lkernagh (Lori) Reads Her Way Through The Months in 2017 - Second Thread

Hi everyone. This is my eighth year participating in the Category Challenge. My 2017 category challenge theme is loosely designed around monthly birthstones, flowers, colours and meanings, derived in part from this table of birthstones, flowers and colours.
This challenge has been designed so that I don't feel pinned down to the same categories each month. Also, because I am super bad about starting a new series and then never following through with the further books in the series, this challenge will give me the opportunity to dive back into series reading while also continuing my love for tracking my page count reading. Each month will have a "Miscellaneous" sub-category for tracking purposes of any books read that don't fit any of the monthly theme sub-categories. For the purposes of the title word count sub-category, words like "A" and "The" will count as words for the purposes of word count. The goal will be to read a minimum of three theme-reads each month, but if I read more (or less), it is all good. As the saying goes, it is all about the reading.

ETA - Books read will be allowed to count for more than one sub-category (but not allowed to count as multiple books read!). For example, The Secret History of the Pink Carnation by Lauren Willig (should it become one of my January reads) would actually count for a Hat Trick as a book that fits "1st book in series", "Books with Carnation in Title" and "Books with Pink mentioned in the book title". Can you guess what one of my January reads will be??? :-)

1st book in a series:
- The Secret History of the Pink Carnation by Lauren Willig - (review)
- The Gods of Gotham by Lyndsay Faye - (review)
- Portuguese Irregular Verbs by Alexander McCall Smith - (review)

Books with One (1) in the title:
- The Absent One by Jussi Adler-Olsen - (review)

Books page count (1-100 pages):
- Cupcakes by Daniel Kelley - (review)

Books with One-Word title:
- Cupcakes by Daniel Kelley - (review)
- Paris by Edward Rutherfurd - (review)

Books set predominantly in the month of January:
- Syrian Notebooks: Inside the Homs Uprising by Jonathan Littell - (review)

Books with January, Carnation or Garnet in title or author/main character name:
- The Secret History of the Pink Carnation by Lauren Willig - (review)

Books where main theme is Loyalty, Constancy:
- Monster Loyalty: How Lady Gaga Turns Followers into Fanatics by Jacke Huba - (review)

Books with either Black/Dark Red or Pink cover or the color mentioned in the book title:
- The Secret History of the Pink Carnation by Lauren Willig - (review)



Miscellaneous books read:

2nd book in a series:
- The Finer Points of Sausage Dogs by Alexander McCall Smith - (review)
- The Masque of the Black Tulip by Lauren Willig - (review)

Books with Two (2) in the title:
- 11.22.63 by Stephen King - (review)

Books page count (101-200 pages):
- The Finer Points of Sausage Dogs by Alexander McCall Smith - (review)

Books with Two-Word title:
- Amethyst Dreams by Phyllis A. Whitney - (review)
- Look Again by Lisa Scottoline - (review)
- Office Girl by Joe Meno - (review)

Books set predominantly in the month of February:
- Office Girl by Joe Meno - (review)

Books with February, Iris or Amethyst in title or author/main character name:
- Amethyst Dreams by Phyllis A. Whitney - (review)

Books where main theme is Sincerity:
- Sincerity: How a moral ideal born five hundred years ago inspired religious wars | modern art | hipster chic | and the curious notion that we ALL have something to say (no matter how dull) by R. Jay Magill Jr. - (review)

Books with Purple cover or the color mentioned in the book title:
- Amethyst Dreams by Phyllis A. Whitney - (review)



Miscellaneous books read:
- The Mercy of the Tide by Keith Rosson - (review)

3rd book in a series:
- These High, Green Hills by Jan Karon - (review)
- Morality for Beautiful Girls by Alexander McCall Smith - (review)
- The Deception of the Emerald Ring by Lauren Willig - (review)
- At the Villa of Reduced Circumstances by Alexander McCall Smith - (review)

Books with Three (3) in the title:
- Three Day Road by Joseph Boyden - (review)

Books page count (201-300 pages):
- Matylda, Bright & Tender by Holly M. McGhee - (review)
- The Violets of March by Sarah Jio - (review)
- Morality for Beautiful Girls by Alexander McCall Smith - (review)

Books with Three-Word title:
- Three Day Road by Joseph Boyden - (review)
- The White Tiger by Aravind Adiga - (review)
- The Angel's Game by Carlos Ruiz Zafon - (review)

Books set predominantly in the month of March:
- The Violets of March by Sarah Jio - (review)

Books with March, Jonquil (Daffodil) or Aquamarine in title or author/main character name:
- The Violets of March by Sarah Jio - (review)
- Daffodils by Alex Martin - (review)

Books where main theme is Courage:
- A Peacock in the Land of Penguins: A Fable about Creativity and Courage by BJ Gallagher - (review)

Books with either White, Yellow or Light Blue cover or the color mentioned in the book title:
- The White Tiger by Aravind Adiga - (review)
- Daffodils by Alex Martin - (review)
- The Angel's Game by Carlos Ruiz Zafon - (review)



Miscellaneous books read:

4th book in a series:
- The Brothers Cabal by Jonathan L. Howard - (review)
- Out to Canaan by Jan Karon - (review)
- The Seduction of the Crimson Rose by Lauren Willig - (review)
- The Kalahari Typing School for Men by Alexander McCall Smith - (review)

Books with Four (4) in the title:
- 419 by Will Ferguson - (review)

Books page count (301-400 pages):
- Two Fridays in April by Roisin Meaney - (review)
- Out to Canaan by Jan Karon - (review)
- The Seduction of the Crimson Rose by Lauren Willig - (review)
- Major Pettigrew's Last Stand by Helen Simonson - (review)

Books with Four-Word title:
- Two Fridays in April by Roisin Meaney - (review)
- Major Pettigrew's Last Stand by Helen Simonson - (review)

Books set predominantly in the month of April:
- Two Fridays in April by Roisin Meaney - (review)

Books with April, Daisy or Diamond in title or author/main character name:
- Daisy Miller by Henry James - (review)

Books where main theme is Innocence:
- Daisy Miller by Henry James - (review)

Books with White cover or the color mentioned in the book title:
- White with Fish, Red with Murder by Harley Mazuk - (review)



Miscellaneous books read:
- Drawn Away by Holly Bennett - (review)

5th book in a series:
- The Temptation of the Night Jasmine by Lauren Willig - (review)
- The Fall of the House of Cabal by Jonathan L. Howard - (review)
- A New Song by Jan Karon - (review)
- The Full Cupboard of Life by Alexander McCall Smith - (review)

Books with Five (5) in the title:
- Five Days in London: May 1940 by John Lukacs - (review)

Books page count (401-500 pages):
- V is for Vengeance by Sue Grafton - (review)
- A Tree Grows in Brooklyn by Betty Smith - (review)
- A New Song by Jan Karon - (review)

Books with Five-Word title:
- A Tree Grows in Brooklyn by Betty Smith - (review)
- Skinnybones and the Wrinkle Queen by Glen Huser - (review)
- The Full Cupboard of Life by Alexander McCall Smith - (review)

Books set predominantly in the month of May:
- Five Days in London: May 1940 by John Lukacs - (review)
- V is for Vengeance by Sue Grafton - (review)

Books with May, Lily or Emerald in title or author/main character name:
- Five Days in London: May 1940 by John Lukacs - (review)

Books where main theme is Success in Love:
- The Temptation of the Night Jasmine by Lauren Willig - (review)

Books with Green cover or the color mentioned in the book title:
- The Perks of Being a Wallflower by Stephen Chbosky - (review)



Miscellaneous books read:
- A Poisoned Prayer by Michael Skeet - (review)
- Wish I Could Be There: Notes from a Phobic Life by Allen Shawn - (review)
- Johannes Cabal and the Blustery Day: And Other Tales of the Necromancer by Jonathan L. Howard - (review)

6th book in a series:
- The Betrayal of the Blood Lily by Lauren Willig - (review)
- In the Company of Cheerful Ladies by Alexander McCall Smith - (review)
- A Common Life by Jan Karon - (review)

Books with Six (6) in the title:
- The Trinity Six by Charles Cumming - (review)

Books page count (501-600 pages):
- The Forgotten Garden by Kate Morton - (review)
- The Whiskey Rebels by David Liss - (review)
- Cloud Atlas by David Mitchell - (review)

Books with Six-Word title:
- Create the Retirement You Really Want by Clay Gillespie - (review)
- The Betrayal of the Blood Lily by Lauren Willig - (review)
- In the Company of Cheerful Ladies by Alexander McCall Smith - (review)

Books set predominantly in the month of June:
- The Sixteenth of June by Maya Lang - (review)

Books with June, Rose, Pearl or Alexanderite (or variation on name) in title or author/main character name:
- The Sixteenth of June by Maya Lang - (review)

Books where main theme is Good Health:
- The Good Gut: Taking Control of Your Weight, Your Mood, and Your Long-term Health by Justin & Erica Sonnenburg - (review)

Books with Cream cover or the color mentioned in the book title:
- The Sixteenth of June by Maya Lang - (review)
- When I Was Young And In My Prime by Alayna Munce - (review)



Miscellaneous books read:
- The Ion Raider by Ian Whates - (review)

7th book in a series:
Books with Seven (7) in the title:
Books page count (601-700 pages):
Books with Seven-Word title:
Books set predominantly in the month of July:
Books with July, Larkspur or Ruby in title or author/main character name:
Books where main theme is Happiness or Contented Mind:
Books with Red cover or the color mentioned in the book title:



Miscellaneous books read:

8th book in a series:
Books with Eight (8) in the title:
Books page count (701-800 pages):
Books with Eight-Word title:
Books set predominantly in the month of August:
Books with August, Gladiolus or Peridot (or variation on name) in title or author/main character name:
Books where main theme is Friendship or Conjugal Felicity:
Books with Light Green cover or the color mentioned in the book title:



Miscellaneous books read:

9th book in a series:
Books with Nine (9) in the title:
Books page count (801-900 pages):
Books with Nine-Word title:
Books set predominantly in the month of September:
Books with September, Aster (or variation on name) or Sapphire in title or author/main character name:
Books where main theme is Shrewdness, Love or Clear Thinking:
Books with Dark Blue cover or the color mentioned in the book title :



Miscellaneous books read:

10th book in a series:
Books with Ten (10) in the title:
Books page count (901-1,000 pages):
Books with Ten-Word title:
Books set predominantly in the month of October:
Books with October, Marigold or Opal in title or author/main character name:
Books where main theme is Hope:
Books with Yellow cover or the color mentioned in the book title:



Miscellaneous books read:

11th book in a series:
Books with Eleven (11) in the title:
Books page count (1,001-1,100 pages):
Books with Eleven-Word title:
Books set predominantly in the month of November:
Books with November, Chrysanthemum or Topaz in title or author/main character name:
Books where main theme is Fidelity or Faithfulness:
Books with Orange cover or the color mentioned in the book title:



Miscellaneous books read:

12th book in a series:
Books with Twelve (12) in the title:
Books page count (1,101-1,200 pages):
Books with Twelve-Word title:
Books set predominantly in the month of December:
Books with December, Poinsettia or Turquoise in title or author/main character name:
Books where main theme is Prosperity:
Books with Greenish-Blue or Red/Green cover or the color mentioned in the book title:



Miscellaneous books read:

Welcome to my 2nd / Spring thread for 2017. Cherry blossoms are one of the most noticeable signs of spring here on the island, so only fitting to have cherry blossoms here on this thread to greet my visitors.



This thread is now open for business!

Happy new thread, Lori. I love seeing the trees coming into blossom, it's starting to really feel like spring is here.

Meanwhile, we're getting 10 to 15 cm of snow... sigh.

Love the pictures though! They give me hope that we'll see some flowers eventually!

Happy new thread!

Happy New Thread Lori! Your thread is cheering me up as rain is struggling to move out of here right now.

>14 lkernagh: The cherry blossoms are lovely!

Happy new thread! The cherry blossom is beautiful. Our blossom here is much less colourful (though no less welcome!).

Happy new thread, Lori. It is so pretty. I love to see the signs of spring. None here, as yet.

Happy new thread, Lori. The cherry blossoms are gorgeous!

Your new thread is really putting me in a springtime mood. Your monthly challenges look to be shaping up well.

Happy spring and new thread!

Thank you 17, >18 thornton37814:, >19 Jackie_K:, >20 BLBera:, >21 MissWatson:, >22 sturlington: and >23 LittleTaiko: for visiting my new thread.

>15 DeltaQueen50: - Spring took a loooooong time in coming this year, didn't it Judy? At least it has finally arrived. ;-)

>16 rabbitprincess: - Seriously..... snow?! OMG! I know, it is only the start of April but still, this winter seems to be a rather long and cold one. Here is hoping that spring comes your way soon, RP!

>17 lsh63: - Glad to know I was able to provide some cheer to a rain-sogged day, Lisa.

>18 thornton37814: - Thanks Lori! I know when the seasons have turned on the island when the "white stuff" and the "wet stuff" gets replaced by the "pink stuff" (in the rain of cherry blossom petals). ;-)

>19 Jackie_K: - Thanks Jackie. We seem to have a broad range of cherry blossom trees here in town. Some of the trees do produce the lighter pink and even the white blossoms.

>20 BLBera: - Thanks Beth. We will just cross our fingers and hope that you will see signs of spring soon in your area.

>21 MissWatson: - Thanks Brigit!

>22 sturlington: - It is amazing how flowers convey the idea of spring. I am really liking my challenge setup this year, so much so that I am already thinking of a variation on the theme for 2018.

>23 LittleTaiko: - Thanks Stacy!

Happy Sunday and happy second day in April everyone! Today has been absolutely lovely - while still a little cold - and I spent the morning enjoying a lovely long walk. While out, I stopped by a couple of shops I know that set up seasonal garden centers to see if they had any already started lavender plants for purchase. Given the cold winter we have had, the seasonal garden centers haven't opened up yet so I had to settle for purchasing some lavender seeds and plant them for germination. Good news is the seed package said that one can plant the seeds outdoors in early spring if there is still some evening frost occurring. Curious to see if the cold spring we are having is perfect for growing the lavender.

On the reading front, I have now finished an LTER book I started last week, so I have a book review ready for posting, along with my usual walking journey update. I have a bit of a back log of LTER books to get through so two more LTER reviews will be coming in the next couple of weeks.

I have stalled a bit with my current craft project, only because there is only so much time in a day and I have been juggling priorities of late. Hope to make further progress (with pictures for posting) in the coming weeks.

My Trans Canada Walking Journey


The goal: To walk - in three calendar years (1,095 days) - the distance that it would take me to walk the Trans Canada Highway from the Mile Zero marker located here in Victoria BC to its end point in St. John's, NL, a distance of 7,821K (4,860 miles).







Here is the link to my Google map where I am tracking my journey: http://tinyurl.com/p8vu9n3

WEEK 90 UPDATE:
Kilometers walked this session: 54.25
Kilometers walked in total:3,613.91
Current province: (ON)
My current location on the map: West of Neys and Neys Provincial Park.
Points of interest along the way: Continuing to hug the northern shores of Lake Superior and encountering some interesting historical points of interest along the way. For example, Neys Provincial Park originally served as a prison. I know, you are thinking, how did the prison become a park? According to this World and Military Notes.com website, Camp Neys 100 operated from January 1941 until March 1946 and housed both German POWs and Japanese Canadian internees.





This YouTube video, shot using a pocket camera, provides a short virtual tour of the Neys Camp 100 remains (concrete slabs overgrown with moss, etc) showing that signs of the area's prior use as a prison/internment camp, still exist to this day.

This Parks Canada's backgrounder provides a good summary of the military prisoners sent to Canada by Great Britain that came to be housed in camps like Neys Camp 100.

.
Book #28 - White with Fish, Red with Murder by Harley Mazuk
Challenge(s): 75 Group, 2017 Category
Category: "Books with White cover or the color mentioned in the book title"
Source: LTER
Format: eBook
Original publication date: February 28, 2017
Acquisition date: March 4, 2017
Page count: 267 pages
Decimal/ Star rating: 3.70 out of 5 /
Book description/summary: from the amazon.com book listing webpage:

San Francisco, 1948. Frank Swiver is a down and out private eye with a taste for wine and women, not necessarily in that order. Frank readily accepts an unexpected job offer from well-known wine connoisseur General Lloyd F. Thursby to find the murderer of his very good friend, Rusty O'Callaghan. Invited to attend an exclusive wine tasting on Thursby's private rail car, Frank takes along his secretary-cum-lover Vera Peregrino to complete his cover. Thursby entices his guests with the promise of a taste of a rare California wine: the Ravensridge Blackbird Noir. All does not go to plan, though, when General Thursby is murdered before the wine tasting has even begun. Frank is caught up in the allure of his former lover, Cicilia, who also happens to be the dead Rusty O'Callaghan's widow. Locked into the private carriage until the passengers reach their destination, the guests proceed to pull some corks and theorize who among them could be the killer. When Vera is arrested for Thursby's murder, Frank must change his perceptions and find the real killer, or lose both Cici and Vera . . . and maybe even his life.

Review:
If you love wine and you love murder mysteries, then this book will give you double the pleasure. It is most definitely a period piece so this review is also a shout-out to all reading fans who may appreciate a story that for me is an "Agatha Christie meets Dashiell Hammett" kind of read with its wonderful blending of closed room murder mystery (murder occurring on a moving train in a locked carriage car) with a decidedly hard-boiled detective edge and feel filled with "classy dames", big cars, hard-nosed cops and a down on his luck PI still holding a torch for his old flame, one of the suspects in the murder he is investigating. While I don't read hard-boiled detective novels, I do have a love for everything from Casablanca to any movie staring Humphrey Bogart so I can say that this story easily projected like a movie playing through my mind as I was reading it. The mystery is tight with some unexpected twists and turns. Even though I was able to predict the "who-done-it" rather early on, I like how Mazuk gives us a last minute roller coaster ride before closing off the story.

A worthy mystery read and I will be keeping this author in my sights for further stories to read.

>27 lkernagh: BB taken! Sounds like a fun read.

Happy New Thread! Some of my hyacinths that were almost going to bloom got bent over by some freak snow we had last week. I'm not sure they'll straighten up.

Happy new thread! Very seasonal, especially the beautiful cherry blossom.

>28 christina_reads: - YAY! I know, I shouldn't be so jubliant about hitting you with a BB but it is a good read.

>29 dudes22: - Thanks Betty and how horrifying! I hope the plants stems "spring back" from their sudden freak snow. Hyacinths are beautiful... one of those plants I spend years admiring without ever finding out what the plant was. :-)

>30 VivienneR: - Thanks Vivienne. Spring has been rather delayed this year - and the temps continue to be on the cold side - so will have to make do with pictures of Spring for the time being.

Book #29 - The Brothers Cabal by Jonathan L. Howard - audiobook read by Nicolas Guy Smith
Challenge(s): 75 Group, 2017 Category
Category: "4th book in a series"
Source: GVPL
Format: Audiobook
Original publication date: September 30, 2014
Acquisition date: N/A
Page count: 352 pages / 13 hours, 5 minutes listening time
Decimal/ Star rating: 3.35 out of 5 /
Book description/summary: from the amazon.ca book listing webpage:

Horst Cabal has risen from the dead. Again. Horst, the most affable vampire one is ever likely to meet, is resurrected by an occult conspiracy that wants him as a general in a monstrous army. Their plan: to create a country of horrors, a supernatural homeland. As Horst sees the lengths to which they are prepared to go and the evil they cultivate, he realizes that he cannot fight them alone. What he really needs on his side is a sarcastic, amoral, heavily armed necromancer. As luck would have it, this exactly describes his brother. Join the brothers Cabal as they fearlessly lie quietly in bed, fight dreadful monsters from beyond reality, make soup, feel slightly sorry for zombies, banter lightly with secret societies that wish to destroy them, and―in passing―set out to save the world.

