rosalita is back for some no-pressure reading and fun in 2013!

I had decided not to have a thread in 2013, because last year I wasn't able to keep up with the (self-imposed) pressure to write a review of every book. Thanks to the gentle encouragement of so many friends, I'm back for my third year with no promises of anything beyond maintaining a list of books read and chatting with all of the friends I've made here (and hopefully some new ones). Who knows? There may even be a review or two.

A little about myself: My name is Julia, I'm 48, live in Iowa and work at the state university in the study abroad office. I'm the president of our local Friends of the Library group, and the vast majority of books I read in 2012 came from the library. I'd also like to make more of an effort to clear out some unread books from my shelves this year, too, so I've added a ticker to track that goal, too.

I have found good books to read in almost any genre, but most of my choices tend to come from contemporary and classic fiction, mysteries, historical nonfiction and biography.

My rating scale:
★★★★★ - completely enthralling. It enlightened or educated me in some way. I can definitely see myself reading it again. In short, a "keeper" worth buying.
★★★★½ - not quite perfect, but I will actively recommend this book to friends.
★★★★ - really great book with minor flaws, still highly recommended.
★★★½ - better than average but some flaws. Recommended.
★★★ - entertaining but probably forgettable, not worth rereading. Recommended only for fans of the genre.
★★½ - readable but something about the story, characters or writing was not up to standards. Not recommended.
★★ - finished but did not like, and would not recommend.
★½ - some redeeming qualities made me finish it, but nothing to recommend.
★ - finished but disliked enough to actively attempt to dissuade others from reading.
½ - could not finish, possibly destroyed by fire (unless it's a library book)


Books Read ticker


Books Off the Shelf ticker



Acquired in 2013

January

• Black Irish, Stephen Talty (Early Reviewer book, paper)
  
• Married in Haste, Cathy Maxwell (Nook, ebook)
  
• Sex and the Stewardess, Lawrence Block writing as John Warren Wells (Kindle, ebook)
  
• Moonlight Blogger: Essays from the Subversive Copy Editor Blog, Carol Fisher Saller (Kindle, ebook)
  
• Just One of the Guys, Kristan Higgins (Nook, ebook)
  
• A Drop of the Hard Stuff, Lawrence Block (Kindle, ebook)
  
• Bliss, Kathryn Littlewood (Nook, ebook)

January
1. A Possible Life, Sebastian Faulks. ★★★ (review)
2. Some Buried Caesar, Rex Stout. ★★★★★ (review)
3, The Surgeon, Tess Gerritsen. ★★★ (review)
4. The Apprentice, Tess Gerritsen. ★★★
5. A Drop of the Hard Stuff, Lawrence Block. ★★★★½
6. The Sinner, Tess Gerritsen. ★★★★
7. Body Double, Tess Gerritsen. ★★★½
8. Vanish, Tess Gerritsen. ★★★★
9. The Mephisto Club, Tess Gerritsen. ★★★½
10. The Keepsake, Tess Gerritsen. ★★★★
11. Ice Cold, Tess Gerritsen. ★★★★½
12. Black Orchids, Rex Stout. ★★★★

February
13. The Silent Girl, Tess Gerritsen. ★★★★
14. Last to Die, Tess Gerritsen. ★★★★
15. Cordially Invited to Meet Death, Rex Stout. ★★★
16. Champagne for One, Rex Stout. ★★★
17. E Street Shuffle: The Glory Days of Bruce Springsteen and the E Street Band, Clinton Heylin. ★ (review)

deleted

Hi Julia! Found your thread and starred it. Happy New Year!

Hi, Julia - found and starred!

last year I wasn't able to keep up with the (self-imposed) pressure to write a review of every book

I'm glad you didn't let this stop you from setting up another thread. You're not exactly the only person to suffer from that self-created situation! :)

Thank you, Kerri!

I just couldn't stay away, Liz. You are all entirely too nice and way too much fun to hang out with!

Julia, finally I found your thread. :) I'm glad that you let us follow your readings this year again.

1: I'd also like to make more of an effort to clear out some unread books from my shelves this year
There is, if you don’t know, a group for this very purpose. I vaguely looked at it last year, did nothing, and the books kept piling up... So clearly I need accountability.

Kathy, I'm glad to be back. I got so busy today running around to everyone's shiny new threads that I almost forgot to set up my own!

I'll have to look at the group, qebo, although acknowledging that it exists seems to require me to actually do something about it — at least more than make a pretty ticker. :-)

I tried that review every book nonsense one year... too much pressure.. read and enjoy!
Review when you want to ( or have to ).

:)

Julia, I'm glad you started a thread so that I can repay the many kind visits you made to mine last year. And no worries -- it's your thread, so you aren't obligated to do anything other than exactly what you want on it. :)

I'm glad you made a thread, I was looking around for it!

I failed miserably at trying to read the books I owned, but I hope you have better luck. :)

Thanks for the reinforcement, Kath!

Sarah, thank you for coming to visit me. Here's to a wonderful 2013 in reading for both of us!

Marie, you snuck in while I was posting! I was a bit tardy making my thread this year, so I'm very glad you persisted and found me. I am not optimistic about my off-the-shelf challenge, but we'll see.

Sometimes I wish I could just read a book and not review it. Writing doesn't come easily to me but it does help me remember the book and solidify my feelings about it. I'm glad you're back again, Julia. Happy New Year!

Well, Donna, you are a very good reviewer, so I hope that makes the effort worthwhile. You've added many a book to my wishlist over the past couple of years.

It's good to see you back, Julia! I hope 2013 is a great reading year for you.

Hi Julia!! I'm glad to find your 2013 thread. I'm looking forward to seeing what you read this year and hope I'll run into you in "real life" too!

