64. The Dog Who Knew Too Much by Spencer Quinn
65. Dead Man’s Folly by Agatha Christie
66. Heading Home by Lawrence Scanlan
67. The Mystery of the Cape Cod Tavern by Phoebe Atwood Taylor
68. The Absolutist by John Boynr
69. A Recipe for Bees by Gail Anderson-Dargatz
70. The Tragedy of Z by Ellery Queen
71. Firmin by Sam Savage
72. Elegy for Eddie by Jacqueline Winspear
73. At Bertram’s Hotel by Agatha Christie
74. Postern of Fate by Agatha Christie
75. QBI (Queen’s Bureau of Investigation) by Ellery Queen
76. Practical Jean by Trevor Cole
77. The Dolls’ House by Rumer Godden
78. A Jest of God by Margaret Laurence
79. The Apprenticeship of Duddy Kravitz by Mordecai Richler
80. The Minotaur Takes a Cigarette Break by Steven Sherrill
81. Travels with Charley by John Steinbeck
82. The Illustrated Man by Ray Bradbury
83. In Cold Blood by Truman Capote
84. The Bridge of San Luis Rey by Thornton Wilder
85. Crow Lake by Mary Lawson
86. Yellowthread Street by William Marshall
87. 11/22/63 by Stephen King
88. Little Women by Louisa May Alcott
89. The Eyre Affair by Jasper Fforde
90. The Canadian Food Guide by Pierre and Janet Berton
91. Midnight’s Children by Salman Rushdie
92. The Divine Ryans by Wayne Johnston
93. Kilmeny of the Orchard by Lucy Maud Montgomery
94. Moon Over Manifest by Claire Vanderpoole
95. Twenty-Six by Leo McKay Jr.
96. Fistful of Collars by Spencer Quinn
97. The Museum of Dr. Moses by Joyce Carol Pates
98. How Green Was My Valley by Richard Llewellyn
99. Julie of the Wolves by Jean Craighead George
100. The Stranger by Albert Camus
101. Three Junes by Julia Glass
102. Death at the President’s Lodging by Michael Innes
103. The Sisters Brothers by Patrick DeWitt
104. The Beggar’s Garden by Michael Christie
105. The Birth House by Ami McKay
106. Holes by Louis Sachar
107. Men at Arms by Evelyn Waugh
108. Memoirs by Pierre Elliott Trudeau
109. Thimble Summer by Elizabeth Enright
110. Halfway House by Ellery Queen
111. The Echo Maker by Richard Powers
112. Mr. Sandman by Barbara Gowdy
113. The Underpainter by Jane Urquhart
114. The Cat’s Table by Michael Ondaatje
115. The Old Man & the Sea by Ernest Hemingway
116. Mordecai: The Life & Times by Charles Foran
117. Bush Studies by Barbara Baynton

Picture Books:
118. Dog in Boots by Greg Gormley, illustrated by Roberta Angaramo
119. I Want My Hat Back written & illustrated by Jon Klassen
120. Coyote Sings to the Moon by Thomas King, illustrated by Johnny Wales
121. Giraffe & Bird written & illustrated by Rebecca Bender
122. The Market Square Dog by James Herriot, illustrated by Ruth Brown
123. Madeline written and illustrated by Ludwig Bemelmans
124. Chicka Chicka Boom Boom by Bill Martin, Jr. and John Archambault, illustrated by Lois Ehlert
125. There Were Monkeys in My Kitchen by Sheree Fitch, illustrated by Sydney Smith
126. Do You Know Which Ones Will Grow? written and illustrated by Susan A. Shea
127. One Winter Night by Jennifer Lloyd, illustrated by Lynn Ray
128. Curious George by Margret Rey, illustrated by H.A. Rey
129. Fuddles written and illustrated by Frans Vischer
130. Horton Hears a Who written & illustrated by Theodore Seuss
131. Gimme Jimmy by Sherrill S. Cannon
132. A Few Blocks written & illustrated by Cybele Young
133. Harry, the Dirty Dog written by Gene Zion, illustrated by Margaret Bloy Graham
134. Eloise written by Kay Thompson, illustrated by Hilary Knight
135. What’s Wrong with Rosie? by Pippa JAgger, illustrated by Gavin Rowe
136. No Roses for Harry written by Gene Zion, illustrated Margaret Bloy Graham
137. Danny’s First Snow written & illustrated by Leonid Gore
138. Stopping by the Woods on a Snowy Evening written Robert Frost & illustrated by Susan Jeffers
139. Jillian Jiggs and the Great Big Snow written & illustrated by Phoebe Gilman

COMPLETED

Briana over at The Book Vixen is challenging readers to read more books in 2012 than they did in 2011. Since I just set that goal of 150 books, this is a no-brainer.