Review:
Another enjoyable romp, albeit not one of Howard’s best stories to date in the Johannes Cabal series. For me, the most enjoyable aspect of these stories is Johannes Cabal. Johannes is the epitome of amoral ascorbic wit dripping with disdain and misanthropy. One wouldn’t usually find such a negative individual to be so amusing, but he does make a wonderfully entertaining anti-hero. Sadly, a good chunk of this story focuses on Horst, his resurrection and how he comes to be nursing Johannes back to health (so that he can enlist Johannes’ scientific expertise as a necromancer). Yes, the boys do finally get down to the business of saving the world, Johannes-style, and I was finally able to enjoy some excellent disdainful Johannes dialogue (favorite being his conversation with the “little people” who inhabit Johannes front yard as he reminds them, through a Q & A, the people they are allowed to kill and the ones they are not supposed to kill…. oops). As with any series, it is important to have read the other three books in the series before embarking upon a read of The Brothers Cabal. Howard enlists the use of snarky footnotes to explain why readers should read the earlier books, if they haven’t already. Howard rewards the readers with not one but two epilogues – which he refers to as the “Good Epilogue” and the “Bad Epilogue” but unfortunately, I found the story ended on a rather “blah” note. Lastly, I found it a bit annoying how much “showing” and “explaining” Howard does in this story. This may have been necessary to explain the various zombie, lycanthrope and other monsters that populate this story, but I found the level of detail provided tended to detract from the action occurring. Even so, Howard does have fun with even his “monsters”, as per this wonderful quote:

” Becky watched as a zombie that had been trying to board the rearmost car fell on its face between the rails. It did not attempt to rise, but lay there facedown, gloomily aware that the Afterlife was proving just as frustrating as Life.”

Overall, another decent installment in the Johannes Cabal series but a bit of a let down from the previous books in the series.

.
Book #30 - Drawn Away by Holly Bennett
Challenge(s): 75 Group, 2017 Category
Category: N/A
Source: LTER
Format: Hard cover
Original publication date: January 17, 2017
Acquisition date: February 10, 2017
Page count: 208 pages
Decimal/ Star rating: 3.70 out of 5 /
Book description/summary: from the amazon.ca book listing webpage:

One minute Jack's in math class. The next, he's on a dark, cobblestoned, empty street. Empty, that is, except for a skinny girl wrapped in a threadbare shawl. "Matches, mister?" she asks, and just like that, Jack's life collides with one of Hans Christian Andersen's grimmest tales. And just when he has almost convinced himself it was just a weird dream, it happens again. Suddenly, Jack's ideas about what is "real" or "possible" no longer apply. While he and his new girlfriend, Lucy, struggle to understand who or what the Match Girl is, they come to realize they must also find a way to keep Jack away from her. The Match Girl is not just a sad, lonely soul; she's dangerous. And each time Jack is drawn into her gray, solitary world, she becomes stronger, more alive...and more attached to Jack. She wants to keep Jack for her very own, even if that means he will die.

Review:
Weaving a story told by three narrators – Jack, his girlfriend Lucy and Klara (the Match Girl), Bennett has created a modern day spin on Andersen’s rather grim tale of the poor little Match Girl. This dark mystery/ghost story has an interesting twist to it: a compelling backstory for the Match Girl as being more than just a fictional character created by Andersen. One thing I tend to struggle with when reading YA literature is some characters tend to come across as either “old beyond their years” or exceedingly juvenile. Jack and Lucy come across as the twelfth-graders they are supposed to be and Bennett does a great job managing both plot and character development as the story progresses. In the process of creating Jack, Bennett has provided him with a plausible reason for his unexplained “trips” into Klara’s world while with Lucy, Bennett has created plausible parallels in Lucy and Klara’s stories. Given the historical fiction reader that I am, it comes as no surprise that I really liked the sections of the book dealing with Klara’s backstory. I thought that was really well done!

Overall, a good modern twist on a well know tale and a YA story that I can easily recommend readers of YA fiction and fans of retelling of Hans Christian Andersen tale.

>32 lkernagh: Sad to hear that this installment of the series doesn't measure up. I still haven't picked up a copy as yet but will do at some point.

>33 lkernagh: Drawn Away is definitely a book bullet for me!

Happy new thread!

I found the information about Camp Neys interesting. This is certainly an unusual tourist attraction.

>34 AHS-Wolfy: - Even though I wasn't blown away by The Brothers Cabal, Howard still provides an interesting enough story. I just prefer Johannes to Horst for my reading entertainment. ;-)

I see that Howard has also written some novella/short stories that I am hoping to dip into, probably after I read the fifth installment in the series.

>35 DeltaQueen50: - YAY!

>36 mathgirl40: - Thanks Paulina. I was rather surprised to learn that a number of German POWs were shipped to Canada and worked in internment camps as forestry labourers and the like.

Bouncing in only to provide a quick update and to post some reviews. Things have been unusually frantic for the past 7 days. Work has been unusually busy. I am catching a plane tomorrow morning to spend the Easter weekend and the following week with family in Alberta. My other half will be staying here on the island so my weekend was a busy one spend filling the freezer with a number of home-cooked "heat and serve" meals to tide him over while I am gone. On top of everything else, we received sudden sad news on Saturday night that one of our neighbours had passed away. She was only in her early 60's. She did have some health issues but still, always a shock when someone you were chatting with just two weeks previous and appeared to be in good health goes into hospital for a stomach ailment and then, gone, just like that. Deaths like that really does remind one of how fragile life really is... and also has made us start checking to make sure all of our affairs are in order.

I am looking forward to down time with family. I not taking my tablet with me and won't be on-line so I want to wish all of my visitors who celebrate a wonder Easter holiday.... and for those who don't, a wonderful long weekend!

My Trans Canada Walking Journey


The goal: To walk - in three calendar years (1,095 days) - the distance that it would take me to walk the Trans Canada Highway

from the Mile Zero marker located here in Victoria BC to its end point in St. John's, NL, a distance of 7,821K (4,860 miles).







Here is the link to my Google map where I am tracking my journey: http://tinyurl.com/p8vu9n3

WEEK 91 UPDATE:
Kilometers walked this session: 62.97
Kilometers walked in total:3,676.88
Current province: (ON)
My current location on the map: East of Hemlo and heading towards White Lake Provincial Park.
Points of interest along the way:
Nothing to report. Just really happy that I am getting the kilometers back up... although I did do something to my right calf muscle on

Friday so chances are my walking is going to be sidelined for another day or two just to make sure I don't over strain it or anything.

Book #31 - Daisy Miller by Henry James - audiobook read by Susan O'Malley
Challenge(s): 75 Group, 2017 Category
Category: "Books with April, Daisy or Diamond in title or author/main character name"
Source: Hoopla
Format: Audiobook
Original publication date: June–July 1878 (in Cornhill Magazine)
Acquisition date: N/A
Page count: 112 pages / 2 hours, 30 minutes listening time
Decimal/ Star rating: 3.20 out of 5 /
Book description/summary: from the Hoopla audiobook webpage:

Frederick Winterbourne, an American expatriate visiting at Vevey, Switzerland, meets commonplace, newly rich Mrs. Miller from Schenectady, New York, her mischievous small son and her daughter, Daisy, an "inscrutable combination of audacity and innocence." The Millers have no perception of the complex code that underlies behavior in European society, and Winterbourne is astonished at the girl's innocent naivete and her mother's unconcern, both of which lead to trouble for Daisy.

Review:
I am not sure if Henry James and I are meant to “get along”. I thought I would tread gently into his works by starting off with this short novella. On its surface, Daisy Miller is nothing more than a story about a flirtatious and rather uncontrollable young woman with her own views of what is acceptable behaviour for her to engage in, much to the chagrin of the pretentious American expatriate community residing in Rome. If one chooses to look for deeper meaning, the story could be held up as an examination of innocence, given that Winterbourne is preoccupied with the question of whether Daisy is “innocent” - is she truly naïve/ ignorant or actually culpable of her actions? On the surface, Daisy is a very unlikable character for me to relate to. She is allowed to roam free (her mother having no backbone to control her wilsome children), bristles at any attempts to reign her in and very much likes to be in control of the people around her. Winterbourne comes across as no better than a man somewhat bored with his life in Europe and believes himself to be smitten with Daisy – although one wonders if he is more smitten with Daisy’s representation of American beauty and poignant innocence than he is with Daisy.

Overall, while I found the characters to be dislikeable, I can appreciate James’s skill at using storytelling to examine moral implications of an artlessness or innocence that just does not hold its own against the worldliness and cynicism surrounding it.

Book #32 - 419 by Will Ferguson - audiobook read by Pete Bradbury
Challenge(s): 75 Group, 2017 Category, ROOTs
Category: "Books with Four (4) in the title"
Source: TBR
Format: Trade paperback / Audiobook
Original publication date: 2012
Acquisition date: June 7, 2014
Page count: 411 pages / 13 hours, 2 minutes listening time
Decimal/ Star rating: 3.40 out of 5 /
Book description/summary: adapted from the amazon.ca book listing webpage:

A car tumbles through darkness down a snowy ravine. A woman without a name walks out of a dust storm in sub-Saharan Africa. And in the seething heat of Lagos City, a criminal cartel scours the Internet, looking for victims. Lives intersect. Worlds collide. And it all begins with a single email: “Dear Sir, I am the daughter of a Nigerian diplomat, and I need your help…”

When Laura Curtis, a lonely editor in a cold northern city, discovers that her father has died because of one such swindle, she sets out to track down—and corner—her father’s killer. It is a dangerous game she’s playing, however, and the stakes are higher than she can ever imagine. Woven into Laura’s journey is a mysterious woman from the African Sahel with scars etched into her skin and a young man who finds himself caught up in a web of violence and deceit. And running through it, a dying father’s final words: “You, I love.”

Review:
It is probably a very rare individual – someone who either: 1) does not have an email account; 2) has an absolutely amazing spam filter; or 3) lives “off the grid” – who has not received what is generally referred to as a “phishing” email. Phishing emails take many forms, but at their heart, they are emails purporting to be from reputable companies/individuals seeking to induce the receiver of the email to either disclosure personal information, click on a link provided that will enable the sender to control/damage the individual’s computer or, as is the case with Ferguson’s novel 419, to obtain money or goods under false pretenses. 419 is an interesting read. Part police procedural, part autopsy of a familiar Nigerian email scam and part cautionary tale for any who might seek revenge by attempting to scam the scammer, Ferguson’s novel starts out a bit convoluted as he creates four distinct narratives: Laura, a reclusive copy editor and daughter of an e-mail scam victim; Winston, the educated but futureless Nigerian email scammer; Amina, a pregnant woman fleeing her northern Nigerian tribal ties for a promise of new life in the southern cities and Nnamdi, a fisherman’s son co-oped to work as a “mechanic” in the petroleum black market in the lawless frontiers of Nigeria.

This story is an ambitious examination of the complexities of reparative justice. Ferguson does a great job depicting a divergent cast of characters who are all shaped by the email scam industry. He also does a fantastic job presenting Nigeria so that the reader can “experience” the country through his story, but the overall effect is a bit of a literary mess. I found the myriad of story lines detracted the overall story from the book’s main focus. A number of the characters are underdeveloped, all of them – with the exception of Laura’s boorish brother – coming across as weak or weakened individuals with idealized views that do not fit with the circumstances they find themselves in. As much as I enjoyed Amina’s and Nnamdi’s stories, they do not appear to be ancillary to the main story, or at least not in a way that would explain the amount of focus – roughly half of the book – Ferguson gives them. I felt more frustration than satisfaction by the end of the story. Frustration that Ferguson’s attempt to present a story from the point of view of both victims and perpetrators comes cross lacking the earnestness Ferguson tries to convey. I also do not see 419 as a dark literary thriller unless we go a bit low key with the ‘thriller’ classification and go mainstream with the ‘literary’ classification. I am also a bit surprised that this one won the 2012 Giller Prize, beating out, among others, Kim Thuy’s Ru, which I absolutely loved.

Overall, an interesting read about internet email scams and the Nigerian turmoil experienced by the oil industry’s presence in Nigeria, but lacking the powerful delivery I expected from an important literary prize winner.

Book #33 - Two Fridays in April by Roisin Meaney
Challenge(s): 75 Group, 2017 Category
Category: "Books page count (301-400 pages)", "Books with Four-Word title" and "Books set predominantly in the month of April" = Hat Trick!
Source: GVPL
Format: Trade paperback
Original publication date: 2015
Acquisition date: N/A
Page count: 352 pages
Decimal/ Star rating: 4.10 out of 5 /
Book description/summary: adapted from the amazon.ca book listing webpage:

It's Friday, April 2. Daphne Darling knows that she should be celebrating her stepdaughter Una's 17th birthday, but it's hard, because the date also marks the one-year anniversary of her husband's death and she and Una just can't seem to connect anymore. Daphne can't turn to her own mother Isobel for advice as their relationship is distant, to say the least, and Mo, Finn's elderly mother, is still grief-stricken at the death of her only son, so she is of little help. But by the end of that day in April, marking the occasion with a slice of cake and a glass of wine will be the last thing on anyone's mind...
Before that Friday, Daphne, Mo and Isobel were all stuck in the past, with their grief and their loss. And then Una takes matters into her own hands, and even though she makes a terrible mistake, she teaches Daphne, Mo and Isobel something about life: that it is to be lived and that, in spite of everything they've been through, happiness can still be a part of it.

Review:
Meaney has a wonderful gift. She manages to imbue a sad story about loss, dying and mourning with a vibrancy of life. Of love and family, Of life lived and life still to be lived. Of guilt, forgiveness and making reparations. Of making new bonds and renewing existing bonds. The story is told from the point of view of four women: Una (the daughter), Daphne (the wife), Mo (the mother) and Isobel (the mother-in-law). Over the course of one day – the anniversary of that fateful day in April – the stories of the four women is told, exposing to the reader their flaws, insecurities, guilt and remorse. I really liked how Meaney is able to present the same experiences from more than one perspective while keeping the imagery fresh and unique so that the reader doesn’t feel as though they are rehashing old ground. The themes are dense but Meaney is able to delve into them in a way that is easy and highly readable, without overwhelming this reader which I think has to do with the fantastic character development. I found it easy to relate to most of the characters and even developed a soft spot in my heart for Daphne’s mother-in-law Mo, who’s rough/severe exterior hides a warmth and goodness.

I tend to read dedications found in books. I have to say that this one has one of the best dedications I have read in a book for some time:

"This book is dedicated to random acts of kindness, and the excellent people who commit them"

Love that sentiment!

Overall, a surprisingly engaging read filled with wonderful characters and an uplifting read given the themes that run through it.

Have a very happy Easter, Lori and enjoy your time with your family.

I hope you have a lovely time away, and enjoy your time offline!

Have a lovely visit with your family, Lori. Take care of the leg.

>43 DeltaQueen50:, >44 Jackie_K: and >45 BLBera: - Thanks Judy, Jackie and Beth. The trip was great. Wonderful happy times filled with new emotions of sadness and grief. The day I arrived in Calgary we learned that a good family friend had died, rather suddenly, just the day before. Our family connections go way back: Her late husband and my dad went to University together and our families made similar moves from Saskatchewan to first Edmonton and then Calgary. I knew her my entire life. She was part of my mom's Thursday morning coffee club and was wonderful support during the last two years as my mom's health declined. She is greatly missed. I was still in town and was able to attend her funeral service with my Dad, older brother and SIL. Also sad news, I learned that one of my SIL's sister was in the final stages of her battle with cancer. She passed on the day I flew back home.

On a happier note, it was wonderful to spend time with dad and the rest of the family. Dad is doing real well. He has a routine and stays active. This trip my siblings and I tackled something that has been in need of tackling for years now: We went through all of the boxes stored in the crawl space of my parent's house. It took us some 4 solid days of work - it is a rather big crawl space and it was pretty darn full of stuff! - and we came away with a lot of wonderful finds. Some of the best finds were my parent's high school yearbooks from 1951-1953 (they went to the same school but didn't start dating until after graduation), my dad's original pilot's license and log book from when he was a student airplane pilot and their wedding pictures that we had never seen before. For me, I was over the moon to discover my baby book and a number of my old school photos and report cards - apparently I was rather "talkative" in the second grade and it was suggested that I curtail my visiting with friends to recess time. ;-)

There were a lot of things that we could recycle (like all of my high school and university textbooks and class notes). We found a sewing charity that we were able to donate two big boxes of fabric, notions, sewing patterns, quilting books, etc. My cousin had a friend who was organizing a school book drive and we all did a dance of joy when we found out that they would take National Geographic magazines and Reader's Digest condensed books along with literary works and cookbooks, so a truckload of books was happily donated. Good news is that this friend will be organizing the same event next year so we will have another truckload of books to donate at that time. Because my mom was the type of person to keep everything - and had a house big enough to store things without them getting in the way - we were able to take a truck load of donations to Goodwill and did three runs to the local dump. Overall, we have just scratched the surface but it feels good to slowly organize things. Dad got to sit back while we worked and we would bring our finds to him. One find that is a bit of a mystery is a near mint condition Brownie Holiday Flash camera. My dad remembers having a brownie camera but not one with the flash arm. We think this may have come from my maternal grandmother's home, but we are not sure.

I managed to get in some reading while away, but the evening were usually spent watching the various hockey games with my dad.

Now for some book reviews, walking update and at some point, I will get around to posting a monthly summary update.

Book #34 - Out to Canaan by Jan Karon - audiobook read by John McDonough
Challenge(s): 75 Group, 2017 Category, ROOT
Category: "4th book in a series" and "Books page count (301-400 pages)"
Source: TBR
Format: Trade paperback / Audiobook
Original publication date: 1997
Acquisition date: May 15, 2011
Page count: 342 pages
Decimal/ Star rating: 3.40 out of 5 /
Book description/summary: from the goodreads.com book listing webpage:

Father Tim, the Episcopal rector, and his talented and vivacious wife, Cynthia, are pondering the murky uncertainties of retirement. They're also trying to locate the scattered siblings of Dooley Barlowe, the mountain boy they love as their own. A brash new mayoral candidate is calling for aggressive development, and a tough survivor must hunker down for the fight of her life. Worse, the Sweet Stuff Bakery may be closing, and a suspicious real estate agent is trying to turn the beloved house on the hill into a spa. Can change be coming to Mitford? The buzz on Main Street says yes. Change is certainly coming to the tenderest regions of several townspeople's lives. A woman struggles every day to stay on course after years of hard living. A man tries to forgive himself for a tragic mistake. And the town's most eligible bachelor leaves Mitford -- and returns with a stunning surprise.