I do too, cbl!

Same to you Amy! Will I be seeing you at the library site review meeting next week?

Glad that you were persuaded back here, Ill try to be a better visitor :)

Julia, I am just so thrilled that you are back!

Hi Julia

One of the great things of this group is that we do not put pressure on each other. No one expects reviews or even that we have to meet the goal of reading 75 books.

It is great to have you back. I'll try to stop by your thread more frequently.

Hi there! Thanks for welcoming me on my thread... I've found and starred you here so I can follow your progress too. Happy New Year!

> 15

Sometimes I wish I could just read a book and not review it.

Even way back before LT, I sued to write mini-reviews of books. I just felt that with the amount of time I spent reading and my poor memory. I wanted to have some notes to which I could refer back to if I wanted to talk about a particular book. That has happened many times, and I've been glad about my notes. What I like about LT is that the story is pretty much told for each book - even sometimes in the reviews.

If I don't want to write a review, I'll just mark down why I liked it or not. That works for me.

The only books that I don't write about are those that I don't finish. That recently backfired on me. My son recently wanted to know why I didn't finish Wicked}. I have no idea other than I didn't like it. Now, I think I'm going to note why I don't finish books, but I won't rate or review them. I think that a review needs a complete read, although I know others will disagree with me. I guess that's why I have quite a few unfinished ER books on my shelves. They need both a read and a review.

Megan, you are always welcome here!

Mamie, thank you for gently nudging me to return!

Linda, the pressure was entirely self-inflicted. Everyone here is so warm and encouraging that I just couldn't stay away. Please do come back and see me again!

Tina, I'm very glad to have you come visit!

Madeline, you make a good point. I also have a lousy memory and will often pick up a book at the library and start to read it before realizing I've already read it. I just need to learn to let myself just write some brief notes or a paragraph instead of feeling as though I have to write an entire essay on every book.

I just need to learn to let myself just write some brief notes or a paragraph instead of feeling as though I have to write an entire essay on every book.

My reviews that are not reviews...go on LT's "private notes". I don't want others seeing how poorly written they are! :)

#19 - Yes! I'll be at the library site review meeting. I'm hoping there are some good options!

I stopped posted reviews on book pages, but find it helpful to leave notes for myself. Just make yourself happy! And stick around to chat.

I just need to learn to let myself just write some brief notes or a paragraph instead of feeling as though I have to write an entire essay on every book.

That's strange...my ears are burning! :)

Madeline, I find it hard to believe that your pseudo-reviews are poorly written, given the quality of your writing elsewhere!

Amy, I am really looking forward to seeing what's presented. I too hope there are some good options.

Thanks, Luxx!

Liz, it's the quality of your essay-reviews that intimidates me and makes me feel that I must live up to it or not even try! No kidding, I learn something new every time you post a review.

> 24 this is one (of the many) reasons i love LT.... i never even thought to write little notes on why or why not i liked a book.... think i'll use that.... rather than the self-imposed pressure to write a full review!

Julia i look forward to following along with you this year.... have a great time reading!

Here you are! Glad to see you have a thread.

I'm becoming much easier on myself about reviews; I'll write a full one if I feel like it, but often a line or two is all I'll do.

No kidding, I learn something new every time you post a review.

What not to do? :)

I'm grateful for the kind words, Julia, but I confess, I'm very envious of the ability of some to be succinct yet meaningful.

> 30

I find it hard to believe that your pseudo-reviews are poorly written, given the quality of your writing elsewhere!

Julia, you make me laugh! I really do hide the ones that are poorly written. Another thing I do is go back and rewrite the ones that are particularly embarrassing. :)

What's interesting is that some books are such that the review almost writes itself. Yet other books seem to strain me for what to write or even how to express what I feel about those books.

Do others have that same feeling about reviewing different books?

Oh, yes.

Also, it's easier to say what you don't like about a book than what you do - so reviews of good books take much longer to write.

Jennifer, thanks for stopping by! Please come back and visit anytime.

Cynara, so glad you found me! I think a few lines is enough for most books. The ones that deserve a full review will get it, I'm sure.

Madeline and Liz, that is so true for me, too. Some books I cannot wait to write a review because I know exactly what I want to say; sometimes I start writing it in my head before I've even finished the book. Other books I finish and am left with a general feeling of "Huh." And it's not even good vs. bad. Some books I really loved were a struggle to review. And we all know that books that are terrible can be a joy to savage in a review. Or maybe that's just me. :-0

Brief is good. See?

Happy New Year and welcome back!!

I used to write lengthier reviews. Now, I usually present a sentence or two on what the book was about, along with a sentence or two about what I thought. Once in awhile, if I really loved or really hated a book, I'll write more. To me, this feels like it's taken the pessure off.

Happy New Year Julia!

Happy New Year, Julia! Glad to see you back!

Hi Julia - great discussion on reviewing. I'm like Linda, I just do brief comments as I don't want to spend too much time on reviewing. Every now and then a book comes along that you do want to write more extensively about.

Hi Julia - pleased to see you back:)

Welcome back! No stress is the way to go!

Steven, you are a model for us all! :-)

Linda, thanks for the welcome. I am so glad to have such support for my new 'keep it brief' policy.

Chelle, thanks for stopping by! Come back anytime.

Joanne, thank you for being such a good LT friend. I am very glad to be back here with you.

Kerry, 'short and sweet' is my new mantra!

Calm, thanks for visiting! I'm very glad to be back.