Since I estimate that I’ll have read about 130 books by the end of this year, I’m joining in at the “I’m on Fire” level of 16 or more additional books in 2012.

YEAR-END UPDATE
In 2012, I read a total of 139 books, of which 22 were picture books.
My 2011 total was 123.

Bev at My Reader’s Block knows my (not so) secret vice: picking up books everywhere I go. My TBR stack has been growing like sourdough starter (we used to call that ‘monster dough’) and it’s time to cut back on my library holds and lavish some attention on my own books.

I’m going in at the Mt. Kilimanjaro level of 50 books and tame this double-stacked monster in 2012.

1. A Midsummer Night’s Dream by William Shakespeare
2 MacBeth by William Shakespeare
3. Walden by Henry David Thoreau
4. My Financial Career and Other Follies by Stephen Leacock
5. A Suitable Boy by Vikram Seth
6. A Jest of God by Maragaret Laurence
7. The Apprenticeship of Duddy Kravitz by Mordecai Richler
8. Memoirs by Pierre Elliott Trudeau
9. The Canadian Food Guise by Pierre & Janet Berton
10. Heading Home: On Starting a New Life in a Country Place by Laurence Scanlan

11. Little Women by Louisa May Alcott
12. How Green Was My Valley by Richard Llewellyn
13. The Bridge of San Luis Rey by Thornton Wilder
14. Jane Eyre
15. In Cold Blood by Truman Capote
16. Travels with Charley by John Steinbeck
17. The Illustrated Man by Ray Bradbury
18. The Museum of Dr. Moses by Joyce Carol Oates
19. The Minotaur Takes a Cigarette Break by Steven Sherrill

20. The Mapping of Love & Death by Jacqueline Winspear
21. Murder at Hazelmoor by Agatha Christie
22. Dead Man’s Folly by Agatha Christie
23. At Bertram’s Hotel by Agatha Christie
24. Postern of Fate by Agatha Christie
25. The Tragedy of ‘Z’ by Ellery Queen
26. Halfway House by Ellery Queen Read December 2012
27. QBI (Queen’s Bureau of Investigation) by Ellery Queen
28. One Lonely Night by Mickey Spillane

29. A Prairie Boy’s Winter by William Kurelek
30. The Market Square Dog by James Herriott
31. Coyote Sings to the Moon by Thomas King
32. One Winter Night

UNSUCCESSFUL!

Bev at My Reader’s Block is a great fan of mysteries published before 1960, as am I. These are the dime novels my dad read and that I cut my reading teeth on. For 2012, she’s offering a variety of ways to meet her Vintage Mystery Reading Challenge and I’m going to take on the Lethal Location theme.

1. The Crime at Black Dudley by Margery Allingham (1929)

2. Murder at Hazelmoor by Agatha Christie (1931)

3. The Cape Cod Tavern Mystery by Phoebe Atwood Taylor (1934)

4. Halfway House by Ellery Queen (1936)

5. Death at the President’s Lodging by Michael Innes (1936)

Jamie over at The Eclectic Bookshelf (love that name) is hosting an intriguing challenge this year: a personal Bucket List of books I’ve wanted to read (most for years) but haven’t gotten around to.

I’m entering at the “Mid-Sized Sedan” level of 8 books. But, hey, one of these is supposedly the longest novel available in English, so cut me some slack.

1. A Suitable Boy by Vikram Seth
2. London by Edward Rutherford
3. Collected Stories of Carol Shields
4. Walden by Henry David Thoreau
5. The Apprenticeship of Duddy Kravitz by Mordecai Richler
6. How Green Was My Valley by Richard LLewellyn (a re-read)
7. Travels With Charley by John Steinbeck
8. Memoirs by Pierre Elliott Trudeau

I’ve been kept busy with family matters over the last couple of months and really fallen behind in getting book reviews posted. I hope to get back on track soon but in the meantime, here’s a brief summary of my month’s reading.