Review:
I continue to enjoy Karon’s wonderful slice of American life. Mitford continues to charm me, with the affable and sometimes bumbling Father Tim, his practical and supportive wife Cynthia and the memorable characters that comprise the town’s citizens as a whole. The story this time focuses on the scramble of Father Tim’s approaching retirement, a mayoralty race that has the town folk buzzing with opinions, and other changes and challenges that one would expect to encounter in a sleepy, close-knit community. Easy reading to escape the reality busy work weeks, demanding deadlines and the never-ending crush of errands. It is great to “experience” Father Kavanagh’s charge, young Dooley Barlowe, growing up. I found the scene where Father Tim tries to explain the “birds and the bees” to Dooley to be a hoot, second only to Father Tim’s experiences getting haircuts – and a facial! – at the hands of the non-stop talking Fancy.

As with any series, a reader will get the most enjoyment by reading the books in series order. What not to like? Well, the only thing that is starting to wear a bit thin with me is how Father Tim calls his wife Cynthia “Kavanagh” whenever he praises or cajoles her. I realize that Father Tim is in his early 60’s and all, but I find it odd that the “pet” name that Karon has ascribed to Cynthia in the stories is Father Tim’s last name and not something that would be unique or specific to her. Let just say this makes my nose twitch as not something I would consider endearing if my other half started to refer to me by his last name in the same way as Father Tim does with Cynthia. Otherwise, another good visit to with the fine folks of Mitford.

Overall, looking forward to continuing the series.

Book #35 - The Seduction of the Crimson Rose by Lauren Willig - audiobook read by Kate Reading
Challenge(s): 75 Group, 2017 Category
Category: "4th book in a series" and "Books page count (301-400 pages)"
Source: GVPL
Format: Audiobook
Original publication date: 2008
Acquisition date: N/A
Page count: 400 pages
Decimal/ Star rating: 4.10 out of 5 /
Book description/summary: from the amazon.com book listing webpage:

Determined to secure another London season without assistance from her new brother-in-law, Mary Alsworthy accepts a secret assignment from Lord Vaughn on behalf of the Pink Carnation. She must infiltrate the ranks of the dreaded French spy, the Black Tulip, before he and his master can stage their planned invasion of England. Every spy has a weakness and for the Black Tulip that weakness is beautiful black-haired women. A natural at the art of seduction, Mary easily catches the attention of the French spy, but Lord Vaughn never anticipated that his own heart would be caught as well. Fighting their growing attraction, impediments from their past, and, of course, the French, Mary and Vaughn find themselves lost in a treacherous garden of lies.

And as our modern-day heroine, Eloise Kelly, digs deeper into England's Napoleonic-era espionage, she becomes even more entwined with Colin Selwick, the descendant of her spy subjects.

Review:
I am continuing to enjoy Willig’s historical fiction/espionage/romance series. For me, a lot of the charm is that in each book Willig focuses attention on a different romantic couple, while continuing to bring earlier characters into the story line, where appropriate. I have to say that Lord Vaughn and Mary Alsworthy have been my favorite “couple” in the series so far. Lord Vaughn is the epitome of a wealthy sardonic rake of the time period, one who lives for verbal sparring and mental game-play with the individuals he encounters. Mary is the epitome of an icy goddess capable of matching Vaughn’s remarks with sharp, witty rejoiners of her own. The espionage case plays second fiddle, IMO, to the sparks flying between Vaughn and Mary, while the “complication” in Vaughn’s life works exceptionally well to spice up the plot. The developing romance between the present day characters of Eloise and Colin continues to move along at a nice pace but for me, it is the historical fiction part of the story that really captured my attention.

Overall, I am loving this series and looking forward to reading the next installment.

Book #36 - The Kalahari Typing School for Men by Alexander McCall Smith
Challenge(s): 75 Group, 2017 Category, ROOT
Category: "4th book in a series"
Source: TBR
Format: Trade paperback
Original publication date: 2002
Acquisition date: May 11, 2014
Page count: 208 pages
Decimal/ Star rating: 3.70 out of 5 /
Book description/summary: from the amazon.com book listing webpage:

Now that The No. 1 Ladies’ Detective Agency (the only detective agency for ladies and others in Botswana) is established, its founder, Precious Ramotswe, can look upon her life with pride: she’s reached her late thirties (“the finest age to be”), has a house, two children, a good fiancé -- Mr. J. L. B. Matekoni -- and many satisfied customers. But life is never without its problems. It turns out that her adopted son is responsible for the dead hoopoe bird in the garden; her assistant, Mma Makutsi, wants a husband and needs help with her idea to open the Kalahari Typing School for Men; yet Mma Ramotswe’s sexist rival has no trouble opening his Satisfaction Guaranteed Detective Agency across town. Will Precious Ramotswe’s delightfully cunning and profoundly moral methods save the day?

Review:
Another good installment. This time the story provides more focus on Mma Makutsi. As with previous books in the series, the story is more about daily life in Botswana and provides a wonderful window into the unique cultural aspects of Botswanan life and society and how traditional ways are being impacted by First World priorities and points of view. Some may call these stories to be “cozy mysteries” but I like to think about them as stories where one gets to examine moral implications of actions, traditional folk wisdom and how common sense can prevail in sticky situations. Justice is not always best served when one does not take into account how an action may impact all parties involved. I really enjoyed the business ingenuity as Mma Makutsi looks to establish a new business to help her make enough money to live and care for her ailing brother. On a downside, McCall Smith does paint certain scenarios - such as the presence of a new, competing detective agency in the community - with a brush that focuses on pointing out extreme contrasts between the two agencies and fails to provide any real value, except as an easy mechanism to introduce further discussion about proper behaviour between Mma Ramotswe and Mma Makutsi.

Overall, An enjoyable series for readers seeking a light-hearted view of life from a different perspective, where discussions of proper behaviour occupies as much space in the stories as the cases to be solved.

Book #37 - Major Pettigrew's Last Stand by Helen Simonson - audiobook read by Peter Altschuler
Challenge(s): 75 Group, 2017 Category, ROOT
Category: "Books page count (301-400 pages)" and "Books with Four-Word title"
Source: TBR
Format: Trade paperback / Audiobook
Original publication date: 2010
Acquisition date: January 21, 2012
Page count: 384 pages / 13 hours, 9 minutes listening time
Decimal/ Star rating: 4.60 out of 5 /
Book description/summary: from the local library catalogue book listing webpage:

When retired Major Pettigrew strikes up an unlikely friendship with Mrs. Ali, the Pakistani village shopkeeper, he is drawn out of his regimented world and forced to confront the realities of life in the twenty-first century. Brought together by a shared love of literature and the loss of their respective spouses, the Major and Mrs. Ali soon find their friendship on the cusp of blossoming into something more. But although the Major was actually born in Lahore, and Mrs. Ali was born in Cambridge, village society insists on embracing him as the quintessential local and her as a permanent foreigner. The Major has always taken special pride in the village, but will he be forced to choose between the place he calls home and a future with Mrs. Ali?

Review:
Love this one.... absolutely loved it. At is heart, this story has a wonderful vibe and had me thinking of a lighter version of Jane Gardam's Old Filth, kind of like Old Filth meets The Last of the Summer Wine what with the fantastic descriptions of the village of Edgecombe St. Mary and its inhabitants. Simonson has written a story with heart. All of the characters are well drawn - even the Major's son Roger, who I found to be the epitome of the modern day self absorbed corporate and social climber, completely oblivious of how inappropriately some of his comments and actions are. Major Pettigrew is all regimented in manners and action on the surface with a warm compassionate soul lurking underneath. Simonson captures the issues of cultural and tradition with a realistic eye, portraying Mrs. Jasmina Ali as a women caught between two worlds, struggling to be the contemporary English woman she is while her family's cultural values are pulling her back. The villagers are the perfect foil and through their various bumblings, Simonson is able to communicate a myriad of themes about culture, race, age-related prejudices and that it doesn't matter how old one is, courtship can have its awkward moments.

A delightful story filled with heart, compassion and humour. A refreshing reminder that things like joy and dignity can continue to exist, even in our crazy, fast forward materialistic world.

My Trans Canada Walking Journey


The goal: To walk - in three calendar years (1,095 days) - the distance that it would take me to walk the Trans Canada Highway from the Mile Zero marker located here in Victoria BC to its end point in St. John's, NL, a distance of 7,821K (4,860 miles).







Here is the link to my Google map where I am tracking my journey: http://tinyurl.com/p8vu9n3

WEEKS 92, 93 and 94 UPDATE:
Kilometers walked this session: 78.57 (Week 92=15.83; Week 93=5.76; Week 94=56.98)
Kilometers walked in total:3,755.45
Current province: (ON)
My current location on the map: Southeast of White River and heading for Obtanga Provincial Park.
Points of interest along the way: White River, Ontario as the inspiration for Winnie the Pooh.... who knew!?! According to the White River website:

"Over eighty years ago, the community of White River, Ontario, Canada, bid farewell to a little black bear cub. This bear would become the inspiration of author A.A. Milne and subsequently became one of the most loved bears in the world."

More details about the true story that inspired A.A. Milne can be found HERE.



The community is rightly proud of its connection to the Winnie the Pooh books. How cool is that?

----------------
As for my walking progress, I think I am on track to 'virtually' arrive in Ottawa in time for the Canada Day 150 anniversary celebrations.

As a quick monthly recap, I am happy to report that I continue to manage to read a book for each of my sub-categories, so I am "4-for-4" so far with my challenge!



4th book in a series:
- The Brothers Cabal by Jonathan L. Howard - (review)
- Out to Canaan by Jan Karon - (review)
- The Seduction of the Crimson Rose by Lauren Willig - (review)
- The Kalahari Typing School for Men by Alexander McCall Smith - (review)

Books with Four (4) in the title:
- 419 by Will Ferguson - (review)

Books page count (301-400 pages):
- Two Fridays in April by Roisin Meaney - (review)
- Out to Canaan by Jan Karon - (review)
- The Seduction of the Crimson Rose by Lauren Willig - (review)
- Major Pettigrew's Last Stand by Helen Simonson - (review)

Books with Four-Word title:
- Two Fridays in April by Roisin Meaney - (review)
- Major Pettigrew's Last Stand by Helen Simonson - (review)

Books set predominantly in the month of April:
- Two Fridays in April by Roisin Meaney - (review)

Books with April, Daisy or Diamond in title or author/main character name:
- Daisy Miller by Henry James - (review)

Books where main theme is Innocence:
- Daisy Miller by Henry James - (review)

Books with White cover or the color mentioned in the book title:
- White with Fish, Red with Murder by Harley Mazuk - (review)



Miscellaneous books read:
- Drawn Away by Holly Bennett - (review)
------------------------------------
APRIL SUMMARY:
No. of Books read: 10
ROOTs read: 4
Largest book read by page count: - 419 by Will Ferguson at 411 pages
Smallest book read by page count: - Daisy Miller by Henry James at 112 pages
# Pages read: - 3,036 pages
Average # pages per book read: - 303.6 pages
Average # pages read per day: - 101.2 pages
Audiobooks / eBooks / Physical Books: - 6/1/3 making note that three of the audioreads were listened to as a way to get physical reads off my TBR pile.
Male vs. Female Authors: - 5 vs. 5 - WOW, balance!
Fiction vs. Non-Fiction Reads: - 10 vs. 0
Average Decimal/ Star rating for books read: 3.68 out of 5 /
Top Read for the month: Without a doubt, Major Pettigrew's Last Stand by Helen Simonson. What a fabulous story!

Glad you had such a good trip overall. What great finds for you guys! Makes all that hard work worthwhile. Nice to see that you are still enjoying the Pink Carnation series. One of these days I'll get to it. I also share your love of Major Pettigrew - that was such a delightful book.

Congrats on more walking progress too!

Enjoyed your catch-up. Trying to think back to when I first started the Pink Carnation series. And I loved seeing Winnie the Pooh.

Will be very happy to "see" you in Ottawa for Canada Day if your walking pace holds! :D

Going through the parents' house is satisfying and rather fun. Glad you were able to dedicate such a big chunk of time to it and that you found some neat things!

Hi Lori. The Seduction of the Crimson Rose is my favorite book of the series, I thought that couple was the most interesting overall. My other favorite was The Mischief of the Mistletoe which was very funny.

We have been sorting through stuff in preparation to moving and I found my old report cards. The theme that ran through them was that I was a little to prone to being very social, and I guess things haven't changed much over the years!

I love Major Pettigrew too. When you have an opening in your reading schedule (as if there were such a thing) you should try her second book, The Summer Before the War. I thought it was very good too.

I have never read the Pink Carnation books but have two or three on my shelf. Must get to them soon!

>53 LittleTaiko: - The trip was great, Stacy. Even with all the work we did, it still felt like a vacation and I managed to get in some down time. Now that the weather is starting to be more Spring/Summer like, I am hoping to ramp up my walking. I am already collecting a good stash of audiobooks to keep me company on my walks. ;-)

>54 VictoriaPL: - I never thought I would find Winnie the Pooh having a Canadian connection... interesting what I have been able to learn by just doing quick Google searches of the areas my virtual walking passes through.

>55 rabbitprincess: - I remain hopeful that I can make it to Ottawa by July 1st it is going to be tight! I definitely won't be able to take "a day off" from the walking if I want to make that goal. ;-) The crawl space has been a daunting task that has been haunting all of my siblings for some time now, so I think we all breathed a collective sigh of relief once we were finished and had a better idea of what all was down there and what could be disposed of right away.

>56 DeltaQueen50: - Hi Judy, I hope you have been able to enjoy the fabulous weather this weekend! I am loving Willig's series but I have to say, I am not enjoying the next book in the series, The Temptation of the Night Jasmine as much as I have enjoyed the earlier books. Oh well, each most series tend to have some books that just don't match the caliber of other books in the series for enjoyment.

Isn't it fun to find and re-read old report cards, especially the comments, which I think are probably not part of the newer report cards current school kids receive. Good luck with prepping for your move!

>57 clue: - Ooooohhhhh.... making note of The Summer Before the War and adding it to my local library list of books to request.

..... just discovered that they have the audiobook so I have placed a hold! Thank you for the suggestion!

Happy first weekend in May, everyone! Life continues to be busy on both the work and home front, but busy in a good way. We have provincial elections on Tuesday and while I usually vote on election day, I took advantage of the fact that one of the advanced polling stations was open when I went to the grocery store yesterday so I stopped in, did my civic duty and can now check that off my to-do list for the week. ;-)

The weather has been absolutely fabulous this weekend. A bit of a cold breeze coming off the water so still jeans and jacket weather but the sunshine is divine to sit in while sharing appies and drinks with friends. Another reason to love this weekend?..... it is

ANNUAL BOOK SALE WEEKEND!

After discovering earlier this year that I currently own 443 books that remain unread, I made a decision to forego the annual book sale this year. At my current reading rate of ~ 40 books off my books shelves per year, I had enough books to keep me going for a while, so I thought. I know, you are shaking your collective heads at my folly thinking that a reading pile of 443 books is quite sufficient. ;-) Of course, by the time the sale weekend arrived, I caved, but I only went on the second day of the sale (I was busy doing other things on Saturday). Overall, I did restrain myself, coming away with only 14 books.

I managed to add the following books to my growing (currently 35 books) Europa Editions collection:

..

The Jewish Husband by Lia Levi
The Days of Abandonment by Elena Ferrante
The Story of the Lost Child by Elena Ferrante - I own the first three books in the series. Now that I have the fourth and final book, I will be thinking about reading the series next year.

I came across a stash of Alexander McCall Smith books which I managed to dig through to find copies of books I didn't already own or had already read and came home with the following:

...

The Sunday Philosophy Club, Friends, Lovers, Chocolate, The Right Attitude to Rain, and The Lost Art of Gratitude, which means I now own books #1, #2, #3 and #6 in the Isabel Dalhousie mysteries series.

.

I also managed to snag The Handsome Man's De Luxe Cafe, book #15 in the No. 1 Ladies' Detective Agency series and The World According to Bertie, book #4 in the 44 Scotland Street series, the last book being a possible silly purchase considering I have yet to read the first three books in the 44 Scotland Street series. Oh well....

Closed off my morning of browsing through tables and boxes of books by purchasing the following, each for its own reason:

....

The 351 Books of Irma Arcuri by David Bajo - Looks like an interesting literary mystery.
Winter of the World by Ken Follett - I already own book #1 in the Century Trilogy so snagging a copy of book #2 made perfect sense.
The Forsyte Saga books 1-3 omnibus by John Galsworthy - I have been meaning to read this saga for some time now. Nice to have my own copy to start off reading the first three books.
The Campus Trilogy by David Lodge - I tend to gravitate to omnibus books when at the book sale. Nothing like getting three books for less than the price of one.
Us Conductors by Sean Michaels - 2014 Giller prize winner.

I am satisfied with my purchases. Next year, I may tackle the book sale with a strategic purpose in mind, just don't ask me what that strategic purpose will be. I haven't decided.

----------------------------------

....... I did manage to finish two books this past week so I will get those reviews and the usual walking update posted.

Book #38 - Five Days in London: May 1940 by John Lukacs - audiobook narrated by Geoffrey Howard
Challenge(s): 75 Group, 2017 Category
Category: "Books with Five (5) in the title", "Books set predominantly in the month of May" and "Books with May, Lily or Emerald in title or author/main character name" = Hat Trick!
Source: Hoopla
Format: Audiobook
Original publication date: 2005
Acquisition date: N/A
Page count: 256 pages / 6 hours, 25 minutes listening time
Decimal/ Star rating: 3.60 out of 5 /
Book description/summary: adapted from the amazon.ca book listing webpage:

The days from May 24 to May 28, 1940 altered the course of the history of this century, as the members of the British War Cabinet debated whether to negotiate with Hitler or to continue what became known as the Second World War. Lukacs takes us hour by hour into the critical unfolding of events at 10 Downing Street, where Churchill and the members of his cabinet were painfully considering their war responsibilities. We see how the military disasters taking place on the Continent—particularly the plight of the nearly 400,000 British soldiers bottled up in Dunkirk—affected Churchill’s fragile political situation, for he had been prime minister only a fortnight and was regarded as impetuous and hotheaded even by many of his own party. Lukacs also investigates the mood of the British people, drawing on newspaper and Mass-Observation reports that show how the citizenry, though only partly informed about the dangers that faced them, nevertheless began to support Churchill’s determination to stand fast. Using the partial revelations of certain memoirs and private and public papers, Lukacs conveys the drama and importance of these days, in a compelling narrative that combines deep knowledge with high literary style.

Review:
An interesting examination of what Lukacs contends as being a period of time when Hitler was never closer to winning his war in Europe. In May 1940, a number of key factors were at play: Hitler’s driving forces had France on the verge of defeat; Belgium surrender to Germany and the British Expeditionary Forces found themselves holed up on the coast of Dunkirk with no allied assistance to back them up. Compounding the situation was the fact that the current majority in the British Parliament, was currently tolerating Hitler’s growing presence on the continent. Lukacs arrives at his conclusion through a myriad of information gleaned from the memoirs and public/private papers of various key players such as Lord Halifax and Neville Chamberlain. The fact that Churchill was still new in his role as Prime Minister (he was appointed by King George V to the role only on May 10th) is of note, as is the criticism (unknown to Churchill at the time) American President Franklin D. Roosevelt held of Churchill’s abilities. The fact that Churchill remained resolute that any accommodation with Hitler would lead to the eventual demise of Britain and Europe, shows a strength of character deserving of praise. While there is a fair bit of focus on the debate going on in the British War Cabinet of how best to proceed, this is important as Lukacs is able to demonstrate how Churchill used personal diplomacy and moral persuasion to bring the War Cabinet to his line of thinking and to overcome Lord Halifax and the distrust Churchill faced from a number of his colleagues. Lukacs also provides the reader with interesting public opinion barometric pressure readings gleaned from various newspaper polls, giving the book a more “point in time” of the British feelings at the time, and how calm British stoicism was at play, even during those uncertain days.