Jim, thanks for the welcome and for all you do to keep the 75ers up and running. As you can see, you've created an environment that is virtually impossible to leave! Kind of like the Hotel California. :-)

It has been less than 48 hours and I have already added at least 3 books to my wishlist from visiting other people's threads! Forget writing reviews; at this rate I'm not going to have time to even read any books! :-)

Julia - I know exactly what you mean - keeping up is fun but eats into reading time. I don't contribute so much as I would like over here but I have certainnly noticed that you have a keen eye when it comes to picking a good read.
Happy New Year and I'm off to do a little reading.

Happy New Year! I've starred your thread and will be dropping by from time to time to see what you're reading.

Found and starred! Happy New Year, Julia!

You've been found and starred by me, too. I enjoy reading everyone's comments about writing reviews. I laugh at myself. It never occurs to me to be embarrassed by bad writing. I am so self-centered I just write and let it be. No pressure from me on me! Of course, my university education was all about reading history, or political science, or psychology and sociology. I did not go near the English dept. because I just knew I could not figure out what all those high falutin' books were about, and I certainly could not write words of critique. I did not really learn to write until a decade or so out of university when I actually was paid to write and edit.

OK, enough about me.

Remember! no pressure. Just do it your way, and we'll enjoy following along.

Paul, thank you for the compliment. Whether you lurk or post, you're welcome anytime!

Come back anytime, Samantha_kathy and Katie!

Karen, I haven't seen anything in your writing that you should be embarrassed about, so just keep on. I got my university degree in history as well.

Hi Julia! Good luck with your reviews this year! It's a lot of work, but it's nice to have them in the end isn't it?

Welcome back to the no pressure 2013 group :-)

Julia, I'm happy to find you for the first time and look forward to comments about your reading --- NOT REVIEWS!!!

Rachel, thank you. I think you're right. They are awfully nice to look back at, especially given my terrible memory for plots and such.

Heather, I'm glad to be back in no-pressure land!

Peggy, thank you for stopping in. I'd better start reading something soon, or I won't have any COMMENTS not REVIEWS for anyone to read!

Hi Julia! What a bright and cheerful ticker! I know last year I got bogged down trying to come up with good reviews - now I mainly keep it to comments on my thread. Takes the pressure off!

Deb, that's the strategy I'm going to try this year!

Well, I've finally started reading an actual book! I received A Possible Life by Sebastian Faulks as an Early Reviewer selection. I have read and loved his earlier novels Charlotte Gray and Birdsong but this one isn't quite grabbing me yet. I mean, the main character in the first section got caught spying in France and sent to a concentration camp, and I still managed to put the book down and walk away! That's not good.

Julia, glad you decided to return this year! I don't know if I have anything posted that I would consider a full review, even with ER books. If I read something that doesn't have any reviews on LT I will try to write a longer document, but otherwise it's chatter and run - there is too much to read and waaay too many threads I want to read - er breeze through.

Oh, the threads! I could read 500 books a year if I didn't read and comment on any threads. :-D

Me too! But it will slow down soon. The first week of the new year always carries that thought of "I must read all the posts and then post something brilliant too! And also post to all those who have posted here on mine!" but then we come to our senses after a bit and start skimming, reading just the threads/posts that stand out to us, and posting only when we really want to. The first flurry is pretty fun, though, even if it does mean that I haven't yet opened a book (you are not alone). :)

I did at least open one last night, though I didn't get very far into it. :-)

And I am walking away from the computer RIGHT NOW and picking up that book. I swear!

Oh, yeah, me too. Any minute now... :)

I don't write reviews though I do comment on books I read. Just a few sentences. All I worry about is basic grammar, spelling and punctuation. Ha!

Morphy, I like the little template you use for your book comments. That way you are sure to get all the important information included without having to worry about crafting fulsome paragraphs of narrative. I might try that this year.

I'm really happy to be have been awarded an Early Reviewer book from the December batch: Black Irish by Stephan Talty. As usual, by the time the notifications are sent out I've already forgotten why I wanted the book, but it appears to be a thriller set in and around Buffalo, New York. I think what sold me was that the author is being compared favorably to Tana French, whose work I love.

Of course, this also reminded me that I have unread ER books that I need to post soon. I'm listing them here as a reminder to myself:

• Thirteen Seconds: Confrontation at Kent State by Joe Eszterhas. I've read this one, so I just need to get my thoughts together enough to write the review.
  
• A Possible Life by Sebastian Faulks. I'm working on it. I've finished two of the five novella-type sections so far.
  
• The Famine Plot by Tim Pat Coogan. I am really looking forward to reading this nonfiction book about the devastating 19th century Irish potato famine.
  
• Black Irish by Stephan Talty. Of course I haven't received this one yet, but it goes on the list for completeness.

That seems like enough to be going on with, doesn't it?

I have two sitting here unread (including the Faulks) and two I still haven't received.

I just won one in December, Animal Wise, about how animals think, which should be interesting.

Hi rosalita/Julia. I also will be getting Black Irish as an Early Reviewer--and I'm reading Tana French's Broken Harbour as my nightly read. Have you read it? I loved her third one, Faithful Place, and this one is excellent, although I'm not very far into it yet.

One of the reviewers calls this fourth book of hers, "literature masquerading as a police procedural." I think that nails it. I feel a little bit bad for Stephan Talty and his book, since I don't know how I won't be able to compare his work to French's. I'm "just guessing" that it won't quite measure up--but we'll see.

That does sound interesting, Morphy. I'll look forward to your review.

Becky, I am impatiently waiting for my library to get a copy of 'Broken Harbor'. I've read her other three and I think my favorite was 'Faithful Place' although they were all really, really good. I agree that comparisons are going to be difficult to avoid, and it's hard to imagine French not coming out on top.