1. Altamont Augie by Richard Barager
My pick for my book of the month. In the late sixties, supporters of the war in Vietnam and anti-war protestors clashed violently and began to form the “New Right” and the ”New Left” in America. This is a provocative and thought-provoking look at the issues of that decade around which the last century pivoted for that country. Here’s my full review.

2. Linnea in Monet’s Garden by Christine Bjork
Linnea is a young European girl who takes a trip to Paris to learn about Monet’s water-lily paintings. Lovely illustrations and solid art history background info. For grades 3 – 6.

3. Dumb Witness by Agatha Christie
A 1937 Hercule Poirot mystery. The dumb witness is the dog, whose ball was thought to have tripped his mistress and caused a non-fatal tumble down the stairs. Before Poirot receives her letter expressing her doubt as to the accidental nature of the fall, the said mistress has died. Classic Christie.

4. I, the Divine: A Novel in First Chapters by Rabih Alameddine
Every chapter in this fictional memoir of a young woman raised in Beirut is Chapter 1. Interesting presentation and great insight into life in Lebanon.

5. A Cold Day in Paradise by Steve Hamilton
First in the Alex McKnight series set in Paradise, Michigan. Likable protagonist, decent mystery and appealing setting in upstate Michigan, near Sault Saint Marie. Deservedly won the 1999 Edgar award for Best First Novel by an American Author.

6. From This Wicked Patch of Dust by Sergio Troncoso
Semi-autobiographical novel set in an American border town, where Mexican immigrants strive to teach their four children to forsake the drugs and gangs of their neighborhood. “Spanning four decades, this is a story of a family’s struggle to become American and yet not be pulled apart by a maelstrom of cultural forces.”

7. Vaclav & Lena by Haley Tanner
Vaclav & Lena, children of Russian immigrants, meet in an ESL class in Brighton Beach and become fast friends. Together, they plan Vaclav’s great magic act, but then Lena disappears.

8. Cape Cod Mystery by Phoebe Atwood Taylor
First published in 1931, this is Taylor’s first novel and introduces the “Codfish Sherlock”, handyman Asey Mayo, who became a series character appearing in 24 books. Fun, easy to read, and full of Cape Cod flavor.

9. A Small Death in the Great Glen by A.D. Scott
Verra Scottish mystery, set in the 1956 Highlands and featuring staff of a small-town weekly newspaper. This would have been difficult to get through unless I’d had some exposure to Scottish dialect and pronunciation. At times, I was frustrated by the slow plot development, but by the end of the book I felt as if I was leaving a group of friends.

10. The Reservoir by John Milliken Thompson
Set in 1885 Richmond, Virginia and based on an actual crime, this novel delves into the trial of a man for the death of a young woman whose body was found in the local reservoir. I felt it couldn’t decide whether to be fiction (with perhaps a plot?) or true-crime reporting. Interesting for the details of nineteenth century sexual mores.

11. A Bitter Truth by Charles Todd
A bitter truth is that favourite authors don’t always deliver to the high expectations we have for them. This Bess Crawford adventure followed her to WWI France for the first time, but the mystery seemed contrived.

12. Hotel Bosphorus by Esmahan Aykol
First in the Kati Hirschel mystery series, set in Istanbul, Turkey, it suffers in translation and contains gratuitous sex scenes.

Links for my Canadian readers:
Altamont Augie
Linnea in Monet’s Garden
Dumb Witness: A Hercule Poirot Mystery
I The Divine
A Cold Day in Paradise
From This Wicked Patch of Dust
Vaclav & Lena
Cape Cod Mystery
A Small Death in the Great Glen: A Novel
The Reservoir
A Bitter Truth: A Bess Crawford Mystery
Hotel Bosphorus

Kindle editions:
Altamont Augie
Dumb Witness: Hercule Poirot Investigates
A Cold Day in Paradise (Alex McKnight Mysteries)
Vaclav & Lena: A Novel
A Small Death in the Great Glen
The Reservoir
A Bitter Truth: A Bess Crawford Mystery
Hotel Bosphorus (Kati Hirschel Murder Mystery)

In July, a small group of book bloggers came together to form the Bloggers’ Alliance of Non-Fiction Devotees (BAND). I’m not sure how I missed the launch, but when Amy of Amy Reads drew my attention to the group in a recent post, I was intrigued.