Whether Lukacs is correct in his premise – that those last days in May of 1940 were the closest Hitler ever came to winning his war against Europe – is anyone’s personal opinion. Either way, Lukacs writes in an informative manner. As a fond observer of human behaviour, I really enjoyed the inclusion of the personal opinions of various key players as they really helped shape the developments for me. On a possible downside, I listened to the audiobook version and found that some of the footnotes tended to interrupt the rhythmic flow of Lukacs’ writing.

A solid read for anyone interested in Churchill, the early period of WWII or political diplomacy in general.

Book #39 - V is for Vengeance by Sue Grafton - audiobook narrated by Judy Kaye
Challenge(s): 75 Group, 2017 Category, ROOT
Category: "Books set predominantly in the month of May" and "Books page count (401-500 pages)"
Source: TBR
Format: Audiobook
Original publication date: 2011
Acquisition date: July 14, 2013
Page count: 448 pages / 15 hours, 11 minutes listening time
Decimal/ Star rating: 4.20 out of 5 /
Book description/summary: from the amazon.ca book listing webpage:

Private detective Kinsey Millhone feels a bit out of place in Nordstrom’s lingerie department, but she’s entirely in her element when she puts a stop to a brazen shoplifting spree. For her trouble she nearly gets run over in the parking lot by one of the fleeing thieves—and later learns that the one who didn’t get away has been found dead in an apparent suicide. But Audrey Vance’s grieving fiancé suspects murder and hires Kinsey to investigate—in a case that will reveal a big story behind a small crime, and lead her into a web that connects a shadowy “private banker,” an angry trophy wife, a spoiled kid with a spiraling addiction, and a brutal killer without a conscience…

Review:
This installment showcases Kinsey at her peak of prickly, feisty behaviour, to the point where Kinsey even manages to find herself at odds with her client. Probably not the best way to retain a client, but I guess when you take on a case mainly out of a sense of guilt, one can be a bit prickly when said client comes across as rather narrow-minded. I always enjoy the “trips back in time” to California circa 1980s. I get the impression that Grafton enjoys researching and depicting the time period and has fun with it, given here attention to detail. For example, I loved how at one point she has Kinsey listening to the radio in her car while on a stake out and the DJ announces Whitney Houston’s “Where do broken hearts go” has just overtaken Billy Ocean for top spot in the charts (something that did occur in real life the week ending April 23, 1988) and has Kinsey musing over whether or not that is a good thing,. ;-) I find that Grafton always does a great job researching areas of crime. I found the detailed information about organized shoplifting syndicates in this installment to be fascinating reading. Supporting characters like Kinsey’s former love interest Cheney Phillips, landlord Henry Pitts, his brother William and wife Rosie are included in this installment but their involvement is kept to a minimum.

Grafton continues to flex her writing prowess and treats the reader to a main plot and not one, but two subplots to sink their reading chops into. While the story does have its slow areas – I felt that one of the subplots received more attention than is warranted and the head of the crime ring doesn’t seem to have the “grit” I would expect of a Mafia boss – but overall, I feel that Grafton has reached new heights with this installment in her ability to present a well written and absorbing crime read, and a story that delivers a satisfying resolution for the various plots.

My Trans Canada Walking Journey


The goal: To walk - in three calendar years (1,095 days) - the distance that it would take me to walk the Trans Canada Highway from the Mile Zero marker located here in Victoria BC to its end point in St. John's, NL, a distance of 7,821K (4,860 miles).







Here is the link to my Google map where I am tracking my journey: http://tinyurl.com/p8vu9n3

WEEK 95 UPDATE:
Kilometers walked this session: 66.55
Kilometers walked in total:3,822
Current province: (ON)
My current location on the map: Southwest of Wawa Lake and the community of Wawa heading for Michipicton Post Provincial Park.
Points of interest along the way: I don't know about you, but I am fascinated by ghost towns. You know, those thriving communities of yonder years that suffered when either the mine or other form of industry dried up, leaving behind derelict buildings to either be overtaken by nature or turning into tourist attractions for people who like to "experience" history. This week my walking journey took me near the former sites of the Magpie Mine and the Helen Mine. The Helen Mine was founded on the discovery of hematite iron at the turn of the 20th century. Magpie mine (and resulting mining community) was founded on the discovery of a large iron deposit. While not much remains today at either site, the following YouTube videos exist to provide a "pictorial" history experience of the mining sites:

Mining Tough at Early Helen Mine
A Visit to the Magpie Mine

Great haul at the used-book sale! A good quantity and a focused selection. Enjoy your new acquisitions!

Thanks RP! I found it both comforting and a little disturbing to be scanning the books and saying to myself, "already read that, own a copy of that, etc" but it is fun to see what books get donated "en masse" (multiple copies of the book can be seen on the tables). Thankfully, the mass donation of the "Fifty Shades of Grey" books are starting to wane, but every year, without fail, I see boxes and boxes of Ian Rankin books. I have only read the first book in his Inspector Rebus series so I am half tempted next year to go with a focus to see if I can track down most of the books in that series in one sweep. at $2 a book, that is one inexpensive way to acquire a new series to read! :-)

>60 lkernagh: Added that book to my ever growing TBR. Thanks for the review.

>64 lkernagh: Excellent idea! Rebus is great :)

My goodness - you did quite well at the sale! Your Grafton review made me remember that Y is coming out this year which I'm quite ready for.

>65 sirfurboy: - It was quiet an interesting read. I hope you enjoy it as much as I did.

>66 rabbitprincess: :-)

>67 LittleTaiko: - Thanks Stacy. I had forgotten that the Y book is due out this year. I may actually be caught up with the series by then!

Book #40 - The Perks of Being a Wallflower by Stephen Chbosky - audiobook narrated by Noah Galvin
Challenge(s): 75 Group, 2017 Category, ROOT
Category: "Books with Green cover or the color mentioned in the book title"
Source: TBR
Format: Paperback / Audiobook
Original publication date: February 1, 1999
Acquisition date: December 16, 2013
Page count: 213 pages / 6 hours, 15 minutes listening time
Decimal/ Star rating: 5.00 out of 5 /
Book description/summary: from the local public library catalogue book listing webpage:

Most people think 15-year-old Charlie is a freak. The only friend he had killed himself, forcing him to face high school alone. But then seniors Patrick and his beautiful stepsister Sam take Charlie under their wings and introduce him to their eclectic, open-minded, hard-partying friends. It is from these older kids that Charlie learns to live and love, until a repressed secret from his past threatens to destroy his newfound happiness.

Review:
Striving to correct the deficiencies in some of my reading when I was a teen/YA (and having a desire to finally watch the film adaptation) I found this to be a very compelling read. Charlie is a wonderful narrator. I was never part of the “In” crowd during my high school years. My friends and I were, while not “wallflowers” we were on the fringes of high school social life and were more observers than active participants in some social activities. I am also a big fan of “stream of consciousness style of writing – so apropos IMO when the writing takes is in a series of letter that have a quasi-journal look and feel. The themes are meaty (and potentially unsettling for some younger readers) but not unknown to the average teenager struggling with that awkward transition from child to adulthood: mental health, substance abuse, sexuality and sexual abuse, inhibition and family issues. For me, this book is a reminder of both the joys, the freedom and the heart-wrenching angst that represents adolescence. The fluid storytelling approach employed by Chbosky works beautifully. It really captures the extreme highs and lows Charlie’s emotions cycle through, and does so in a very believable fashion. While I never knew a Charlie when I was growing up, I did know a handful of individuals that, when drawn together, would create a composite Charlie. It is the authenticity with which Chbosky writes that makes this such a wonderfully moving coming of age story to read.

Favorite Quote:

"I guess we are who we are for a lot of reasons. And maybe we'll never know most of them. But even if we don't have the power to choose where we come from, we can still choose where we go from there. We can still do things. And we can try to feel okay about them."

Words to live by.

Book #41 - The Temptation of the Night Jasmine by Lauren Willig
Challenge(s): 75 Group, 2017 Category
Category: "5th book in a series" and "Books where main theme is Success in Love"
Source: GVPL
Format: Hard cover
Original publication date: 2009
Acquisition date: N/A
Page count: 388 pages
Decimal/ Star rating: 2.85 out of 5 /
Book description/summary: from the amazon.com book listing webpage:

After years abroad, Robert, Duke of Dovedale, has returned to England to avenge the murder of his mentor. To uncover the murderer's identity, he must infiltrate the infamous, secret Hellfire Club. But the Duke has no idea that an even more difficult challenge awaits him-in a mistaken, romantic-minded young lady. Charlotte Lansdowne wistfully remembers the Robert of her childhood as a valiant hero among men. Too aware of his own flaws, Robert tries to dissuade Charlotte from her delusions, even as he finds himself drawn to her. When Charlotte takes up a bit of espionage-investigating a plot to kidnap the King-Robert soon realizes that she is more than the perfect partner in crime. Caught in a dangerous game full of deadly spies and secret rites, Robert and Charlotte must work together to reveal the villain...and confront their true love.

Review:
Well, I guess it had to happen at some point. As much as I enjoyed the first four installments in Willig’s .Pink Carnation series, I found this one to be a bit of a dud. I struggled to get my footing, in part because, for the life of me, I could not recollect Charlotte’s role in the previous books in the series. Good thing Willig, at one point, mentions that Charlotte’s best friend is Henrietta…. although that still didn’t do much to help my memory along. Having thoroughly loved the intellectual/electric vibe between Lord Vaughn and Mary in Book #4, I found Charlotte’s sweetness/goodness, her dreams of a storybook hero and Robert to be quite the 180 degree turnaround, and a rather boring one at that. Even the espionage bit struck me as being more contrived than I was willing to accept. Yes, I do expect to dispel belief to some extend when reading historical fiction/romance stories of this type and I can usually just “go with the flow” and accept the story for what it is, but this one was just a bit too far-fetched for my tastes. Thankfully “Hen” and Miles, from previous installments, are along for the ride and at least Willig does provide a dragon of sorts in the form of Charlotte’s grandmother, the Dowager Duchess of Dovedale, and a “Lord Vaughn-like” devious rake but even these wonderful characters are unable to save the story from becoming a bit of a snore for me. Even the modern day story of Eloise and Colin’s budding romance was unimpressive – dare I say they have slid into the “mundane”? – and was not helped by having their story take some weird detour down espionage lane that, at the reveal stage, had me going “Really? Thatis the big secret?”

Overall, a very underwhelming read for me. Here is hoping that the next installment is an improvement.

My Trans Canada Walking Journey


The goal: To walk - in three calendar years (1,095 days) - the distance that it would take me to walk the Trans Canada Highway from the Mile Zero marker located here in Victoria BC to its end point in St. John's, NL, a distance of 7,821K (4,860 miles).







Here is the link to my Google map where I am tracking my journey: http://tinyurl.com/p8vu9n3

WEEK 96 UPDATE:
Kilometers walked this session: 67.09
Kilometers walked in total:3,889.09
Current province: (ON)
My current location on the map: In Lake Superior Provincial Park, heading for Agawa Bay.
Points of interest along the way: Nothing to report except that I was bring overly ambitious in thinking that I might make it to Ottawa in time for Canada Day celebrations. Looks like I will make it to Sudbury by then.

It has only been a little over 6 months since my mom passed.

..

Spending today enjoying wonderful memories of the active, feisty, caring and unique person she was.



Miss you, mom.

To all the mothers out there....

Love those pictures! I hope the memories help you today.

Those are lovely photos, I'm glad you have good memories on what must be a bittersweet day.

Happy Mother's Day, Lori. Love the pictures of your mom.

>70 lkernagh: I read the first two or three of this series and then felt as you did with this one. You'll have to let me know if they get better again.

What wonderful photos! Thank you for sharing.

>74 rabbitprincess: - Thanks RP. The memories helped a lot on Mother's Day and pretty much throughout the past week. Good but sad feelings that I am sure will continue to surface as the family makes it way through a series of "firsts", kind of like this past Christmas was.

>75 Jackie_K: - Thanks Jackie. A lot of really good memories. Even the bad memories - few as they are -are really good memories as they are memories of when mom and I did not see "eye to eye". I have my mom's strong will and determination so clashes were expected. I like that I have some of her strength within me and I still feel connected to her in that way, which is a nice feeling.

>76 BLBera: - Thanks Beth. I do plan on continuing with the Pink Carnation so I should be in a position to answer your question - at least as far as book 5 in the series goes - later this month next month. ;-)

>77 LittleTaiko: - Thanks Stacy. Mom was always up to something. Life was never dull with Mom around, that is for sure. ;-) While a number of the photos from my early childhood are not the best - either blurry or over/under exposed - one thing our family does not lack for is photographic history. My dad figures he has some 3,000 slides on top of the boxes and photo albums full of print photos.

Happy long weekend to all of my Canadian friends here! After what has probably been one of the coldest Springs on record as far back as I can recall, we finally got some decent weather for the Victoria day long weekend. One of the local events for tomorrow's holiday Monday is the Victoria Day parade (in its 119th year) through downtown. Should be another wonderful day. I have been logging some good walking distance. Went for a great walk Saturday morning and in the process stumbled across two "new-to-me" Little Free Libraries.

At the entrance to a little community park is this wonderful Muppet's band-themed LFL:

.

Someone very handy with woodworking did a fantastic job with this one. Definitely a labour of love!

-------------

In Other News: I made a batch of nachos for snacking on this afternoon and learned a very important lesson the hard way: Just because your hands have been thoroughly washed after slicing jalapeno peppers, DO NOT rub your eyes with said hands. Brutal.

Book #42 - The Fall of the House of Cabal by Jonathan L. Howard - audiobook narrated by Nicholas Guy Smith
Challenge(s): 75 Group, 2017 Category
Category: "5th book in a series"
Source: Hoopla
Format: Audiobook
Original publication date: 2016
Acquisition date: N/A
Page count: 384 pages / 14 hours, 56 minutes listening time
Decimal/ Star rating: 3.90 out of 5 /
Book description/summary: from the amazon.ca book listing webpage:

Johannes Cabal, a necromancer of some little infamy, has come into possession of a vital clue that may lead him to his ultimate goal: a cure for death. The path is vague, however, and certainly treacherous as it takes him into strange territories that, quite literally, no one has ever seen before. The task is too dangerous to venture upon alone, so he must seek assistance, comrades for the coming travails. So assisted—ably and otherwise—by his vampiric brother, Horst, and by the kindly accompaniment of a criminologist and a devil, he will encounter ruins and diableries, mystery and murder, the depths of the lowest pit and a city of horrors. London, to be exact. Yet even though Cabal has risked such peril believing he understands the dangers he faces, he is still underestimating them. He is walking into a trap of such arcane complexity that even the one who drew him there has no idea of its true terrors. As the snare closes slowly and subtly around them, it may be that there will be no survivors at all.

Review:
As the last? book in this deliciously dark comic series, I have to give kudos to Howard for bringing characters and events from previous books into play as Johannes, with his rather affable vampiric brother Horst in tow, embarks on a new adventure and one that requires assistance from a couple of characters from previous stories in the series, including Leonie Barrow and an absolutely divine “new-to-me” character, the spider-devil Madam Zarenyia, a character that apparently first appeared in a Johannes Cabal short story ”The Long Spoon”, which I haven’t read, yet. Did not know that I also had to stay current on all of the short stories and novellas in the Johannes Cabal collection of books to fully appreciate everything that Howard brings to this story. I will be rectifying that oversight.

This story is really a collection of five mini-adventures, to coincide with the five locations Cabal and his team need visit to open the door to eternal life. I won’t provide any more details, as one really should read the book (after reading all of the previous books in the collection, that is), but I will say that I will be completely crushed if Howard does not write a spin-off series for Madam Zarenyia…. She is that amazing a character. Mischievous, coquettish (I love the word coquettish…. don’t get to include it very often in a review) and an absolute scene stealer, capable of matching pithy witticisms with our disdain-filled necromancer, which had me chortling in my chair a number of times. Howard continues to provide a decent world build but I feel that his forte is in writing the darkly comic commentary of his characters. One reviewer sums up the plot for this novel beautifully with the following introduction:

”A necromancer, a witch, a vampire, and a devil walk into Hell…”

Overall, I found this story to be stronger than the previous book in the series. While some parts were more entertaining than other parts – basically every page with Madam Zarenyia is an absolute hoot! – I feel that Howard kept the story moving forward to its conclusion without too much “shilly-shallying” and I cannot only hope that Howard is only toying with readers when he says that this will be the last book in the Johannes Cabal series.

.
Book #43 - A Poisoned Prayer by Michael Skeet
Challenge(s): 75 Group, 2017 Category
Category: N/A
Source: LTER
Format: eBook
Original publication date: 2017
Acquisition date: March 28, 2017
Page count: 374 pages
Decimal/ Star rating: 3.30 out of 5 /
Book description/summary: from the amazon.com book listing webpage:

En garde! Paris, in the 1680s. Dashing swordsmen compete for the favours of licentious women, and magic--God's Blessing--is strong enough that prayers really are answered. Into the City of Light comes Lise de Trouvaille, a young noblewoman of modest means and no apparent Blessing, searching for an advantageous marriage. But the first eligible man she meets--during a werewolf attack, no less--is exactly the wrong person. Rafael, duc de Bellevasse, is at once too good for her and too bad (he is both the scion of one of the great families of France and a scoundrel presumed to be in league with the Devil, paying huge sums for death-magic spells). Knowing they are wrong for each other, Lise and Rafael find themselves drawn into plots and conspiracies combining a peasant uprising with the glittering aristocracy surrounding the imperial court. Each has a reason for wanting to solve a series of murders. And each has more than one reason for wanting to avoid the attentions of Nicolas de La Reynie, lieutenant-general of the Paris police and a man who knows, more than most, that something is going badly wrong in Paris.

Review:
I hate it when I have to struggle to write a review. As a huge, HUGE fan of The Three Musketeers, a lover of Regency-styled romance stories and willing to dabble a little with fantasy reads, Skeet has come up with a rather fun combination: A young, rapier-wielding female heroine in a fantasy version of 17th century Paris with all of the basic trappings of a court with musketeers, a controlling cardinal and a dastardly plot to overthrow the current ruler on the go. A world where the aristocracy are "Blessed" with the ability to cast magical spells by way of prayer/song. From that general perspective, this story has a lot to offer a reader like me. I liked how the action pacing is steady and Skeet does a fabulous job keeping the identities of the perpetrators a mystery until the end. On the downside, the story tends to lurch a bit from section to section. I had to dispel belief when Lise has no problem dressing up as her cousin Robert, basically fooling everyone about her identity, especially when a courtesan friend of Robert's accosts Lise at a gaming house, engages Lise in sexual foreplay and doesn't even realize that it isn't Robert. That, and the inclusion of the dark spectre Shahrbaz (a minor character that really doesn't fit with the overall tone, feel and character of the story), tended to throw me off what is otherwise a rather good historical/fantasy adventure story.