You just reminded me that I too have an early reviewers book still to review. I'll be honest, I've stopped requesting ER books - the really good ones are never available for my country, and aside from the rare exception, I find that by the time I receive the ER book I no longer wish to read it so much. Then it becomes a chore...

Hi Julia,

So glad you decided on a thread after all! I'm also making an attempt at comments this year rather than trying for reviews and getting mired. I'll be stopping by now and then to hear about what you're reading. Wishing you all the best for the coming year!

I can only imagine how frustrating that would be, Samantha_kathy. When the ER program first started, I would go wild and request any book that I thought I might remotely be interested in. Then it would arrive, and I would realize I really didn't want to read it at all, and it would take forever to make myself read it and write a review. So now I only request books I absolutely know I want to read, and it works out much better.

Marilyn, please take some of the credit for encouraging me to stick around. I hope we both can find a way to do some no-stress commenting. Come by anytime!

Julia - I don't think I could manage 500 books a year even if I was reading Ladybird books! My reading slowed a little last year but I think that was more to do with RL issues than here as this place is actually a catalyst to my reading.

Agree with you on Morphy's review format. Love it too. Love her too. Just rarely agree with her on any of the books!

Have a lovely weekend.

What a boring world it would be if we all liked exactly the same books, Paul! I hope you have a great weekend, too (guess yours has already started, come to think of it).

Aww, I feel all warm and fuzzy. :D

> 69

I find that by the time I receive the ER book I no longer wish to read it so much. Then it becomes a chore...

I think that my issue is that I get distracted by books that are better because I tend to read more than one book at a time. I'll always opt to finish the better of the books and set the others aside. I think I'm now up to 5 or 6 unfinished ER books. :(

I also stopped requesting more - mainly out of guilt. :)

71: So now I only request books I absolutely know I want to read
I was somewhat selective from the beginning, but I’ve become even more so after a couple rounds of procrastination. A serious review involves taking notes, so I have to _really_ want to read it. I stopped requesting when I had two in waiting, then got caught up at the end of the year, and I'm happy with the one that's on the way now.

> 76

Katherine, you're so disciplined. What a role model you are for all of us! :)

I'm always happy to host a Morphy love-in on my thread. :-)

Madeline, I know what you mean. Books that sound irresistible in the list on LT somehow seem diminished when they actually show up in real life. I also went through a lengthy period of not requesting any books because I had several to review, but finally got myself caught up. Well, now I'm falling behind a bit, but I've stopped checking out library books until I clear up my ER books. It helps that the ones I have (with the possible exception of the one I'm currently reading) I am still eager to read.

Katherine is a role model for us all, indeed!

1. A Possible Life, Sebastian Faulks.

The subtitle of this newest offering from Sebastian Faulks is "A Novel in Five Parts". There's no question about the five parts; in separate sections Faulks tells the stories of five people who live in various places and eras. There's Geoffrey, a British schoolteacher who experiences the horrors of World War II up close and is never quite the same. There's Billy, who is a little boy in the mid-19th century when he is sent to a workhouse and ever after is on a desperate quest to fill the empty spaces in his heart and his soul. There's Elena, living in the Italy of the near-future, who makes a successful scientific career out of her natural inclination toward solitude, except for the one person she lets into her heart. There's Jeanne, an illiterate and orphaned woman in the early 19th century whose entire adult life is spent caring for someone else's children. And there's Anya, whose extraordinary songwriting and singing talent takes her to the pinnacle of success at the end of the 20th century, even as she leaves some shattered hearts in her wake.

If reading that summary leaves you wondering how the five parts tie together into a novel, I can set your mind at ease. They don't. There are fleeting sentences here and there that imply a mystical connection between one or more of the stories, but nothing ever comes of them and the reader is left with five separate, good-tasting dishes that never come together into a satisfying meal. The closest Faulks comes to a unifying theory is in Elena's struggle to quantify scientifically where the human's sense of self comes from. There's a great deal of contemplating that we are all just clusters of cells and organic material and when we die we are again reduced to our most basic elements and eventually reformed again into another self. Perhaps we are meant to think of these five wildly different characters as all made from the same cells as they form and re-form through the ages. But that's just a guess, because Faulks doesn't offer anything in the way of explanation.

There's absolutely nothing wrong with the writing of any of the individual pieces, and I found all them fairly engaging on their own merit. But when I turned the last page on Anya's story, the only emotion I felt was, "Huh. I guess that's that, then." And that doesn't seem like the emotions a successful project should evoke.

Good review, Julia. The reactions to this one have been pretty mixed. I have one ER book older than the Faulks that I should get to first and then I'll pick up A Possible Life.

Hi Julia, I'm glad you're back for another year of bookish fun. I'm looking forward to hanging out here now and again!

I am glad that you did decide to start a thread for the year, Julia. No need to write full reviews - I never do and I survive :)

Sorry to hear that your first book of the year was not a good read for you. On the bright side, the next one will be better, right?

Katie, I'm not surprised that the reviews are mixed. My own reaction to the book was pretty mixed!

Judy, thanks for stopping in! Please come back anytime.

Stasia, thank you for the warm welcome. It doesn't seem like an official thread until you visit. :-)

I'm starting The Famine Plot: England's Role in Ireland's Greatest Tragedy today. I have high hopes for this one!

Good review Julia! I don't think that one will make it to my WL though

You remind me that I am behind on my ER reads. I think I have two that I need to get to...

Hi Julia! Nice review of A Possible Life. The idea fo the book sounds good in general. But I would have expected at least a little bit more connections between the stories, too. So I can understand your disappointment.

Chelle, you won't be missing much, I promise. And I didn't intend to be an ER guilt stoker, but it's nice to know I'm in good company.