I first became interested in non-fiction (outside of post-secondary education) in my mid-twenties when, quite unusually for my age, I became interested in tracing my family history. I devoured genealogical research and social history books, and those, along with biographies & memoirs are my preferred NF read to this day.

But it seems to me that I don’t read many non-fiction titles any more. It’s not that I don’t like them; it’s just that there seem to be so many fiction books I want to read that I don’t get around to the NF. So I counted up my reads over the last couple of years and I was little surprised at how “well” I’ve done. In 2010, I read 31 non-fiction titles out of a total of 123 books. That’s a respectable 25%! So far this year, I managed only 12 (out of 110), or about 10%.

Amy’s inaugural post reminds me that I do “love the random topics and collections of facts that come from (…) non-narrative nonfiction.” So I’m going to try to consciously incorporate more such titles into my TBR short list. If you’d like to do the same, don’t miss BAND’s tmblr page!

Our three-year-old grandson has a pretty happy disposition and not much gets him down, but he was in tears this morning. We’re having a bit of a blow here on the east coast – a nor-easter with lots of rain and winds that are gusting to 100 km/hr (60mph). The ‘breezes’ caught the tree that held the start of the tree-house that Grampa is building for Steven – and took it out by the roots. Tire swing’s gone, too.

The silver lining? As Steven, who never cries for long, says: “I can fill up that hole with water and jump in the B-I-G puddle!”

It was a busy, busy month and my list of books read includes a couple of slim volumes, and one book with loads of photos. Again this month, like last, nothing reached and grabbed me even though much of what I read was very enjoyable. What was the best book you read in September?

1. Henrietta’s War by Joyce Dennys

From 1939 to 1942, Dennys wrote a series of weekly columns in the form of endearing letters purportedly written to a friend at the front in France at the beginning of WWII. From the Devon countryside, she writes of news of the home front, the refugees from London, and her family. Warm, engaging, humourous and touching. I was sorry when the book ended, and think I must pick up the second volume that covers the remainder of the war.

2. The Guide: A Novel by R. K. Narayan

A released convict takes refuge for a few nights in an abandoned temple and is mistaken by a peasant for a holy man. Gradually he takes on the role. Sly humour and a look at peasant life in modern India.

3. The Barn by Randy Leffingwell

Traces the evolution of the American barn from early beginnings with Northern European influences through technological changes, fads, and changes to barns as settlement spread westward. Scores of photos. Beautiful to look at, fascinating to read.

4. One Good Dog by Susan Wilson

Adam March, a powerful executive & millionaire has a come-apart at work and loses his job, his socialite wife and princess daughter. While performing his mandatory community service at a homeless men’s shelter, his path crosses that of Chance, a pit-bull struggling to leave the fight circuit. In alternating chapters with narration of Adam’s story, Chance tells his tale in his own words, which lifts this book above standard Grisham/Steel fare.

5. The Tiger’s Wife by Téa Obreht

Set in war-torn Yugoslavia, The Tiger’s Wife follows a young doctor who, while on a mercy mission to immunize orphans, hears of the death of her beloved grandfather. Oddly enough he died in a village close by the orphanage and she retrieves his belongings, while unraveling the story of his childhood. It was then that a tiger escaped from a zoo during World War II bombings and wandered deep into the woods, settling just outside his peasant village. It terrorized the town, the devil incarnate to everyone, except for her grandfather and ‘the tiger’s wife’. Lots of imagery, fables, almost magical realism.

6. A Red Herring Without Mustard by Alan Bradley

The third in Bradley Flavia deLuce series, and highly and widely lauded. I love Flavia and really enjoyed getting more of the flavor of her relationship with her father in this book, but I thought the mystery was convoluted and, in places, contrived. I’m swimming against the current in this opinion, so make your own decision. Besides, Flavia is fun to read even when the mystery isn’t up to par.