Overall, a decent read and one that I would have felt was squarely targeted for the YA audience, expect for that courtesan encounter I mentioned above. That strikes me as requiring a bit of an older audience.

Book #44 - A Tree Grows in Brooklyn by Betty Smith - audiobook narrated by Kate Burton
Challenge(s): 75 Group, 2017 Category, ROOT
Category: "Books page count (401-500 pages)" and "Books with Five-Word title"
Source: TBR
Format: Trade paperback / audiobook
Original publication date: 1943
Acquisition date: November 5, 2011
Page count: 493 pages / 14 hours, 55 minutes listening time
Decimal/ Star rating: 5.00 out of 5 /
Book description/summary: adapted from the local library catalogue book listing webpage:

Johnny Nolan is as loving and fanciful as they come, but he is also often drunk and out of work, unable to find his place in the land of opportunity. His wife Katie scrubs floors to put food on the table and clothes on her childrens' backs, instilling in them the values of being practical and planning ahead. When Johnny dies, leaving Katie pregnant, Francie, smart, pensive and hoping for something better, cannot believe that life can carry on as before. But with her own determination, and that of her mother behind her, Francie moves towards the future of her dreams, while always carrying the beloved Brooklyn of her childhood in her heart.

Review:
A wonderful, poignant coming-of-age story, capturing pre-World War I Brooklyn as seen through the eyes of young Francie, a girl of grit and determination. As a social documentary, it captures the struggles of the poorer working class of Brooklyn of the time period and warns of how pride can be both an anchor of protection and a lodestone that can drag you down. As a coming-of-age story, Smith has provided the perfect protagonist in Francie, capturing all of her hopes, fears, dreams and the crushing realities of growing up while trying to rise above the teeming milieu, even when all of the cards seem to be stacked against you. After reading this one, I can see why it was such a popular book when it first came out in 1943 and why it remains such a popular book, even today.

I have nothing more to add to all the great reviews already written. A Must Read book!

Book #45 - Skinnybones and the Wrinkle Queen by Glen Huser
Challenge(s): 75 Group, 2017 Category, ROOT
Category: "Books with Five-Word title"
Source: TBR
Format: Trade paperback
Original publication date: 2006
Acquisition date: May 3, 2015
Page count: 192 pages
Decimal/ Star rating: 3.40 out of 5 /
Book description/summary: adapted from the book back cover:

The numbers swim in Tamara's head. The modeling course costs twenty-five hundred dollars. No point in asking her current foster parents, Shirl and Herb. At the end of each month, Herb does a lot of moaning and sighing over bills and pops Rolaids by the handful while Shirl keeps saying she has a plan for cutting down on groceries. A plan that never seems to work. Who in the world has twenty-five hundred dollars? And then Tamara thinks of her. Miss "Killer Tomato" Barclay and her diamond-studded opera broach. The idea is a crazy one. Miss Barclay looks tougher than the Wicked Witch of the West. Little does Tamara know, her request leads to Miss Barclay suggesting they - a ninety-year-old former schoolteacher and a teenaged foster-home reject - take the road trip of a lifetime. The only question is, will the brandy-swigging Miss Barclay and the aspiring model Tamara fulfill their very different dreams or will they throttle each other first?

Review:
This was a quick read. The plot formula is a tad familiar. What can two tough individuals, separated by a huge generational divide of 75 years, learn from each other? The road trip they embark upon is a bit fanciful - Tamara has virtually no experience driving a car and yet seems to manage the insane traffic of Greater Vancouver with only a couple of minor mishaps - and "lessons learned" doesn't seem to be high on either Tamara or Miss Barclay's agendas but I did enjoy the local setting of a road trip from Edmonton, Alberta to Seattle Washington and Vancouver, BC. It is obvious that the author is a fan of Charles Dickens' works and Wagner's operas, in particular Wagner's Ring Cycle. Huser manages to incorporate both of these into the story. Great Expectations is the book Tamara is reading as part of her Language Arts class at school so it isn't surprising for references to that story to abound here, with Tamara referring to Miss Barclay as "My own private Miss Havisham." and Miss Barclay reading various Dickens stories as a way to deal with her age-related insomnia.

Overall, one of those books one reads for the anticipated character personality clashes, the adventure of the road trip and for me, the bonus of familiar local settings.

My Trans Canada Walking Journey


The goal: To walk - in three calendar years (1,095 days) - the distance that it would take me to walk the Trans Canada Highway from the Mile Zero marker located here in Victoria BC to its end point in St. John's, NL, a distance of 7,821K (4,860 miles).







Here is the link to my Google map where I am tracking my journey: http://tinyurl.com/p8vu9n3

WEEK 97 UPDATE:
Kilometers walked this session: 61.21
Kilometers walked in total:3,950.03
Current province: (ON)
My current location on the map: South of Montreal River Harbour, hugging the eastern shore of Lake Superior and heading for Batchawana Bay.
Points of interest along the way: Nothing to report except that I am hoping to make it to Sault Ste. Marie by the end of May.

>80 lkernagh: I still have to get around to picking up book 4 in this series never mind this one. Glad to hear it's a good one though even if it will be the last in the series. Probably better to end on a high note though if the author is getting tired of the character than go on with an inferior book.

>79 lkernagh: I learnt the chilli fingers lesson the hard way when I came to remove my contact lenses... *weeps*

I love that Little Free Library - beautifully made!

>86 Jackie_K: Jackie, ouch!!! That must have been awful :(

>79 lkernagh: I love the Muppet band Little Free Library! Animal is my favourite Muppet :D

>79 lkernagh: I learned that lesson through the mistake of my friend who touched her lady parts after dicing some Scotch Bonnets!

>82 lkernagh: I have to remember that I have this one on my Kindle and get to it soon!

I think that may be the cutest "Little Library" that I've seen.

The Little Free Library is so cute!

I celebrated Victoria Day, even though I am American. LOL. It's my name day. So I lounged around the house and binged on episodes of Victoria that my DVR has been faithfully recording.

Yes! One must be careful of handling peppers!

>85 AHS-Wolfy: - you are probably right, Dave. No point in turning a great series into a drawn-out affair, especially if it may mean a deterioration in the stories, but I still think Howard has some great potential for a new series starring Madam Zarenyia. ;-)

>86 Jackie_K: - OMG! That must have been torture! Poor you.

>87 rabbitprincess: - So happy to see the Muppet love... Animal is awesome. I don't know if I have a favorite Muppet character, although the two grouchy men in the theatre seats and the Swedish Chef always make me laugh.

>88 mamzel: - YIKES! What a painful way to learn that the hot pepper oils are still on one's hands. ;-(

A Tree Grows in Brooklyn is a fabulous read!

>89 dudes22: - It is definitely the cutest LFL I have seen so far!

>90 VictoriaPL: - I think having the name is a very good reason to celebrate Victoria Day! Binge watching the series Victoria sounds like the perfect way to spend the day.

-------------------
Slowly cruising back into work mode after a wonderful long weekend by working form home today. Of course, it is super quiet today so I am using the opportunity of being "available" to do some long over due catching up with some threads here on LT.I have a wonderful little desk right beside the window to allow the sunshine and cool breeze from the water in while I work and got to witness something I usually would not witness while at the office. Today is the garbage/recycling pickup day for the houses on our street. Due to the long weekend, some homes did not have their bins curbside so I was heartened this afternoon to watch the worker walking up driveways and into backyards to bring the bins curbside for the truck. Talk about service!

>79 lkernagh: If there was a contest for best LFL, that one would be sure to win!

>82 lkernagh: I have this on the tbr pile. Your review reminded me to push it up higher.

Hi Lori - >79 lkernagh: Ouch! Love the Little Free Library. It reminds me that I keep meaning to do something to mine -- it's still plain white.

>84 lkernagh: Ontario is a huge province. It seems like you've been walking through it for months!

>92 VivienneR: - I know! It's pretty darn awesome as far as LFL's go. A Tree Grows in Brooklyn is a fabulous read. I hope you enjoy it as much as I did when you read it.

>93 BLBera: - LOL.... I do hope you don't feel pressured to do anything special for your LFL, Beth. I think just having an LFL is wonderful on its own. ;-) As for Ontario, I anticipated that it might take me a year to walk through Ontario. A quick glance at the map shows that I have been in Ontario for the past 35 weeks. Good news is I will definitely be well into Quebec before the 52 week mark crops up, so I feel pretty good about that.

IT'S THE WEEKEND!

We have fabulous weather today and the forecast for the weekend is sunshine, sunshine, sunshine! Super excited about that as this weekend also happens to be Swiftsure weekend here in Victoria. For those of you not in the know, Swiftsure is an international yacht race that has been held here in waters off the lower end of Vancouver Island for the past 74 years. No racing today.... the boats are in the harbour (and other harbours in the immediate area) like this picture I shot this afternoon in the Inner Harbour:



Tomorrow, the racing starts and the scene, at least close to the starting line, will look something like this:



Wishing everyone a fabulous weekend and if you spend time outdoors in the sun, remember to apply the sunscreen!

Book #46 - A New Song by Jan Karon
Challenge(s): 75 Group, 2017 Category, ROOT
Category: "5th book in a series" and "Books page count (401-500 pages)"
Source: TBR
Format: Trade paperback
Original publication date: 1999
Acquisition date: May 15, 2011
Page count: 416 pages
Decimal/ Star rating: 3.85 out of 5 /
Book description/summary: adapted from the amazon.ca book listing webpage:

Mitford's longtime Episcopal priest, Father Tim, retires. However, new challenges and adventures await when he agrees to serve as interim minister of a small church on Whitecap Island. He and his wife, Cynthia, soon find that Whitecap has its own unforgettable characters: a church organist with a mysterious past, a lovelorn bachelor placing personal ads, a mother battling paralyzing depression. They also find that Mitford is never far away when circumstances "back home" keep their phone ringing off the hook.

Review:
I have to say, I enjoyed this installment more than the previous installments. I know some readers may not like the idea that Karon has moved on from the familiar setting of Mitford to the unfamiliar setting of Whitecap. For me, this is a logical progression in the story arc with new characters and new situations for Father Tim and his wife Cynthia to encounter, including: an eccentric musically inclined neighbor; a lovelorn bachelor seeking a wife through personal ads; a church organist with a mysterious past; stormy weather; and the isolation one can experience while living on an island. The Whitecap characters are just as unique and lovable as the unforgettable Mitford characters. Even with the change in locale, Karon does not abandon the wonderful folks in Mitford. I found it heartening to be able to continue following Dooley’s development from a shy lad into a teen, eager to own his first car, gain some independence and learn some valuable life lessons.

Overall, one of the better installments in Karon’s Mitford series, IMO, although I do have one pet peeve to share: I do wish Karon had referred to a thesaurus more frequently. I lost count how many times she used the word "trot", in all its variations, to describe Father Tim's actions. It got to the point where I would cringe every time the word surfaced. The poor man (Father Tim) should be exhausted by all the "trotting" he was doing in this story!

Have a great sunny weekend! It is sunny here, too. Fantastic weather for the Ottawa Race Weekend and the Great Glebe Garage Sale!

>97 rabbitprincess: - Thanks RP! It has been a fabulous weekend. Lots of sunshine and only slight breezes to keep things from overheating. Sounds like you had some great activities/events this weekend in your neck of the woods. The Great Glebe Garage Sale sounds amazing! What a great tradition (website I visited said it has been an annual tradition for the past two decades).

---------------------

I hope everyone has had an enjoyable weekend. This weekend on the island was fabulous. Lots of sunshine and only slight breezes to keep things from overheating. The majority of the Swiftsure racers have completed their race so it is now just waiting for some of the stragglers to cross the finish line. The time limit for finishing the race is 6am Monday morning. As per tradition, the last boat to finish the race will be awarded the Lanterne Rouge. Not sure if any racers try to hold out of the Lanterne Rouge but it is a nice touch. ;-)

Tomorrow is a day off for me so I am going to sit back and enjoy the evening, knowing I don't have my usual alarm call at 6 am.

One the book reading front, I have finished another book and have two books - one in print and one in audio format - that I hope to finish in the next day or so. Not sure if I will be able to fit anymore books in so I may just move on to June reading.

Book review and walking update to follow.

Book #47 - The Full Cupboard of Life by Alexander McCall Smith - audiobook narrated by Lisette Lecat
Challenge(s): 75 Group, 2017 Category, ROOT
Category: "5th book in a series" and "Books with Five-Word title"
Source: TBR
Format: Trade paperback
Original publication date: 2003
Acquisition date: May 11, 2014
Page count: 208 pages / 7 hours, 40 minutes listening time
Decimal/ Star rating: 3.40 out of 5 /
Book description/summary: adapted from the amazon.ca book listing webpage:

Mma Ramotswe and Mr. J.L.B. Matekoni are still engaged, but with no immediate plans to get married. Mma Ramotswe wonders when a wedding date will be named, but she is anxious to avoid putting pressure on her fiancé. For indeed he has other things on his mind -- particularly a frightening request (involving a parachute jump) made by Mma Potokwani, the persuasive matron of the orphan farm. Mma Ramotswe herself has weighty matters on her mind. She has been approached by a wealthy lady to check up on several suitors. Are these men interested in her or just her money? This may be difficult to find out, but it’s just the kind of case Mma Ramotswe likes and she is, as we know, a very intuitive lady. Meanwhile, Mma Makutsi -- plucky assistant detective and deputy manager of the Tlokweng Road Speedy Motors garage -- is moving. Her entrepreneurial venture, the Kalahari Typing School for Men, is thriving and with this new income she has rented two rooms in a house. Her spare time is occupied with planning the move, the décor and her new life in a house with running water all to herself.

Review:
Another good installment in the series. This time, the focus of the story is more personal, introspective as Mma Ramotswe questions when her engagement will become a marriage, Mma Makutsi's success is bittersweet as her focus is more on her family. Smith has done a better job this time balancing the focus of the story so that we get more or less equal time in the minds of Mma Ramotswe, Mma Makutsi and Mr. J.L.B. Matekoni. Mma Ramotswe's musings about life's peculiarities - like her musings in this book of why do people focus their energies on showering adoration on entertainment personalities they have no close association with? - are always a delight to read, and I usually find myself nodding my head in agreement as I am reading along.

My Trans Canada Walking Journey


The goal: To walk - in three calendar years (1,095 days) - the distance that it would take me to walk the Trans Canada Highway from the Mile Zero marker located here in Victoria BC to its end point in St. John's, NL, a distance of 7,821K (4,860 miles).







Here is the link to my Google map where I am tracking my journey: http://tinyurl.com/p8vu9n3

WEEK 98 UPDATE:
Kilometers walked this session: 55.20
Kilometers walked in total:4,005.23
Current province: (ON)
My current location on the map: At Harmony Beach and heading for Heyden and Sault Ste. Marie.
Points of interest along the way: I would be remiss if I did not post a picture of the "official" weather station for Pancake Bay:


Photo credit: Viv Lynch (CC BY-NC-ND 2.0) as found on Flickr

Yes, Pancake Bay has a weather rock for visitors to be amused by. ;-) As the text shows up rather small in the image, below is a reproduction of the weather station sign text:

This station is designed to relay accurate local climate conditions on a moment by moment basis. Listen to local radio broadcasts for Environment Canada's guess at future climate conditions. Weather conditions at this station are determined by careful analysis of changes in the physical characteristics of the stone's surface. This guide will assist you in determining weather conditions in your area.

Surface condition of rock / Most likely environmental cause
- Rock is wet = Rain or was raining
- Rock is warm = Sunshine
- Rock is cold = Overcast
- Rock is white = Snow or was snowing
- Rock is swinging = Wind
- Rock is bouncing = Earthquake

Periodically the rock must be removed for servicing. Should the rock be gone, this centre will be closed for the day.

It is an Environment Canada weather station, so it is "official". ;-)

>100 lkernagh: I *love* the weather rock! How wonderful!

It reminds me of weather forecasting on the south-west coast of Scotland, which is centred on the distinctive island of Ailsa Craig - along the lines of "if you can't see Ailsa Craig, it's raining. If you can see Ailsa Craig, it's going to rain" (and various variations along the same sort of theme)!

>100 lkernagh: - Although I've never seen this one exactly, I've seen that kind of a forecast before. Not sure where. Also the "stick your hand out the window. If it get's wet, it's either raining or snowing".

>101 Jackie_K: and >102 dudes22: - Weather rocks - and other "weather stations" of similar ilk - are fun, aren't they? Love the alternative verbal forecasts (that require zero meteorology knowledge, too. ;-)

-----------------------------

Scary to think that tomorrow is the start of June. This year is just flying by! I managed to finish my current print and audiobook reads so tonight seems like a good night to get those reviews posted, along with the monthly summary, and then face June with a clean slate.

Book #48 - Wish I Could Be There: Notes from a Phobic Life by Allen Shawn
Challenge(s): 75 Group, 2017 Category, ROOT
Category: N/A
Source: TBR
Format: Trade paperback
Original publication date: 2007
Acquisition date: May 16, 2010
Page count: 288 pages
Decimal/ Star rating: 3.60 out of 5 /
Book description/summary: adapted from the amazon.ca book listing webpage:

In addition to being the son of famous New Yorker editor William Shawn and brother of the distinguished playwright and actor Wallace Shawn, Allen Shawn is agoraphobic-he is afraid of both public spaces and isolation. Wish I Could Be There gracefully captures both of these extraordinary realities, blending memoir and scientific inquiry in an utterly engrossing quest to understand the mysteries of the human mind. Droll, probing, and honest, Shawn explores the many ways we all become who we are, whether through upbringing, genes, or our own choices, creating "an eloquent meditation upon the mysteries of personality and family"* and the struggle to face one's demons.

Review:
Shawn’s examination of his agoraphobia and his family life as a possible “trigger” for his phobia reads like a rather strange blending of introspective analysis, family memories and a textbook spanning the scientific fields of neurosciences, evolution and psychotherapy. Shawn’s personal research journey is far reaching in both scope and time. I found it interesting to learn about the phobias of Emily Dickinson and Hans Christian Anderson, and found Shawn’s account of his twin sister Mary to be a very sad one. Whether Shawn’s phobia can be attributed, even partially, as being inherited from his high-strung father and overprotective mother is used to help connect the memoir side of this book with the science side. While Shawn attempts to come across as candid, his writing is restrained, almost rigid. In Shawn’s own words:

” In writing the book I came to the conclusion that the shame I originally felt at the prospect of writing it was a fear worth conquering. My hunch is that beneath the surface of even the most smoothly functioning lives (and families) there are always fissures – psychological crises, deficits, conflicts. By putting my own worst foot forward, as it were, I mean to challenge our assumptions about what a normal person is.”

Overall, an interesting read if you are interesting in reading about a personal struggle to understand and overcome agoraphobia.

Notable Quote:
"However full of inner resources we may be and however many outer connections we may have, we as individuals are still absolutely, irrevocably singular. Our brief life span is bounded on all sides by nothingness. The living earth moves through the infinite dark."