Kathy, I'm glad I wasn't alone in feeling that way. I know lots of people don't like those sort of "novel in stories" format, but when it's well done it can be really great (I'm thinking of Olive Kitteridge, which I loved). At least the individual sections were fairly interesting in and of themselves.

A very nice review. And good to know I can pass on that one. :)

Hi Julia,

Re: Tana French-I read her books back to back, I enjoyed them so much. I haven't gotten my hands on "Broken Harbor" yet but I am definitely looking forward to it. I don't know if I can put my finger on what it is that is so special about her writing, except to say that it feels very personal somehow, almost as if she is sharing the story with you alone.There is a certain connection that she seems to have with her characters, also. I don't know if that is making any sense, but it something like that.

Sarah, sometimes the reviews that steer us clear of books are more valuable than the reviews that encourage us to read books!

Mary Beth, I think I know what you mean. When I read the first one, I was under the impression that it would be a traditional series — the same characters would be featured in each book. And I quite liked Rob and Cassie both, so that was exciting. So when I read the second one and found Rob non-existent and the focus all on Cassie, I was initially disappointed. But once I got over my expectations, I loved the way she showed us deep inside her character's mind and feelings. Then, with the third one, I was prepared for the format and again found myself amazed at how clearly drawn the characters were.

Stopping by to say hello and to catch up on your thread!

Hi, Tina!

I have now written and posted my reviews of A Possible Life and Thirteen Seconds on the relevant book pages. That means I am all caught up with my Early Reviewer obligations except for the book I am currently reading the book I have not yet received. That feels good!

As for The Famine Plot, I have had less time to read this week than I would like but I am finding it very engaging and easy to follow. I was encouraged to read the introduction where the author speaks quite favorably of an earlier book on the Irish Famine, The Great Hunger by Cecil Woodham-Smith. I read that one many years ago and found it very compelling. I suspect Coogan's conclusions are going to be very similar, and I am very much looking forward to diving in further.

I just wanted to say hello and that I'm glad you've shaken off your sense of obligation about reviews. I like hearing (reading) what people thought about books, not all the boring recapping that is a part of a "good" review. (Especially the case since I've been trying to go into the 1001 Books without reading anything about them and I've been enjoying that approach immensely.)

Hooray for being all caught up, Julia!! And the reviews are lovely, too.

Thanks for the kind words, Ursula, and welcome to my thread! I am feeling much more relaxed this year, but of course it's early yet! I'll remind myself of what you said whenever I start feeling like I have to write the "perfect" review before I can post it.

Now I'm off to find your thread and see what you've been reading ...

Thank you, Mamie! It feels good to not have the reviews pending.

Julia... the reviews for both of your ER picks were excellent! I thumbed them both! Why are you worried about your review style / content? They were great!!!

You are too kind, Tina! Thanks for the thumbs. It's easy in January to write reviews; when the read but unreviewed books pile up, that's when the pressure starts. But not this year!

I realized I have not yet documented the books I have acquired so far in 2013. Other than Early Reviewer books (which I did note up top), I have also acquired the following e-books:

• Married in Haste, Cathy Maxwell. This was a Free Friday Nook selection from Barnes and Noble. I don't have a Nook, but I use the Nook app on both my iPad and my iPhone.
  
• Sex and the Stewardess, Lawrence Block writing as John Warren Wells. Block offered this as a free Kindle download to subscribers of his newsletter. I don't have a Kindle, either, but I use the Kindle app on my iPad and iPhone.
  
• Moonlight Blogger: Essays from the Subversive Copy Editor Blog, Carol Fisher Saller. Saller is currently offering this compilation of her most popular blog posts as a free Kindle download.

Do you see a pattern in those acquisitions? To paraphrase Gordon Gekko in the movie Wall Street, "The point is, ladies and gentleman, that free — for lack of a better word — is good. Free is right. Free works."

It certainly does for me. :-)

I would guess that 85% of the books on my nook are from Free Fridays! Do love free!!! I have a great used book store locally that you can trade in books for points, which deducts extra off the already good used book price. I've gotten most if the Oranges on my shelves this way!

We aren't just readers... We're clever bargain book hunters!

Free is a very good price!

I try not to buy anything for my nook that costs more than a few dollars. I've been tempted into buying quite a few at their recent sales. I think they're on to my low price point buying. Free Fridays can be disappointing but I love getting something I've been wanting for free!

Tina, some of the used bookstores I frequent have the same sort of books-for-points system. It's a good incentive to clear things off the shelves — so that you can put new things on the shelves!

Joanne, I tend to err on the side of downloading a Free Friday selection if I think there is even a chance I might like it. Even so, there are weeks that I pass it up.

My niece and nephews got me a Kobo e-reader for Christmas 2011. I don't think I bought (i.e. paid actual money for) a single book until this past December, when they got me with several really good sales. Still, I generally won't consider buying an e-book unless it costs less than $5. I'd pay more for an e-book if I could give it to someone else when I was done with it.

Nice review of Thirteen Seconds, Julia. I will have to see if I can find a copy. Thanks!

I'm the same way with my Kindle, in terms of what I am willing to spend. Rarely do I spend more than $5 on any one book. I figure if I'm going to spend more, I want the actual book...

Stasia, I think this recent edition was only an e-book but was not updated from the original edition so if your library has that one it will be exactly the same.

Katie, that's it exactly. I recently re-read Lawrence Block's Matthew Scudder series, and I had some gaps in the books I owned. If the e-book version was $4.99 or less I bought that, but if not then I went the used paperback route, which usually came out to about $4 with shipping. Sure, it would be nice to have them all in the same format, but I'm happy just to have them.