7. Following Josh by Dave Norman

Author Dave Norman meets an old high-school friend in Seoul and travels with him across China, Mongolia & Russia by train. This is the story of that trip – and of Dave and Josh’s dramatically changed relationship. This book is being released today, October 1st.

8. Alone in the Classroom by Elizabeth Hay

The latest by the renowned Canadian author, Alone in the Classroom spans several decades – from a Saskatchewan classroom of the 1930s to the present. The narrator uncovers the story of her father’s sister, her Aunt Connie, and of her mother and her family. Although it contained much beautiful writing (as I expect of Hay), overall the book seemed disjointed and unresolved, and disappointed me.

9. The Edge of Ruin by Irene Fleming

First in the Emily Weiss mystery series. Set in 1909 during the very early days of moving picture making, it’s a clever look at the history of the time when screenplays were dashed off in an evening and given to the actors the morning of the shoot. But the murderer was too obvious and Emily just too perfectly competent. Although the setting is interesting, I doubt I’ll be spending any more time on this series.

10. One Night at the Call Center by Chetan Bhagat

Set in a Delhi call center in modern India, and a best-seller in that country where it was originally released. One of those unfortunate times when I kept reading because I know someone (who? I can’t remember!) recommended it to me and so it must get better, but when I finished it, thought “Why did I waste x hours of my life on that?”

Links for my Canadian readers:

One Night at the Call Center

I’ve found that some of the blogs I enjoy the most are the ones where I know a little about the person behind it. So, I picked this up from A Sorta Fairy Tale and thought I’d complete it A-Z. Some of these questions are not the ones I’d ask (or answer) but sometimes what other people want to know is what they want to know!

More book and country related posts this week…

A. Age: 57
B. Bed size: King (& pillow-top) and I can’t imagine going smaller now
C. Chore that you hate: Cleaning the toilets
D. Dogs: Wes, a yellow Lab and Farlow, whose mom is a Valley Bulldog & dad is presumed to be a German Shepherd. All of our dogs have been named after guitar players (Django Reinhardt, Chet Atkins, Lenny Breau, Wes Montgomery, Tal Farlow)
E. Essential start to your day: swing my legs over the edge of the bed!
F. Favourite colors: Wedgewood blue, soft gold and forest green
G. Gold or Silver: Silver
H. Height: 5’8”
I. Instruments you play: the piano (although I haven’t for years, so maybe I don’t)
J. Job title: Card Sender & blogger – and volunteer minister
K. Kids: a lovely red-headed grown daughter
L. Live: Tatamagouche Nova Scotia
M. Mother-in-law’s name: Eileen
N. Nicknames: Deb, Auditor-general
O. Overnight hospital stays: to have my tonsils out when I was 5, to have my daughter (decades ago), other surgery in 2001
P. Pet peeves: television! (It rots your brain…)
Q. Quote from a movie: it doesn’t take much to see that the problems of three little people don’t amount to a hill of beans in this crazy world. (Casablanca 1942)
R. Right or left handed: Right handed.
S. Siblings: four, all younger
T. Time you wake up: Usually between 7 & 8 a.m. (I used to be in the office every day at 7:30, so this is sleeping in)
U. Underwear: Yes
V. Vegetable you hate: Fennel
W. What makes you run late: Trying to do just one more thing…
X. X-Rays you’ve had: Dental, my arm, my foot, my other foot…c’mon I’m nearly sixty, there’s likely lots more I can’t remember
Y. Yummy food that you make: pasta with fresh garlic, tomatoes & basil
Z. Zoo animal: Elephant. I’ve always had a weakness for them.

And I love to get know my readers. What about you – want to answer one of these?

In an effort to expand my reading horizons, I decided to take up the gauntlet laid down by Serena at Savvy Verse and Wit and join the Fearless Poetry Exploration Challenge. After all, all that’s required is to read one book of poetry – and review it.

I’ll tell you upfront – I know nothing about what makes poetry good, and I’ve not done my homework by reading any of Molly Peacock’s books, as Serena suggests. I’m just going by the old “I don’t know art but I know what I like” premise in evaluating this book. Pity the author!

Intrigued by the blurb on LibraryThing Early Reviewers which told me to “imagine a John Coltrane solo, with words instead of tenor sax”, I requested (and won) Soul Clothes by Regina D. Jemison.