Book #49 - Johannes Cabal and the Blustery Day: And Other Tales of the Necromancer by Jonathan L. Howard - audiobook narrated by Nicholas Guy Smith
Challenge(s): 75 Group, 2017 Category
Category: N/A
Source: Hoopla
Format: Audiobook
Original publication date: 2015
Acquisition date: N/A
Page count: 200 pages / 7 hours, 19 minutes listening time
Decimal/ Star rating: 4.00 out of 5 /
Book description/summary: from the hoopla.com catalogue book listing webpage:

Johannes Cabal is a necromancer-and he's slightly infamous. This collection features seven of Cabal's most frightening adventures: "Exeunt Demon King","The Ereshkigal Working","Johannes Cabal and the Blustery Day","The House of Gears","The Death of Me","Ouroboros Ouzo", "and "A Long Spoon." Also included is an original introduction written and read by the author.

Review:
Having exhausted the five full length novels in Howard's Johannes Cabal series, I found myself craving more stories involving the disdainful necromancer. This collection of seven short stories is surprisingly fresh and I like how well-formed Cabal is as a character, considering the first two short stories in this collection predate the publication of the first full-length novel. Howard does admit in the forward that Cabal was born as a short story character and that Howard continues to prefer the short story format... not surprising given that the fifth novel in the series reads like a loose collection of smaller stories. Favorite characters in this collection, other than Cabal, are the skirting board people and of course, Madam Zarenyia.

If you enjoy stories filled with dark, witty humor and are of a fanciful, paranormal nature, this collection of short stories would be the perfect introduction to the Johannes Cabal series.

.... I am now super sad that I have finished reading all of the published Cabal stories. Always sad when a great series is finished. ;-(

Another decent reading month:



5th book in a series:
- The Temptation of the Night Jasmine by Lauren Willig - (review)
- The Fall of the House of Cabal by Jonathan L. Howard - (review)
- A New Song by Jan Karon - (review)
- The Full Cupboard of Life by Alexander McCall Smith - (review)

Books with Five (5) in the title:
- Five Days in London: May 1940 by John Lukacs - (review)

Books page count (401-500 pages):
- V is for Vengeance by Sue Grafton - (review)
- A Tree Grows in Brooklyn by Betty Smith - (review)
- A New Song by Jan Karon - (review)

Books with Five-Word title:
- A Tree Grows in Brooklyn by Betty Smith - (review)
- Skinnybones and the Wrinkle Queen by Glen Huser - (review)
- The Full Cupboard of Life by Alexander McCall Smith - (review)

Books set predominantly in the month of May:
- Five Days in London: May 1940 by John Lukacs - (review)
- V is for Vengeance by Sue Grafton - (review)

Books with May, Lily or Emerald in title or author/main character name:
- Five Days in London: May 1940 by John Lukacs - (review)

Books where main theme is Success in Love:
- The Temptation of the Night Jasmine by Lauren Willig - (review)

Books with Green cover or the color mentioned in the book title:
- The Perks of Being a Wallflower by Stephen Chbosky - (review)



Miscellaneous books read:
- A Poisoned Prayer by Michael Skeet - (review)
- Wish I Could Be There: Notes from a Phobic Life by Allen Shawn - (review)
- Johannes Cabal and the Blustery Day: And Other Tales of the Necromancer by Jonathan L. Howard - (review)

------------------------------------

MAY SUMMARY:
No. of Books read: 12
ROOTs read: 7
Largest book read by page count: - A Tree Grows in Brooklyn by Betty Smith at 493 pages
Smallest book read by page count: - Skinnybones and the Wrinkle Queen by Glen Huser at 192 pages
# Pages read: - 3,860 pages
Average # pages per book read: - 321.67 pages
Average # pages read per day: - 124.52
Audiobooks / eBooks / Physical Books: - 8/1/7 making note that four of the audioreads were listened to as a way to get physical reads off my TBR pile.
Male vs. Female Authors: - 8 vs. 4
Fiction vs. Non-Fiction Reads: - 10 vs. 2
Average Decimal/ Star rating for books read: 3.84 out of 5 /
------------------------------------

.... now, onto June reading!

First weekend of June. The weather this Saturday morning is cool and overcast - not the most promising weather for outdoor events like the Oak Bay Tea Party - but it may clear as the day/weekend goes on.

Crafting/Hobby Update: It has been a while since I provided any crafting/hobbies updates. That is mainly due to the fact that I really haven't done any crafting/hobby stuff since Easter. Too busy with work and our on-going purge of things at home. Last weekend my other half and I did a wardrobe purge, with the result of 4 bags of clothing being donated to charity.

Gardening Update: With the stresses of last year, I didn't bother with my herb garden except to maintain the perennial herbs I already had. This year, I am back to focusing a bit on the herb garden and have spent the past three weekends getting it going again with some seedling purchases of Tarragon, Basil, Lemon Balm, Dill and Cilantro. My English Thyme plant was looking rather feeble after three years in the same pot so I have replaced it with a new seedling. This weekend I plan to plant some vegetable greens (Mustard, Swiss Chard, Kale) seeds and see if I can get them to sprout. As I am a big fan on recycling/reusing whenever I can, I have found a secondary use for the plastic disposable K-cups after I have brewed the coffee: these strike me as being the perfect size to start the vegetable seeds in (and once they sprout, I can then transplant them into larger pots). Wish me luck!

Image source: Wikimedia Commons (Stanistani - CC BY-SA 3.0)

Seeking Thoughts / Comments / Input From The Group:
I had my bi-annual eye exam this past week. I have always been a near-sighted individual and have worn glasses since I was 8 years. As I age, my eyes have been slowly changing (so annoying!) and four years ago I transitioned to progressive lens for my glasses. I had no problems adjusting to my first pair of progressive lens as my reading "lens" wasn't that far off from my distance "lens". My prescription for my reading "lens" has slowly increased and I noticed that my last pair of progressives just were not working for me, to my satisfaction, for both distance and close/reading use. My eye doctor explained that with my changes to my reading "lens" there are more gradients that the progressive lens must accommodate. I talked about either going for bifocals or becoming a "two pair of glasses" individual. She mentioned a new-to-me type of lens: the ZEISS office eyeglass lenses. These look promising and they come in three different "ranges" for lack of a better word. I am thinking about the Room office eyeglass lens and I am wondering if anyone has had any experience with these new lens. Also curious to know more about bifocals (I am still keeping those in mind as well), but my research into bifocals so far has taught me that a wearer can experience vision "jump" when moving between the two lens. Given how expensive eye glasses are - they really are an investment! - I am hoping to learn more about user experience with progressives, bifocals and the new office lens. Looking forward to any comments/experiences that you may wish to share here. Alternatively, you can send me a PM. I really want to learn about other experiences, be they positive or negative.

Many thanks!

You had a good reading month in May, Lori.

I love the weather rock. It sounds worth a visit.

I am also nearsighted, but my reading vision is still perfect. My eye doctor says it's one of the perks of being nearsighted. I do have to take my glasses off to read. As I get older, I seem to spend more time looking for my glasses when I get ready to leave the house. So one of these days, I will probably have to start bifocals and/or progressive lenses. I'll watch this discussion with interest.

>100 lkernagh: Yes, I have seen weather rocks before, but they are good fun.

It reminds me of rain radar fed to an ipad app. Someone showed me the app and said "Look, this tells you when it is raining here." I said, "isn't that why we have windows?" (And no, that was not a plug for a different operating system).

I suppose they could have a weather slate in Blaenau Ffestiniog (located near me). The slate could say "If wet, it is raining. If dry, someone has taken it inside."

Congratulations on passing 4000 KM btw.

>107 lkernagh: - I've also found that after a few years my thyme gets very leggy and I end up pulling it out and replacing it. I bought a purple basil at the farmer's market this weekend and hope it does well.

>108 lkernagh: - I have progressives; not sure I could deal with the line of change in a bifocal. I've never heard of those Zeiss lens but am going to check them out further. I used to wear one contact for distance and one for close up, but gave them up for progressives a few years ago. I still take them off sometimes when I read. And you're right about them being an investment now.

>108 lkernagh: I can't comment on the various types of lenses but will follow the discussion here with interest. Last year, I decided to get reading glasses, and it is indeed annoying to switch between my two pairs all the time. However, I love that I can read more comfortably now. I find that I also use audiobooks and my e-reader more often these days. With my e-reader, I can read comfortably by increasing the font, if I don't have my reading glasses handy.

>109 BLBera: - Thanks Beth! So happy to learn that your reading vision is still really good. I am finding this transition to be rather frustrating but something that I cannot ignore, so hopefully there will be some excellent advise/experience to help me (and everyone else) with tough vision care choices.

>110 sirfurboy: - I tend to laugh when I look at my cell phone to check the weather forecast and the image shows things like rain/snow faling down, or falling slightly sideways if it is also windy. I am waiting for the day when we no longer look out a window to check the weather... that will be a sad day, indeed. ;-(

"If wet, it is raining. If dry, someone has taken it inside."

Love that!

>111 dudes22: - Oooohhhh.... purple basil! I do love purple basil. It adds interesting colour to certain dishes, although I don't think I could eat a pasta dish where the pesto is made from purple basil. Some foods don't look.... well.... healthy when the colour isn't what we expect, kind of like the first time I encountered purple cauliflower. I still cannot be enticed to buy purple cauliflower.

If I decide to go for the Zeiss office lens, I will be getting two pairs of glasses as I will still need glasses for distance when out walking about and for driving, but I like the idea of one pair of glasses for most indoor activities, including computers, reading and needlepoint. The only way I can get away with just one pair of glasses is if I stick with progressives (which is not looking very likely at this point) or I go with bifocals (with the problem of the vision jump).

>112 mathgirl40: - Audiobooks and e-readers do make it easier to enjoy "reading" without having to deal with corrective lens issues, that is for sure!

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I was all organized to post my walking update and a review on Sunday but one thing lead to another and before I knew it, it was 10 pm and "past my bedtime". ;-) I managed to finish another audiobook today (as I put in a record 13.36 km of walking!), have whipped together a rather quick review so I will now be posting two reviews along with the walking update.

My Trans Canada Walking Journey


The goal: To walk - in three calendar years (1,095 days) - the distance that it would take me to walk the Trans Canada Highway from the Mile Zero marker located here in Victoria BC to its end point in St. John's, NL, a distance of 7,821K (4,860 miles).







Here is the link to my Google map where I am tracking my journey: http://tinyurl.com/p8vu9n3

WEEK 99 UPDATE:
Kilometers walked this session: 49.00
Kilometers walked in total:4,054.23
Current province: (ON)
My current location on the map: In Sault Ste. Marie and heading for Garden River.
Points of interest along the way: While I have never been to Sault Ste. Marie, my other half has and says it is a beautiful place. Not surprising, as I see by the map that Sault Ste. Marie hugs the St. Mary's River. I am a big fan of having flowing water near where I live. It just sings of life. Always interesting to come across a community that was once one community straddling the now Canada-US border and is now two communities. The two cities, both called "Sault Ste. Marie" are joined by the International Bridge. Granted, waterways do make for natural borders between two countries but this interesting tidbit still brings to mind this fabulously well done YouTube video about bizarre borders and Canada/US. Well worth a quick watch!

Now, as I tend to do my walking locally where ever I happen to be - and not the location depicted on the map, I tend to mix up my walking by choosing different side streets, etc to walk on. Last week I came across the following Interesting lawn ornament discovered on a front lawn that I just have share here:

.

Given that Victoria has a rather large percentage of dog owners per capita, what a wonderful way to communicate that dog owners are to deter their animals from "doing their business" on the lawn of this home. ;-) Of course, you probably noticed that the lawn ornament has been chained to the front step railing.... makes me wonder if a previous version of this lawn ornament was "acquired" by others. sighs

Book #50 - The Sixteenth of June by Maya Lang - audiobook narrated by Julia Whelan, Will Damron and MacLeod Andrews
Challenge(s): 75 Group, 2017 Category
Category: "Books set predominantly in the month of June", "Books with June, Rose, Pearl or Alexanderite (or variation on name) in title or author/main character name" and "Books with Cream cover or the color mentioned in the book title" = Hat Trick!
Source: GVPL
Format: Audiobook
Original publication date: 2014
Acquisition date: N/A
Page count: 256 pages / 8 hours, 21 minutes listening time
Decimal/ Star rating: 4.20 out of 5 /
Book description/summary: adapted from the amazon.ca book listing webpage:

Leopold Portman, a young IT manager a few years out of college, dreams of settling down in Philly’s bucolic suburbs and starting a family with his fiancée, Nora. A talented singer in mourning for her mother, Nora has abandoned a promising opera career and wonders what her destiny holds. Her best friend, Stephen, Leopold’s brother, dithers in his seventh year of graduate school and privately questions Leo and Nora’s relationship. On June 16, 2004, the three are brought together—first for a funeral, then for an annual Bloomsday party. As the long-simmering tensions between them come to a head, they are forced to confront the choices of their pasts and their hopes for the future.

Review:
Having never read any of James Joyce's works, I was a little daunted when I realized that his Ulysses plays such a big role in Lang's story. The good news is, one does not need to read Ulysses to fully appreciate The Sixteenth of June, although I did feel as though Joyce was hovering in the wings the entire time. The story is centered around two themes: the funeral of the Portman's family's paternal grandmother, and the family's annual Bloomsday party to celebrate Thursday, June 16, 1904, the day depicted in Joyce's novel. Focusing on Nora, Leo and Stephen, this story carries a strong influence of Virginia Woolf, in particular her novel Mrs. Dalloway, which I happen to love. As with Mrs, Dalloway, this story is very much an examination of relationships; of ambitions, worries and regrets, and of secrets. No character is 'lovable'. Each character is portrayed as a flawed, constrained individual, more concerned with projecting their outward masks of normalcy while inside they are in varying stages of fall apart or excel at outward projection of superiority to mask insecurities. What was hard for me to do while reading this one was to sit back and observe certain characters exhibiting signs of needing release and failing to find a supportive outlet for that release. Talk about a great portrayal of dysfunctional family dynamics, divisions of social class structure and the tensions and allegiances of both friendships and family! The use of multiple narrators really helps provide that "inside voice" point of view, to depicting it in such sharp contrast to the outside mask being projected. The Philadelphia setting is wonderful, and familiar, which is always a bonus when reading a story.

Overall, if you have actually tackled Ulysses - and if so, kudos to you! - or loved Woolf's Mrs. Dalloway, this story has the same constraining vibe and feel that may appeal to you, as it did for me. A wonderfully written debut novel and I can highly recommend the audiobook version narrated by Julia Whelan, Will Damron and MacLeod Andrews.

.... and yes, I am now motivated to read Joyce's Ulysses, or at least attempt to listen to the audiobook, thanks to the wonderful section in the story when Stephen and his Ph.D. advisor, a Joyce expert, engage in discussion about Ulysses.

Book #51 - The Trinity Six by Charles Cumming - audiobook read by John Lee
Challenge(s): 75 Group, 2017 Category
Category: "Books with Six (6) in the title"
Source: GVPL
Format: Audiobook
Original publication date: 2011
Acquisition date: N/A
Page count: 368 pages / 11 hours, 23 minutes listening time
Decimal/ Star rating: 3.35 out of 5 /
Book description/summary: adapted from the local public library catalogue book listing webpage:

Hard-up academic Russia expert Dr Sam Gaddis finally has a lead for a book that could set his career back on track. He has staggering new information about an unknown sixth member of the infamous Cambridge spy ring -- a man who has evaded detection for his entire life. But when his source suddenly dies, Gaddis is left with just shreds of his investigation, and no idea that he is already in the crosshairs of a very real, very dangerous plot and a shocking revelation that threatens the peace and security of modern Europe.

Review:
This one fits what I like to call the "spy/thriller beach read" genre. The story follows a familiar plot trajectory: Academic follows up on information for a potential new book and in the process becomes an unlikely participant in the high-stakes espionage activities of two world super powers. Building on the real world Cambridge Spy Ring - proven fodder for numerous other espionage thrillers - this one has the look and feel of the familiar. The story has a very slow start, with the "adrenaline-pumping thriller" part being pretty much non-existence except for certain parts of the last 1/3 of the story. For readers who like to see a solid female character - always a challenge to find when reading spy genre - Cummings does a decent job with the creation of Tanya, an MI6 spy. Breaking the usual spy writing mode, Tanya is not glamorous. She is good at her job and wants to be appreciated for her abilities while trapped in the typical male-centrist MI6 world and reporting to a dismissive boss. Cummings weaves the usual plot where we find spies spying on Gaddis while being spied on by other spies.

Overall, the familiar and predictable can make for good vacation reading and I would categorize this book as a decent vacation/beach read.

Book #52 - Create the Retirement You Really Want by Clay Gillespie
Challenge(s): 75 Group, 2017 Category
Category: "Books with Six-Word title"
Source: GVPL
Format: Trade paperback
Original publication date: 2016
Acquisition date: N/A
Page count: 222 pages
Decimal/ Star rating: 4.15 out of 5 /
Book description/summary: from the amazon.ca book listing webpage:

Clay Gillespie wants you to stop procrastinating and start doing something about your retirement. In Create the Retirement You Really Want, you'll learn how to retire on your terms, not someone else's, so you can retire smarter, richer and happier. You'll get clear about what you truly want out of retirement and what you don't. All you need to make it happen is the right roadmap-and a knowledgeable guide to help you along the way.

Review:
I am starting to examine my current retirement strategy to see if I need to make any changes, while I still have some good working years ahead. Canadian veteran financial advisor Gillespie has written a book that is not the usual financial management handbook one encounters when looking for retirement planning advice. Instead, Gillespie takes a broader, more holistic view to retirement. He sees retirement as a drawn out process we evolve through over time, not as a single event. This process consists of five major stages:

1. Focus on what's truly important - These are your dreams for retirement


2. Plan for contingencies, taxes and inflation - This is the reality of retirement


3. Invest for growth as well as income - This is the transition into retirement


4. Spend your time and money wisely - This is the adjustment to retirement


5. Realize that you can't take it with you - This is the legacy/estate planning phase of retirement

Written as a narrative nonfiction, the reader is introduced to Michael and Rachel, a fictional couple created as a representational composite of a number of Gillepsie’s real clients. The scenarios Michael and Rachel face over the 25 year span covered in the book – their first meet with the financial advisor in the book 5 years before retirement - are realistic and Gillespie includes some interesting scenarios like suddenly needing to bail out a child’s $100,000 debt, the potential trap of “stock market tips” received from family/friends and how best to dispose of the family cottage so that it does not become an area for dispute between their three children after they are gone. While written as a series of conversations, Gillespie includes plenty of information about RRSP’s, RRIF, annuities, insurance, and the all-important estate planning, powers of attorney, personal health directives and even a conversation about “end of life” care options. Throughout this narrative, Gillespie includes up-to-date (as of the 2016 publication date) of various statistics around Canadian household debt, life longevity and the overall prevalence of lack of planning found in our current society.

A quick, interesting read that generated some thought provoking conversations with my other half.