Hello rosalita, just returning your visit and to thank you for your kind wishes pertaining Alex. *smile*. Nothing to add to the book discussions, aside from "Yeah for freebies" that's what I do with my kindle as well. Actually, I didn't want to get anymore books this year, but they had all this great offers books for free or less than one pound. Well, I went on quite a big book splurge, but didn't spend more then five pound in total.

Wish you a lovely weekend!

Thank you! I hope you and Alex have a restful and recuperative weekend, too.

I too enjoy to free fridays for my nook... but still can't understand how they charge the same price for the e-book that they charge for a bound book?....

seriously it makes me very upset that they do that... you would think that it cost less to publish an e-book than one with paper so you are saving there.... even if you don't sell that many you are not putting a whole lot of money into paper publishing....

but also you aren't losing much because many of the books you buy are not lendable.... and then you can't even use your B&N membership discount on e-books....

point is they should just be cheaper!.... I would probably buy a lot more if they weren't the same price as the paper verisons

soooo.... i hope you enjoy your new books!

'Free Works' Julia - it certainly does. One advantage of the e-books phenom I suppose.

Have a lovely weekend.

Jennifer, the pricing of ebooks is a mystery to me, too. I have read some articles that explained that in fact the cost of the actual printing and paper is in fact a surprisingly small percentage of the cost of a paper book. And of course I fully support the author's right to get paid for his work. So I can understand the higher prices for brand-new ebooks. Where I get lost is why "backlist" books that were published years ago in paper are sometimes as expensive as brand-new books when it comes to the ebook version. Why would you charge $8.99 for a book published 20 years ago that I can buy for a penny on Amazon? Truly puzzling.

Paul, I know you are not an ebook person. If it's any consolation as you pay actual money for your paper books, most of the free ebooks are at best a pleasant diversion. I've never read a truly great ebook that I got for free (except by borrowing from the library, which is a whole other thing). I hope you're having a grand weekend yourself.

Although I'm not happy with the ebook pricing (and I honestly, like you Julia, don't understand how these things are priced), I've started buying more books for my Kindle because I recently bought one with a back-light. Now I can read in bed without the bedside light, and Mr. labwriter couldn't be happier. The honest truth is, I would rather read a paper book--but then there's also the issue of running out of shelf space. I have a serious love-hate relationship with ebooks.

> 111 I also have a love-hate relationship with ebooks! I would prefer the paper book in my hand but my husband said he would not buy me another book shelf so I had to either get rid of my old books to make room for new or purchase a e-reader... I went with the e-reader... but was disappointed that the books I buy are the same price or even sometimes more expensive than the paper version....

108 etc> Actually, it's the same thing - the cost of putting a backlist book into e-form is pretty close to the cost for a new one, because they're not in a digital form to start with. The older the book, the _more_ expensive it is to convert it! What the publisher has, at best, is bound galleys - paper sheets with the book on them (at worst, they have a published copy, which has to be cut apart to be scanned). They have to get them typed or scanned in (second is faster, but a lot more errors introduced, so more proofreading), then proofread them (for original errors and ones introduced by the digitizing process), then convert the digital document (Word, or whatever) into various e-formats. Plus covers, if they put a new one on (very likely), plus distribution (that's where ebooks are cheaper than paper - but it's the only place). Plus royalties to the author or the author's estate. Lots of people, lots of time, lots of cost.

In the future, it will be easier, assuming publishers are smart enough to keep an electronic copy of the finished book even when it goes backlist (now that books usually pass through a digital form on their way to publishing). Converting an electronic copy is either easy or impossible - not the long-drawn-out process of turning paper into digital.

And some of it is "what people are willing to pay", but that's true of paper too - publishers have to guess and set a price that people will buy this book at and balance that against number of copies bought to pay back their investment. It takes 7 times as many copies sold at .99 to pay back as copies sold at 6.99...that's a big bump. And of course a free book is all cost and no payback.

Becky and Jennifer (lovelyluck), marital harmony is a good reason to turn to ebooks, I would imagine!

Jennifer (jjmcgaffey), thanks for the detailed explanation of how backlist books get into ebook form. I can see that it is quite an involved and perhaps costly process. Though I will say that I don't think much of that expense is proofreaders. I am appalled at how many typos and other digitizing errors show up in the ebooks of even the largest and most reputable publishers. It really annoys me quite a bit.

The other issue we haven't really touched on that makes me hesitate before buying ebooks is that they are not really bought but only borrowed. We have seen ebook sellers electronically "take back" books that were bought in good faith, and it bothers me that while that may particular case may have been a legitimate reason there is nothing an ebook "owner" could do to prevent it happening for any reason. And when I die my ebook collection dies with me because there is no way to transfer my accounts to someone else. I think this problem will have to be solved before ebooks truly begin to threaten paper books. I think paper books will be with us for a good long while, thankfully.

And that's a primary reason why I hesitate to spend much money on digital books - you don't own them, you only buy the right, or license, to read them. Nothing beyond that.

Yes indeed, Joanne! I'd rather just borrow ebooks from the library.

That's exactly what I use my Kindle for - Project Gutenberg books and borrowing from the library.

114> I don't disagree about the proofreaders - there's a lot of junk that gets through - but I've done some myself (Distributed Proofreaders for Project Gutenberg, pgdp.net) and wow that's tough work. Catching all the little stuff...