The book is divided into three sections. The first, God Gave Me Words, deals with the frustrations of daily life and opens promisingly:

I’ve been busy chasin’
chasin’ children
chasin’ money
chasin’ men

No time to write
my blues away; chasin’

gave me the blues…

When I read those opening lines, I saw immediately the busyness of life, the seemingly endless round of activities, with no “me” time to rejuvenate, to chase away the blues.

In this section, there is a lawyer’s prayer (Jemison has her own law practice in Detroit, Michigan) as well as comment on America’s penal system, white privilege, and being black.

The second part of the book, carrying the book’s title, considers being a woman and includes WOMEN WAITING: breast cancer, a story, and an impassioned Lover, I Can’t Make You, that opens

I can’t make u love me,
Black Man, lover

and in which most women will recognize ay least one of the relationships they’ve had with a man in their lives.

The third section of Soul Clothes is Divine Reflections. Although Jemison’s strong faith runs throughout the book and touches on nearly every topic she considers, it is in this part of the book that she addresses her beliefs more directly, including giving a description of what seems to be her view of heaven.

I have seen it, my legs dangle off the edge.

In the foreword to this slim volume, Stephen Marsh tells us that “Jemison believes her life mission is to empower and prepare people to be their divine self at all times and under any and all circumstances.” It would appear that his metaphoric “one of God’s own trombones” is less metaphysical than I had assumed when I requested this book.

It would not be fair if I did not acknowledge that the implied and direct language of Jemison’s faith made me uncomfortable. Nonetheless, there are strong expressions about life here, many of which caused me to meditate on the world, its pains, and its joys.

Jemison makes it clear she is interested in “the divine possibilities of Black people in general, and the Black church in particular.“ I think Soul Clothes will especially appeal to women, to those interested in a Black perspective, and to those who share Jemison’s belief system.

Kindle edition:

Soul Clothes

Summer is fast drawing to a close & I realize that I’ve not shown you a full summer view from my window. (Oh, I wish I had a new camera!)

Despite the warmish weather of the last couple of weeks, the grasses and trees are losing their vibrant summer green, so I thought I’d concentrate on the mountain ash tree in the front garden. It volunteered itself there about four years ago and this year, for the first time, displayed the glossy orange berries that characterize it. (And, yes, the sky is really is that blue.)

We spent yesterday afternoon at the beach but it rained all night and today it’s 13C/55F with a NW wind blowing at 60km/35mph that makes it feel much colder. But the sun is shining – which it’s supposed to do all weekend. Have a good one, wherever you are. I’ll be back with book-related posts next week.

I was out doing volunteer work yesterday afternoon and got quite warm in the car. Each time we drove past an ocean view, the water looked so blue & inviting that I thought of stopping the car and just diving in.

Today promised to be as warm so we decided to make a last run to the beach. (Much cooler weather is forecast, starting tomorrow.) That ol’ Atlantic was darn cold – and rough, what with the stiff breeze coming in, but my three-year-old grandson had a ball while his mom & I sat in the sun.

Even if we have a very warm Indian summer next month, this will probably be our last beach trip for the year. Bittersweet.

I just discovered Pop Culture Nerd and her My Life As a Book series of annual posts. Each year the sentences change, and everyone’s invited to fill in the blanks using only the titles of the books they’ve read that year.

Here’s my first try – enjoy!

MY LIFE AS A BOOK

One time at summer camp I was Building the Pauson House (Frank Lloyd Wright & Rose Pauson) My review here.

Weekends at my house are Family Matters (Rohinton Mistry)

My neighbor is An Expert in Murder (Nicola Upson) My review here.

My boss is An Impartial Witness (Charles Todd)

My ex was The Man in the Queue (Josephine Tey) My review here.

My super-hero secret identity is The Stone Angel (Margaret Laurence) My review here.

You would not like me when I’m angry because I Wrecker (Summer Wood) My review here.

I would win a gold medal in Unfinished Business (Lee Kravitz) My review here.

I’d pay good money for The House at Riverton (Kate Morton)

If I were president I would be Drawing the Line (Judith Cutler)

When I do not have good books, A Murder is Announced (Agatha Christie)

Loud talkers at the movies should be All Quiet on the Western Front (Erich Maria Remarque)