Book #53 - The Good Gut: Taking Control of Your Weight, Your Mood, and Your Long-term Health by Justin & Erica Sonnenburg - audiobook narrated by Marc Cashman
Challenge(s): 75 Group, 2017 Category
Category: "Books where main theme is Good Health"
Source: GVPL
Format: Audiobook
Original publication date: 2015
Acquisition date: N/A
Page count: 320 pages / 8 hours, 30 minutes listening time
Decimal/ Star rating: 3.70 out of 5 /
Book description/summary: adapted from the amazon.ca book listing webpage:

Stanford University’s Justin and Erica Sonnenburg are pioneers in the most exciting and potentially transformative field in the entire realm of human health and wellness, the study of the relationship between our bodies and the trillions of organisms representing thousands of species to which our bodies play host, the microbes that we collectively call the microbiota. The microbiota interacts with our bodies in a number of powerful ways; the Sonnenburgs argue that it determines in no small part whether we’re sick or healthy, fit or obese, sunny or moody. The microbiota has always been with us, and in fact has coevolved with humans, entwining its functions with ours so deeply, the Sonnenburgs show us, humans are really composite organisms having both microbial and human parts. But now, they argue, because of changes to diet, antibiotic over-use, and over-sterilization, our gut microbiota is facing a “mass extinction event,” which is causing our bodies to go haywire, and may be behind the mysterious spike in some of our most troubling modern afflictions, from food allergies to autism, cancer to depression. It doesn’t have to be this way. In this groundbreaking work, the Sonnenburgs show how we can keep our microbiota off the endangered species list and how we can strengthen the community that inhabits our gut and thereby improve our own health. The answer is unique for each of us, and it changes as you age.

Review:
The Sonnenburgs have written a well-researched and compelling read. I had no idea of the huge importance the microbes that reside in our guts play in our overall health and well- being. As a quick summary, the Sonnenburgs, through their research, have identified some things that have been proven to have a negative impact on the development and maintenance of a health microbiota:

1. birth by caesarean section


2. lack of breast feeding


3. use of antibiotics


4. use of antibacterial household cleaners and hand sanitizers


5. increased dependence on processed foods


6. diminished plant-based diet


7. decreased consumption of fibre

The good news is the microbiota is a living community and an ever changing one. Changes to lifestyle, diet and less reliance on antibiotics and antibacterial cleansers can go a long way towards improving one’s health. I was intrigued to learn that fermented foods play an important role in promoting a healthy and diversified microbiota and that back in the days of our hunter-gather ancestors, fermentation was a method for prolonging the life of certain foods and promoted good gut health in the process. Always good to know that some of my favorite foods – like sour cream, sauerkraut and pickles – have a very positive impact on gut health, just like yogurt does. I don’t agree with everything the Sonnenburgs say (I am a little disturbed by their views on hand-washing routines), but I found their speculative comments about possible links between gut bacteria health and obesity, allergies and some autism spectrum disorders to be very interesting and keen to follow the scientific research to see if any conclusive scientific evidence arises. There does appear to be enough evidence supporting the importance of the microbiota in treating certain illnesses, such as the FDA approval of Fecal Microbiota Transplant (FMT) to treat reoccurring c. difficile infection. The authors write with an enthusiasm that makes this book engaging reading for anyone interested in learning more about this fascinating field of study, I just wish the book had been edited to remove the repetition of some of the content. I listened to the audiobook and unfortunately, did not have access to the additional resources of microbiota-rich recipes that are included in the print version.

You got me with The Sixteenth of June, Lori. Onto the list it goes. I've wanted to read Ulysses but have always been a bit daunted. Mrs. Dalloway is one of my favorite books.

So, after the recent weather rock conversation we had here (from post >100 lkernagh: onwards), last weekend I had a long weekend on the southern Hebridean island of Gigha, and look what I found! I thought of you and this thread straight away!

>120 Jackie_K: Here is one from Germany:



But... notice the German for weather stone is Wetterstein.

It turns out that Germany/Austria has a whole mountain range of weatherstones:

The Wetterstein mountains

>114 lkernagh: I love that lawn ornament!! My neighbour and I need that to remind our other neighbour to scoop!

Playing some serious catch up here.

>50 lkernagh:
Major Pettigrew's Last Stand sounds rather delightful. :)

>59 lkernagh:
Quite a collection of great grabs from the book sale!

>62 lkernagh:
I love ghost towns, too. There's something creepily beautiful about the absence they represent.

>69 lkernagh:
I really enjoyed The Perks of Being a Wallflower, too. The stream of consciousness worked well for the story and character.

>72 lkernagh:
Your mom was beautiful. Thank you for sharing the pictures and those lovely memories.

>79 lkernagh:
Love the muppet themed mini-library! 82
A Tree Grows in Brooklyn was another read I loved. It's been a while since I've picked it up, and your review has me wanting to reread it. :)

>119 BLBera: - Fantastic! Since you loved Mrs. Dalloway, I feel pretty confident that you will enjoy The Sixteenth of June, Beth. Ulysses is daunting! I have promised myself that I will get around to reading the Joyce book at some point. May try to squeeze it into my 2018 reading. ;-)

>120 Jackie_K: and >121 sirfurboy: - Those are both awesome! Thanks for sharing your weather station finds here!

>122 ChelleBearss: - It is such a perfect way to politely but pointedly explain one's views on proper pet owner etiquette. ;-) Glad you like it!

>123 andreablythe: - Hi Andrea, thanks for stopping by and getting caught up!

Another week has gone flying by. Just wish the weather would improve. Spring has been pretty much non-existent this year. Today is cold, wet and dreary - not the best of weather conditions for the annual "Car Free YYC" street event occurring downtown today. Last year, the weather was perfect for the event. Maybe we will have an awesome summer to make up for the dud this Spring has been.

On the home front, I have been enjoying a quiet weekend. My other half has been away helping a friend sail their sailboat up to Nanaimo. There is something very relaxing about having the place all to myself, so I made good use of the time to finish some books I had on the go. Reviews to follow.

I just realized that I had prepared but forgot to post my walking update last week so this week's will be a "two for one" kind of post. It is hard to believe that I started this personal walking challenge July 13, 2015. As I am fast approaching the two-year mark of what is a planned three-year challenge, I might dip into my stats for the mid-July update.

Given what day it is today, here is something for all of the "Dads" out there:


Photo Credit: Reedz Malik - Flickr (CC BY 2.0)

Book #54 - The Forgotten Garden by Kate Morton - audiobook narrated by Caroline Lee
Challenge(s): 75 Group, 2017 Category, ROOT
Category: "Books page count (501-600 pages)"
Source: TBR
Format: Trade paperback / Audiobook
Original publication date: 2008
Acquisition date: December 3, 2011
Page count: 560 pages / 20 hours, 48 minutes listening time
Decimal/ Star rating: 3.20 out of 5 /
Book description/summary: from the book back cover:

A tiny girl is abandoned on a ship headed for Australia in 1913. She arrives completely alone with nothing but a small suitcase containing a few clothes and a single book—a beautiful volume of fairy tales. She is taken in by the dockmaster and his wife and raised as their own. On her twenty-fi rst birthday, they tell her the truth, and with her sense of self shattered and very little to go on, "Nell" sets out to trace her real identity. Her quest leads her to Blackhurst Manor on the Cornish coast and the secrets of the doomed Mountrachet family. But it is not until her granddaughter, Cassandra, takes up the search after Nell’s death that all the pieces of the puzzle are assembled.

Review:
I really enjoyed Morton’s book The Distant Hours and was hoping that this one would have the same effect on me. Morton presents an intriguing multi-generational family secret mystery to unravel. The location – Blackhurst, a gloomy, sprawling manor located on the coast of Cornwall, complete with a garden maze, a secret walled garden and an isolated cottage on the cliffs – provides a wonderful backdrop for this family mystery. The three main narrators (Eliza, Nell and Cassandra) are interesting but I found they lack the development I would have expected in a story of this magnitude. I also found the intersecting narratives to be a rather meandering way to present this story, rehashing certain events from different narrator perspectives, with only a few "Aha" moments for the reader. As much as I adore fairy tales – having grown up on generous doses of tales by the Brothers Grimm, Hans Christian Anderson and the like – the inclusion of fairy-tales and fairy-tale symbolism made this story a tad more convoluted than I felt was necessary. Yes, the “reveal” at the end is a good one and does make up for some of the slogging this reader experienced, having to wade through pages of unnecessary details and what I felt was too much dialogue to reach the end. Overall, I found this story to be heavy on the cross-generational narrative, rather flat in its delivery and light on the Gothic atmosphere that I tend to love in family secret stories of this nature. An okay read but anyone looking for a good atmospheric Gothic read would be better off reading books like Diane Setterfield’s The Thirteenth Tale or Sarah Waters’ The Little Stranger.

Book #55 - The Betrayal of the Blood Lily by Lauren Willig
Challenge(s): 75 Group, 2017 Category
Category: "6th book in a series" and "Books with Six-Word title"
Source: GVPL
Format: Hardcover
Original publication date: January 2010
Acquisition date: N/A
Page count: 401pages
Decimal/ Star rating: 3.40 out of 5 /
Book description/summary: from the book inside cover:

Everyone warned Miss Penelope Deveraux that her unruly behavior would land her in disgrace someday. She never imagined she's be whisked off to India to give the scandal of her hasty marriage time to die down. As Lady Frederick Staines waits, Penelope plunges into the treacherous waters of the court of the Nizam of Hyderabad, where no one is quite what they seem--even her husband. In a strange country, where elaborate court dress masks even more elaborate intrigues and a dangerous spy called the Marigold leaves venomous cobras as his calling card, there is only one person Penelope can trust...

Captain Alex Reid has better things to do than play nursemaid to a pair of aristocrats. Or so he thinks--until Lady Frederick Staines out-shoots, out-rides, and out-swims every man in the camp. She also has an uncanny ability to draw out the deadly plans of the Marigold and put herself in harm's way. With danger looming from local warlords, treacherous court officials, and French spies, Alex realizes that an alliance with Lady Staines just might be the only thing standing in the way of a plot designed to rock the very foundations of the British Empire...

Review:
Back in familiar ground with a feisty female lead character in strong-willed Penelope, I really, really enjoyed the Indian setting. I was a huge fan of M.M. Kaye's historical romance novels as a teen and Willig has captured the rich exotic locale beautifully. I also enjoyed the spy intrigue and the palpable tension between Penelope and Alex, but I was left baffled as to why the title for this one refers to a blood lily considering Marigold seems to be the "flower spy" this time. Google to the rescue, I came across the following answer provided by Willig:

"Since the spy in the book is called the Marigold, the title was originally The Something Something of the Something Marigold (all of my titles start out with lots of somethings and eventually graduate to real words), but the marketing powers that be deemed “Marigold” an insufficiently sexy flower. I didn't want to change the name of the spy, so we compromised. The spy stayed the Marigold, but the title changed. Rather than naming the book after the spy, I put an SOS out on my website, asking readers which flower reminded them most of Penelope. After many suggestions and much deliberation, the blood lily won out. It had a flair that seemed to suit Penelope’s fiery spirit."

Well, good grief on the marketing folks!

I was a bit deflated by the ending to this one and I have to say, the parallel, modern day story of Eloise and Colin is just getting down right Boring for this reader. Here is hoping Willig spices things up a bit in the next installment.

Book #56 - In the Company of Cheerful Ladies by Alexander McCall Smith - audiobook narrated by Lisette Lecat
Challenge(s): 75 Group, 2017 Category, ROOT
Category: "6th book in a series" and "Books with Six-Word title"
Source: TBR
Format: Trade paperback / Audiobook
Original publication date: 2004
Acquisition date: May 11, 2014
Page count: 256 pages / 9 hours, 27 minutes listening time
Decimal/ Star rating: 4.10 out of 5 /
Book description/summary: from the book back cover:

Precious is busier than usual at the detective agency when she discovers an intruder in her house on Zebra Drive - and perhaps even more baffling - a pumpkin on her porch. Her associate, Mma Makutsi, also has a full plate. She's taken up dance lessons, only to be partnered with a man with two left feet. And at Tlokweng Road Speedy Motors, one of Mr. J.L.B Matekoni's apprentices has run off with a wealthy older woman. But what finally rattles Mma Ramotswe's normally unshakable composure is a visitor who forces her to confront a difficult secret from her past.

Review:
Best installment so far in this series! Interestingly, while the detective agency does have a case to solve, for the most part this installment is more about the personal lives of the main characters. McCall Smith continues to bring reflections on the ever changing culture of Botswana as the country continues to modernize/industrialize and adopt more first world values, not all of which are worthy of adoption. The secret from Mma Ramotswe's past even caused me to give a small gasp, I found it to be so unexpected!

Overall, continuing to enjoy this cozy/comfort detective series filled with social and moral insights.

My Trans Canada Walking Journey


The goal: To walk - in three calendar years (1,095 days) - the distance that it would take me to walk the Trans Canada Highway from the Mile Zero marker located here in Victoria BC to its end point in St. John's, NL, a distance of 7,821K (4,860 miles).







Here is the link to my Google map where I am tracking my journey: http://tinyurl.com/p8vu9n3

WEEK 100 UPDATE:
Kilometers walked this session: 64.77
Kilometers walked in total:4,119.00
Current province: (ON)
My current location on the map: North of the St. Joseph Channel of Lake Heron, east of the Bruce Mines and heading for Thessalon.
Points of interest along the way:


Photo credit: Burke Lush - Posted August, 2006 (www.ontatrioplaques.com)

As the plaque above states, the township of Bruce Mines is the location of Canada's first commercially successful coppermine with production commencing in 1847.

This week also marks week 100 of my walking journey. Happily, walking for exercise is now fully ingrained in my daily activities, so much so that I notice it physically if I don't get in at least one 30 minute walk every day. ;-)

-----------------------------

WEEK 101 UPDATE:
Kilometers walked this session: 74.50
Kilometers walked in total:4,193.50
Current province: (ON)
My current location on the map: East of Blind River and heading for Algoma Mills and Serpent River.
Points of interest along the way: This weeks virtual walking has taken me through the communities of Thessalon, Iron Bridge and Blind River and past North Channel Islands Provincial Park and Mississagi Delta Provincial Nature Reserve. Interesting roadside attraction along the way:

Thessalon - Northern Ontario's Largest Muskoka (aka Adirondack) Chair

Photo Credit: Carla Paluzzi (roadsideattractions.ca)

>127 lkernagh: I did not know that about the Blood Lily! Love following along with your walking!

Great walking, Lori. You must be nearly through Ontario. :)

Great comments on your reading. It's been a while but I had similar feelings about the Morton. I've really liked a couple of her books, but been underwhelmed by some as well.

>129 lkernagh: The walk is going great... but are you going to try to pick up the pace to meet your deadline? Or will you just keep going until it is done?

Love that chair photo - what a fun attraction!

That giant chair looks super fun to play around on.

>130 VictoriaPL: - Hi Victoria, I was rather surprised by the whole "switcherroo" myself! Thank goodness the author saw it as a problem and provided and explanation. As for the walking, I am hoping the summer is favorable and I can get in some increased walking. Glad to see you are enjoying following my walking journey.

>131 BLBera: - Hi Beth, you are right, I am getting pretty close to the Quebec border. I figure that I will probably cross into Quebec by the end of July, earlier if I am lucky. This walking journey has helped me to really appreciate just how darn big Canada is, from west to east.

Darn to learn that you were underwhelmed by some of Morton's books. The only other Morton book I have on my TBR shelves is The House at Riverton. I will get around to reading that one at some point. Did you read that one and if so, what did you think of it?

>132 sirfurboy: - Good question! I plan on finishing my cross Canada walking, even if it does take longer than the 3 years I had originally planned for. I did a quick calculation of where I am and if I can walk 9.3 KM every day for the remainder of my challenge I will finish my challenge on time but that is an unrealistic expectation, especially when the winter/rainy months kick in, so we will just keep plodding along. Besides, the longer it takes me to finish this walking challenge, the more time I have to plan my next walking challenge. ;-)

>133 LittleTaiko: and >134 andreablythe: - I know! I did see a different picture on line of that same chair. The person sitting in it had chosen to sit at the back of the chair so only his 'little' head and shoulders could be seen in the picture!

----------------
Started the week off with interesting times at work. Love being on the sidelines when indecision reigns supreme in a meeting.... hate it when it impacts my ability to move forward with a project. Oh well, there is always tomorrow. ;-)

Book #57 - A Common Life by Jan Karon
Challenge(s): 75 Group, 2017 Category, ROOT
Category: "6th book in a series"
Source: TBR
Format: Trade paperback
Original publication date: 2001
Acquisition date: May 12, 2012
Page count: 208 pages
Decimal/ Star rating: 3.50 out of 5 /
Book description/summary: adapted from the amazon.ca book listing webpage:

Mitford's Lord's Chapel seats barely two hundred souls, yet millions of Jan Karon's fans will be there for the most joyful event in years: the wedding of Father Tim Kavanagh and Cynthia Coppersmith. Here at last is A Common Life, and the long-awaited answers to these deeply probing questions: Will Father Tim fall apart when he takes his vows? Will Cynthia make it to the church on time? Who'll arrange the flowers and bake the wedding cake? And will Uncle Billy's prayers for a great joke be answered in time for the reception? All the beloved Mitford characters will be there: Dooley Barlowe, Miss Sadie and Louella, Emma Newland, the mayor; in short, everybody who's anybody in the little town with the big heart.

Review:
A delightful short read - almost a novella in size - Karon takes a step back with this sixth installment to provide details of the wedding between Father Tim and Cynthia. If following story trajectory order, this book would probably have appeared between installments 3 and 4, but no matter. For me the favorite take-aways are the snapshots Karon provides of the various Mitford community members as news of the engagement and the wedding day play out. Karon obviously appreciates that people can get "territorial" about involvement in wedding planning activities, and that wedding guests can be prone to mind-wandering while all the "official" stuff takes place. Yes, the story does get a little sappy and does get a bit preachy but overall, it is all about the wedding, community and how even the best laid plans can encounter some unexpected hiccups. You just need to roll with them when they happen.

Overall, a delightful and quick read with a focus on the importance of the simple things in life.

>135 lkernagh: Thanks for the reply. I suppose you could buy a treadmill for the winter ... although I always feel that would lose much of the pleasure of walking.

Hi Lori - I think I liked The House at Riverton. I read it before LT because it's not in my catalog. The one I liked least was The Distant Hours. Still, overall, I would pick up others by her.

>137 sirfurboy: - Treadmill is a great suggestion. Unfortunately, we have a very small place (no room for a treadmill) but I could consider going to the gym during the winter months to log the walking. I agree with you, walking on a treadmill does take away from the pleasure of walking.... on a treadmill one would not have surprise encounters like the one I had this morning (details will be provided below). ;-)

>138 BLBera: - Interesting. I rather enjoyed The Distant Hours. Now I am curious to read Riverton, to see what I think of it!

So very happy to see that we are now, Finally in summer. Even the weather is cooperating! It has been absolutely beautiful for the past two days and more of the same expected for the next 7 days.

I love my morning walks into work. The city is peaceful, relaxing. I tend to follow the same route into town every morning out of habit. Along the route there is a business with a lawn sprinkler system. Unfortunately, one of the heads on one of the sprinklers has been damaged and whenever the sprinkler system is on, that sprinkler head shoots water all over the sidewalk like a fire hydrant geyser. As I did not have my umbrella with me this morning, I choose to turn down a side street to a pathway that would connect me back up with the road where it meets the bridge into downtown. I came across a cyclist off her bike with her phone out to take pictures. What was she taking pictures of? Three deer grazing in the shrubs. I stopped on the sidewalk with her to take pictures and watched as the deer headed towards us, walked around us and then proceeded to cross the street and head up the hill.

...

The cyclist and I made like statues on the sidewalk. The deer were calm. Things did get a little tense at one point when a woman out walking her dog was approaching us from further down the street. Thankfully, she saw the deer, and intelligently turned her dog away from the deer and down the pathway I had been heading.