And yeah, about most ebooks being limited. You can get around that, though, and own them as much as you do a Project Gutenberg or a Baen ebook - calibre does a wonderful job of converting from one format to another, and there are plugins that will strip the DRM from books you've bought. They need the same info that the Kindle or Nook or whatever use to decrypt the book for reading - your ID, in one format or another - but after the book's been added to calibre (yes, it's supposed to be lower case) through the plugin, it's DRM-free. Which means that if you're reading it in more than one place Amazon can't keep it synced...but it also means Amazon can't take it away from you, and you have your ebooks stored on your computer as well as your ereader. It also means you're technically a criminal because of the DMCA, but that's a stupider law than Prohibition was, and I suspect it won't last any longer.

I'm really not an ebook fanatic - I do read ebooks, but I read more paper books - but I hate to see people turning away from them for the wrong reasons. There are right reasons - resale is one (you can't), staring at a screen/the slowness of e-ink is another - but if you're going to be picky I say you should do it in full knowledge of all the options.

Ursula, sounds like we are on the same page, ebook-wise.

Jen, it's true that the proofreading is tough work. I've done a little bit for Project Gutenberg myself, although you've reminded me that it's been a few years and I should get back to it. It's tough to do for any length of time, especially with the older manuscripts where the original is not the clearest copy itself.

I do have calibre on my Mac, and I use it to add Project Gutenberg and other free books to my Kobo, but I've never tried to use it to strip the DRM from purchased books. Not that it bothers me morally, but I just don't have any idea how to go about it.

Thanks for contributing your knowledge to the discussion! It's given me a lot to think about.

If you google "strip drm calibre", you'll get Apprentice Alf's pages that have the tools and go into great detail on how to configure them. I've just set it up for myself, so I kind of have it on the brain.

Thanks, I'll give that a try!

>93 ursula: I like hearing (reading) what people thought about books, not all the boring recapping that is a part of a "good" review
I have to remember that- as I usually feel like i should write a plot summary as well as my feelings, but usually so many reviews cover the plot it feels a bit redundant.

>115 Copperskye: I was THIS close to getting a Kindle, then I realised that I rarely spend more than $5 on a book, adn that I absolutely love the physical thing. So I didnt :) I might get an iPad though and use that for free old ones.

How to write a good review? Well I think we have some great practitioners of book reviewing in the group. I have oft referred to Bonnie (brenzi) as the Queen of Reviews as I find her writing style and analytical sense excellent. Rebecca (rebeccanyc) and Darryl also write superlative reviews as does Liz (lyzard) (although to be fair she needs to as nobody much has heard of the books she is reading hahaha). There are also several others who format their reviews in a way that is very engaging.
Simple plot summaries don't work for me I need to know how it made you feel; whether you were able to sleep or some other background to get a "feel" of it.
(Hi! Julia - btw I like your reviews too - and Megans')

Hello rosalita :) another interesting discussion going on in regards to e-books versus the dead tree versions. I love my proper books and always prefer reading them. However, I got a kindle a in 2010 and got really attached to it. As I do commute between Germany and England I found that it does help to have a kindle, because I don't need an extra suitcase for my books anymore *smile*. I use it mainly for free e-books as well, but I also use it to read and assess a book. I am very fond of the kindle daily deals and quite often they have other books very cheap as well. Eg. two years ago I got The life of Pi for free, but there are lots of other books as well, which are on offer at times. If a book I read on the kindle was brilliant and I know I would like to have it for my collection, I usually get them as the proper book version as well.

I wish you a very nice week.

In my reviews, I usually have a short, quick description of what the book is about (according to me, anyway), because that's something I myself want to read in a review. No spoilers though. And after that, I will say how I felt about the book, what I enjoyed and what I didn't, and if I would recommend it - and to who. Some books get, say, 3 or 4 stars from me, but would only be liked by someone into that genre, so then I mention that. Other books I feel are more "universal," if that makes sense.

But, writing reviews remains difficult sometimes. I typically am able to write reviews of books I really liked or disliked easily, but those 3 star books that are okay, I enjoyed them, but I'm not gushing about them - those are more difficult. And reviewing non-fiction, that's always hard because it's judged by very different standards. Or maybe, just more - not simply did I enjoy reading it, but also how well was the research done, did it have proper documentation, was the lay-out of the book logical, etc. I guess that's the scholar in me coming out.

>122 LovingLit: I tend to talk about the plot as it relates to what I want to say about the mood or my feelings on the book. It does help, of course, to know if the protagonist is a 12-year-old girl or an old man, if it's set in the past or the future, etc. And I'm no expert, obviously. I just have freed myself from the idea of a "proper" book review and instead just write what I'd want to read. There are as many preferences for that sort of thing as there are styles, so I imagine eventually someone will find what I write interesting!

Megan, I think some sort of basic plot summary is necessary for me to find a review useful. I also prefer reviews that not only say how the reader felt about the book, but at least tries to explain why. I find reviews that say 'I didn't like this book' and nothing more extremely frustrating.

Paul, I agree that many 75ers do a good job with their book comments (I know not everyone considers what they write to be a proper review). I can prove it by showing you my wishlist and all the books I have added because other folks made them sound so enticing!

Bianca, ebooks are perfect for commuting and traveling. I don't know if you are able to download ebooks from your public libraries in Germany or the UK? That has been a wonderful use of my Kobo.

Samantha_kathy, it's so true that the easiest reviews to write are for the books we love or hate! The ones in the middle are tough to explain.

Ursula, I find your reviews to be very useful for deciding if a particular book is worth adding to the wishlist, so please keep on with what you're doing!

I have the next three days off work (except for a meeting on Tuesday morning) and I am hoping to get lots and lots of reading done. Surely I can finish my first book of the year before I go back to work on Thursday. Wish me luck!

128> Yay for more reading time!