I never know what to expect when I am out walking. Did not expect to encounter three deer when I left home this morning. Always interesting and one of the reasons why I love walking so much.

Oh how lovely! What a pleasant interruption to your walk.

What a wonderful experience! But wise to stay still and not get any closer.

That's amazing!

>140 lkernagh: I am so glad you got to see those on your walk to work. Something to make the car drivers envious.

Hi Lori, isn't this weather fantastic. It's so nice to feel the sun - when the weather gets this perfect, the west coast is the best place to be! That was a lovely interruption to your walk!

What a lovely experience on your walk. :)

Awwww! Such pretty deer!

>140 lkernagh: wow, that's a great way to start the morning!

What a lovely surprise for your walk.

Regarding Morton, it may be the order in which I read things. I found a couple of her books to be very similar. That may be why I didn't like The Distant Hours.

>141 LittleTaiko:, >142 VivienneR:, >143 MissWatson:, >144 sirfurboy:, >145 DeltaQueen50:, >146 andreablythe:, >147 rabbitprincess:, >148 ChelleBearss: and >149 BLBera: - Hi Stacy, Vivienne, Birgit, sirfurboy, Judy, Andrea, RP, Chelle and Beth. Yes, a deer sighting is a wonderful way to start the morning. Deer sightings have continued into the weekend.... more details on those sightings will be posted below.

>142 VivienneR: - I was rather stunned when the deer approached us.... always a bit nerve-wrecking when a wild animal, no matter how calm they appear to be, decides to not shy away from a human presence.

>144 sirfurboy: - Exactly! One tends to miss too many things when in a car, since the focus of their attention needs to be on the road in front of them and the other drivers/cyclists.

>145 DeltaQueen50: - The weather has been fabulous this weekend, Judy! Long overdue, that is all I can say. I usually get a little cranky when the temps get higher than 24'C but the heat on Saturday (we hit 28'C in the Inner Harbour felt so good! I did find it a bit abnormal to wake up at 7am Sunday morning and find that we were already at 21'C.

>149 BLBera: - That would make sense. I tend to get bored when an author churns out books that come across as similar/feeling familiar.

I hope everyone has had a fabulous weekend. This was one of the best weekends so far this year. The weather was perfect both Saturday and Sunday. I managed to get in a lot of walking time - I was out and about in short shorts hoping to add a bit of colour to my pasty winter white legs. Wanting to be "sun safe" I slathered on the SP30 sunscreen, which would explain why I only managed a little bit of colour change. ;-)

Because of the sudden arrival of summer weather, this weekend we officially switched over to our light summer duvet and have packed the heavier winter weight one away. As next weekend is the Canada Day longweekend - and the official celebration of Canada's 150 years - a lot of free concerts and outdoor events are planned for the next 7 days. Between those events and the annual Jazz Fest that starts on Thursday, it should be a fun week.

Deer Update: So, I am starting to think that a herd of deer - or a loose collection of deer - have settled into the neighbourhood. This morning I headed out to take some books to the Little Free Library in our area before heading to the grocery store. A block from our building is a small green space. Three adult deer were relaxing in the grass under the shade of some trees - two females and one male. The male deer appears to be on the young side (maybe 2-3 years) as his antler rack is still in its early development stage. Down the street from the Little Free Library (some 6 blocks away) some neighbours and I stopped to watch a lone male deer. Now, this deer was considerably older than the one I earlier as he has a well developed 6-point rack of antlers. He stopped at the side of the road, looked around at all of us (almost as if he wanted to ensure that he had an audience). He then proceeded to deer-hop up and over a 4-foot fence into a backyard. Just amazing.

What with all these deer sightings, I am starting to wonder why I haven't seen any raccoons lately. Hmmm....

Book #58 - The Whiskey Rebels by David Liss - audiobook narrated by Christopher Lane
Challenge(s): 75 Group, 2017 Category, ROOT
Category: "Books page count (501-600 pages)"
Source: TBR
Format: Trade paperback / audiobook
Original publication date: 2008
Acquisition date: May 10, 2014
Page count: 560 pages / 19 hours listening time
Decimal/ Star rating: 4.10 out of 5 /
Book description/summary: from the book back cover:

America, 1787. Ethan Saunders, once among General Washington's most valued spies, is living in disgrace after an accusation of treason cost him his reputation. But an opportunity for redemption comes calling when Saunders's old enemy, Alexander Hamilton, draws him into a struggle with bitter rival Thomas Jefferson over the creation of the Bank of the United States. Meanwhile, on the western Pennsylvania frontier, Joan Maycott and her husband, a Revolutionary War veteran, hope for a better life and a chance for prosperity. But the Maycotts success on an isolated frontier attracts the brutal attention of men who threaten to destroy them. As their causes intertwine, Joan and Saunders both patriots in their own way find themselves on opposing sides of a plot that could tear apart a fragile new nation.

Review:
I will give Liss credit. He can write a fascinating historical fiction story based on genuine events. I know very little about 1780-1790's post-revolution American history. Liss does a great job portraying the Federalist-Republican divide and a country at the epoch of new beginnings. I was particularly interested in the bank shares certificate swindle being enacted by Duer. As for the characters, I grew to develop a soft spot for Ethan - I always seem to have a soft spot for characters who can be described as being "a wastrel and a scoundrel, but with a sentimental heart for so selfish a creature." Joan is a strong willed, intelligent woman able to hold her own in the male-dominated world of America at the time. While Liss employs shifting narrative, for the most part the story follows a linear path, which made for easy reading for this reader.

Overall, a solid historical fiction read with the added bonus for me of an intricate financial markets manipulation.

Book #59 - When I Was Young And In My Prime by Alayna Munce
Challenge(s): 75 Group, 2017 Category, ROOT
Category: "Books with Cream cover or the color mentioned in the book title"
Source: TBR
Format: Trade paperback
Original publication date: 2005
Acquisition date: May 16, 2010
Page count: 256 pages
Decimal/ Star rating: 5.00 out of 5 /
Book description/summary: from the amazon.ca book listing webpage:

What's left of us when we're gone? In When I Was Young and In My Prime, a young woman watches her grandparents begin to decline. As she sorts through the couple's belongings, she reflects on the untold stories and unsung bonds that make up our lives. Meanwhile, modern urban life places strains on her own marriage and on her sense of what, ultimately, we owe each other.

Weaving together voices, diary entries, poems, conversations and lists, When I Was Young and In My Prime cuts to the heart of our search for intimacy and family, for what makes life meaningful and love real. The result is a smart, moving novel about personal and cultural decline, dignity and work, the urban and the rural, the old and the new, and the search for something ageless.

Review:
This book really resonates with me. At its core, this is a story about a family struggling with the mental and physical decline of their family elders, Peter and Mary, and the inevitable event we all must face at some point: Death. Munce makes use of her writer's toolkit to weave a story through a collection of poems, conversations, lists, snatches of observations made in sharp relief and memories triggered by words, objects, and events. Words fail me to describe how connected I feel to this story. Munce writes as only one with first hand experience can, on a phase of life that many families struggle with. In an interview, Munce suggests the book is “not the masterpiece that when I was young I imagined my first book would be, the Great Canadian Novel. It’s just this book, this modest, imperfect, flawed offering, but I can live with it. Maybe it has some good moments and has something to offer.” Very humble words from an author who has written what I consider to be a very worthy read. Highly recommended.

My Trans Canada Walking Journey


The goal: To walk - in three calendar years (1,095 days) - the distance that it would take me to walk the Trans Canada Highway from the Mile Zero marker located here in Victoria BC to its end point in St. John's, NL, a distance of 7,821K (4,860 miles).







Here is the link to my Google map where I am tracking my journey: http://tinyurl.com/p8vu9n3

WEEK 102 UPDATE:
Kilometers walked this session: 75.95
Kilometers walked in total:4,269.15
Current province: (ON)
My current location on the map: East of Spanish and heading for Webbwood, McKerrow and Espanola. Points of interest along the way: I was intrigued to see an area of Ontario with references to Spanish. According to Wikipedia:

"The name "Espanola" has been attributed to a story which dates back to the mid 18th century. The story goes that a First Nations Ojibwa tribe of the area sent a raiding party a long distance to the south and brought back with them a white woman who spoke Spanish. The Spanish woman married a local Annishnabeg (First Nations) of a family living near the mouth of the river and taught her children to speak Spanish. Later, when the French voyageurs and coureurs des bois came upon the settlement and heard fragments of Spanish spoken by the local natives, they remarked "Espagnole", which had been later anglicized to "Espanola", and the river was named the Spanish River."

Fascinating!

This post would not be complete without a picture of Bridal Veil Falls, located near the town of Kagawong on Lake Huron's Manitoulin Island, an island I have been "virtually walking" due north of this past week:


Image source: Pverdonk (Wikimedia.org - CC BY-SA 3.0)

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Book #60 - The Ion Raider by Ian Whates
Challenge(s): 75 Group, 2017 Category
Category: N/A
Source: TBR
Format: eBook
Original publication date: May 2017
Acquisition date: May 8, 2017
Page count: 238 pages
Decimal/ Star rating: 3.60 out of 5 /
Book description/summary: from the amazon.com book listing webpage:

As Corbin Drake receives his most unusual assignment yet – one which he suspects is a trap but knows he can’t refuse – his former crew, the notorious brigands known as the Dark Angels, are being hunted down one by one and murdered. Determined to find those responsible before they find her, Leesa teams up with Jen, another former Dark Angel, and together they set out to thwart the mysterious organization known as Saflik, little dreaming where that path will lead them.

Review:
I know, I know. I should have realized that at the end of Pelquin’s Comet - Book one in the Dark Angels series - that this one would have to be a little different feel to it. While The Ion Raider is missing the fabulous “flying by the seat of your pants” space adventure quest and the zinging banter of a motley spaceship crew, Whates still offers up a decent space opera story. This time, with less swashbuckling swagger, more intellectual intrigue, some kickass fighting and intriguing plot twists, the story starts off 10 years into the future from where Pelquin’s Comet left off. Written as two parallel and converging stories, the first half of the book is more back story and stage setting for what is to come. I do love the world build, which continues to be a nice blend of Earth familiar and sci-fi. While at times rather slow moving, Whates packs a whack of action and suspense into the last third of this book. If you hate books that end on a cliff-hanger, consider yourself forewarned.

Overall, while not quite the fun Pelquin’s Comet was to read, I still found Ion Raider to be an enjoyable space opera read, and I am looking forward to reading the next installment.

.... Oh, and just in case anyone is wondering, the book titles seem to correspond to names of the space ships involved in the stories, which really makes me wonder what the title will be for Book #3.

Book #61 - Cloud Atlas by David Mitchell - audiobook narrated by Scott Brick, Cassandra Campbell, Kim Mai Guest, Kirby Heyborne, John Lee and Richard Matthews
Challenge(s): 75 Group, 2017 Category, ROOT
Category: "Books page count (501-600 pages)"
Source: TBR
Format: Trade paperback / Audiobook
Original publication date: 2004
Acquisition date: May 12, 2012
Page count: 528 pages / 20 hours listening time
Decimal/ Star rating: 2.60 out of 5 /
Book description/summary: from the amazon.ca book listing webpage:

A reluctant voyager crossing the Pacific in 1850; a disinherited composer blagging a precarious livelihood in between-the-wars Belgium; a high-minded journalist in Governor Reagan’s California; a vanity publisher fleeing his gangland creditors; a genetically modified “dinery server” on death-row; and Zachry, a young Pacific Islander witnessing the nightfall of science and civilization — the narrators of Cloud Atlas hear each other’s echoes down the corridor of history, and their destinies are changed in ways great and small.

Review:
Ooooohhhh.... David. What were you thinking when you composed this one? Thought you would go "big" and try and capture all of humanities misgivings - and provide a harbinger message for the future in three sweeping narratives? As well written as this story is - and kudos for nailing the unique narrative voices for each, shall we say, loosely connected story - my mind swims in a sea of words, settings and experiences that left me chomping at the bit, wondering when the shoe was going to finally drop. Well, drop it did. If you are looking for a key message to this story, just flip to the end and read the last 3/4 pages. If you are looking to be entertained... good luck with that. I found the majority of the book to be nothing more than well written six stories - six stories for the price of one! - only to have Mitchell leave a reader hanging at a key point and suddenly drop you in a new setting with new characters and a new story-line. I found this to be one of the most frustrating audiobooks to listen to because I felt that Mitchell was just spinning yarn after yarn after yarn. Even having six narrators taking their turn telling their respective stories did not help keep my interest.

As much as I loved Black Swan Green and The Thousand Autumns of Jacob de Zoet, this one just came across, for me, as an ambitious literary mess. Well written, yes, but still drove me crazy with the "where are we going with this one" constantly echoing in my head.

A quick recap of my June reading:



6th book in a series:
- The Betrayal of the Blood Lily by Lauren Willig - (review)
- In the Company of Cheerful Ladies by Alexander McCall Smith - (review)
- A Common Life by Jan Karon - (review)

Books with Six (6) in the title:
- The Trinity Six by Charles Cumming - (review)

Books page count (501-600 pages):
- The Forgotten Garden by Kate Morton - (review)
- The Whiskey Rebels by David Liss - (review)
Cloud Atlas by David Mitchell -

Books with Six-Word title:
- Create the Retirement You Really Want by Clay Gillespie - (review)
- The Betrayal of the Blood Lily by Lauren Willig - (review)
- In the Company of Cheerful Ladies by Alexander McCall Smith - (review)

Books set predominantly in the month of June:
- The Sixteenth of June by Maya Lang - (review)

Books with June, Rose, Pearl or Alexanderite (or variation on name) in title or author/main character name:
- The Sixteenth of June by Maya Lang - (review)

Books where main theme is Good Health:
- The Good Gut: Taking Control of Your Weight, Your Mood, and Your Long-term Health by Justin & Erica Sonnenburg - (review)

Books with Cream cover or the color mentioned in the book title:
- The Sixteenth of June by Maya Lang - (review)
- When I Was Young And In My Prime by Alayna Munce - (review)



Miscellaneous books read:
The Ion Raider by Ian Whates -

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JAN-JUN 2017 (1st Half) RE-CAP:



# of Books Read: 61
. . . Largest book read: Paris by Edward Rutherfurd at 809 pages
. . . Smallest book read: Cupcakes by Daniel Kelley at 26 pages
. . . Male vs. Female Authors: 35 vs. 27 - one book written by a husband/wife team
. . . Fiction vs. Non-fiction - 53 vs. 8
. . . Audiobooks / eBooks / Physical Books - 38 / 6 / 40 - 23 of the audiobooks also counted as physical reads to remove books off my TBR bookshelves
. . . ROOTs Read: 33

Original Publication Year Range: 1878 to 2017
. . . . . . 1800 - 1
. . . . . . . . . 1870 - 1
. . . . . . 1900 - 6
. . . . . . . . . 1940 - 1
. . . . . . . . . 1990 - 5
. . . . . . 2000 - 54
. . . . . . . . . 2001 - 1
. . . . . . . . . 2002 - 2
. . . . . . . . . 2003 - 1
. . . . . . . . . 2004 - 5
. . . . . . . . . 2005 - 4
. . . . . . . . . 2006 - 3
. . . . . . . . . 2007 - 1
. . . . . . . . . 2008 - 5
. . . . . . . . . 2009 - 2
. . . . . . . . . 2010 - 2
. . . . . . . . . 2011 - 4
. . . . . . . . . 2012 - 7
. . . . . . . . . 2013 - 2
. . . . . . . . . 2014 - 3
. . . . . . . . . 2015 - 4
. . . . . . . . . 2016 - 2
. . . . . . . . . 2017 - 6

# of Pages Read: 20,053
Average pages read per day: 111.41
Best Reading Month: Juneh (12 books finished / 4,173 pages read)

Top 5 Reads:
A Tree Grows in Brooklyn by Betty Smith - 5.00 /
When I was Young and In My Prime by Alayna Munce - 5.00 /
The Perks of Being a Wallflower by Stephen Chobskyl - 5.00 /
A Peacock in the Land of Penguins by BJ Gallagher - 4.80 /
The Gods of Gotham by Lyndsay Faye - 4.60 /

HAPPY CANADA DAY to all my Canadian visitors!

>158 lkernagh: Happy Canada Day, and 150 years, unless I am mistaken.

>158 lkernagh: Happy Canada Day to you as well!

>156 lkernagh: I had a very different reaction to Cloud Atlas, but I'd read it only after watching the movie twice. I found the movie extremely confusing the first time around, but I think it did help me see connections among the stories.

>154 lkernagh: I found your walking update interesting, as my family will be visiting Manitoulin Island and then driving through Espanola on our Ontario/Quebec road-trip vacation later this summer.

Happy Canada Day!

Happy Canada Day, Lori. At this point you must be walking in a lovely part of Canada for the celebration!

>152 lkernagh: - One of these days I'm going to actually finish that book. I've started it at least twice and have enjoyed it, but for some reason ever get around to actually finishing it. I think it's because it's an e-book and I struggle to read those regularly.

Happy Canada Day!

Hi Lori. I loved Cloud Atlas, but I can't imagine listening to it. I think my reaction would have been very different.

If I can remember some of the comments when it first came out and others here were commenting on it, I'm pretty sure that listening to it would be hard. I still have it in my TBR, but haven't gotten to it yet.

>159 sirfurboy:, >160 rabbitprincess:, >161 mathgirl40:, >162 VivienneR:, and >164 MissWatson: - Thank you sirfurboy, RP, Paulina, Vivienne and Birgit the Happy Canada Day wishes! We have had a wonderful long weekend. Fabulous weather all three days. On Canada Day we partook of some of the activities in town - checked out the music at the Canada150 stage on the legislature lawn, the "Food Avenue" set up on Belleville Street, stopped to enjoy the Dragball Game as part of Victoria Pride 2017 - which was an absolute hoot watching a baseball game of feather boa and spiked heeled players - and closed the night off with not one, but two fireworks displays enjoyed from the relaxing location of our balcony with lovely glasses of wine. I will be slowly get back into work mode by working from home tomorrow. ;-)

>159 sirfurboy: - Yes, It is the big "150" for Canada this year. A lot of great things on offer to celebrate this milestone, including free park passes to all of the federal parks for the entire year.

>161 mathgirl40: - I have yet to see the movie adaptation. I think the book may make more sense after seeing the movie (or maybe not). I think it is the fact that the stories are only loosely connects is what makes the audiobook experience rather jarring and hard to piece together coherently. I do love Mitchell's writing so I am not deterred from reading his other books by this slight mishap!

How fabulous that your family will be visiting Manitoulin island! I will say this... my virtual walking journey does have me itching to embark on a cross Canada road trip. One of these day, I just may do that!

>162 VivienneR: - Hi Vivienne! I didn't make it to Ottawa on my walking journey in time for the Canada Day celebrations but I did make it to Sudbury. Looks like they had some interesting things on offer for the day, including a Canada 150 celebration put on by the Sudbury Multicultural & Folk Arts Association. ;-)

>163 LittleTaiko: - I admit that listening to The Whiskey Rebels did make it easier for me to find the time to read it.... I don't seem to have much "sit down and read" time these days. ;-)

>165 BLBera: and >166 dudes22: - Well, that is a relief! I was worried that I was the only one that struggled with Cloud Atlas but it looks like it probably isn't best suited for and audioread.... makes me wonder what the movie adaptation is like.

Time for a new thread, I think!