My reviews are basically for me - that is, the point is to remind me a year (or whatever) later which book this was and whether I enjoyed reading it. I try not to spoil, for others or myself (yes, I can forget the twist in a year...and sometimes can remember _only_ the twist...), but I do try to put in who/what/when so I can remember "Oh, this is _that_ book". But most of the review is taken up with how I felt about it, and to some extent why. Some of my shortest are on books I mildly disliked - along the lines of "meh, it never captured me, (setting) is dull and (character) felt like a puppet". But sometimes those are the longest reviews, as I try to figure out why I didn't like it despite whatever reason I picked it up in the first place. I try not to do the point-by-point of the plot, though sometimes it comes out anyway - I find those reviews rather dull, if I want to know what happens I'll read the book. But a summary, yes, that's useful to me.

Haha fingers crossed for some lovely reading time :)

> 129 jjmcgaffey - I very much do the same with my reviews. The only one's I find a bit difficult are the ones which were ok reads and there usually isn't that much to say.

>>#123

Hardy-ha-ha, Paul! :)

...although actually you're quite right: it's often the feeling that probably no-one but me has read the book I'm reviewing that prompts me to overdo the plot synopsis aspect of my reviews.

Jen, I have such a terrible memory that if I didn't put at least a little bit of plot in my reviews I'd never remember what it was about! On the other hand, I can re-read mysteries and be just as surprised at whodunit as I was the first time. :-)

Bianca, I didn't get quite as much reading time as I'd hoped today, but I have two more days to go.

Liz, I do appreciate your thorough review of the plots in your reviews. Even when it's a book I've not only heard of but read, like The Mysterious Affair at Styles — see my response to Jen above about my lousy memory!

Julia, I love all the conversation here about reviews. I have mixed feelings on them. I personally find them difficult to write, but it does force me into thinking about why I liked or didn't like a book. I also try to write them before I rush into another book as a way of cleansing the palate so to speak. If a book has many reviews and I don't have anything new to add, I simply let the comments stay on my thread.

Speaking of threads, I'm so glad you decided to have one this year. I always enjoy your comments about the books you read and about books in general. I had no idea that those books on my iPad could be deleted at any time. I'd better start reading them! The only book that has cost me more than $1.99 (I'm a fan of the Kindle Daily Deals) was not yet published in the U. S. it was worth the extra money to read Painter of Silence.

Donna, for whatever my opinion is worth, I think you do a very fine job with your reviews. I always have a good idea after I've read one whether it's a book that I would like or not, and I enjoy reading them even when I know the book isn't for me.

Thank you for the kind words! It's early days but so far I am very happy that I made a thread this year. Of course, I'm struggling to actually finish a book, but that's what I get for starting with a nonfiction history book. It's coming, just slowly. Also, I've been alarmingly busy/social in RL which is very much not like me. :-)

2. Some Buried Caesar, Rex Stout.

I was caught away from home without my current hard-copy book today, but fortunately I had my Kobo Touch with me. This is a re-read; I can't even begin to count how many times I've read this one because it's one of my favorite Nero Wolfe mysteries.

It's the late 1930s and the normally agoraphobic Wolfe has ventured out of his beloved New York City brownstone to upstate New York, where a feud with a fellow amateur orchid grower has provoked him to exhibit his prized albino hybrids at a county agricultural exhibition. He's not looking for work, but when the scion of the local gentry is found dead in the pasture where a grand champion bull is penned, Wolfe finds himself trading his sleuthing skills for the opportunity to avoid an uncomfortable, dirty hotel room. Or, as Archie puts it, "this case you've dragged us into through your absolute frenzy to find an adequate chair to sit on."

Some Buried Caesar is one of the earliest Wolfe novels, but already all the essential elements are in place: Wolfe's reluctance to leave home, his extreme dislike of riding in a car (see the quote below), the rat-a-tat-tat banter between he and Archie, his ability to solve mysteries well before anyone else. Caesar is also notable for being the book in which Archie first meets Lily Rowan, the ultra-rich New York socialite who becomes his steady companion and partner in witty banter throughout the series.

The setting outside of New York City and the brownstone means Caesar can't truly be considered an archetype of the series, but in every other element it is a more than worthy entry in the canon of Wolfe and Archie.

Choice Quote: "I presume you know, since I've told you, that my distrust and hatred of vehicles in motion is partly based on my plerophory that their apparent submission to control is illusory and that they may at their pleasure, and soon or later will, act on whim. Very well, this one has, and we are intact. Thank God the whim was not a deadlier one."

Some Buried Caesar looks like the first fruits of your four days reading sabattical!
Look forward to seeing what else you finish.

Have a great, if bleary eyed, weekend Julia.

Thank you, Paul! I didn't get as much reading done as I had hoped, but I did other enjoyable things that weren't work so I'm happy with how I spent the days off. I just picked up A Drop of the Hard Stuff, which I couldn't resist finding on sale after reading your review. I'm sad that it will be the last Scudder, but all good things come to an end, I suppose.

I'm finding it difficult to get my main book, The Famine Plot, read. Not because it's not well-written, but because it's maybe too well-written. I'm finding the litany of destroyed lives and desperate, starving people to be utterly harrowing and I can't read more than a chapter at a sitting without wanting to cry. I think it's having such an effect because the Coogan's research is quite clear that so many of the deaths could have been easily avoided by the application of a little compassion. It's truly disheartening.

Ah, well! Enough of that sad stuff. Back to charging madly through threads and catching up before the big basketball game tonight. (Well, big to me even if no one else here. The Iowa Hawkeyes, the team from the university I graduated from and now work for, is playing a big conference rival, the University of Wisconsin. I do so hope it goes well.)

2 reviews thumbed

Thirteen Seconds ..... A friend of mine died that day. Not a victim of the shootings, but was sent home, and died in an accident on the way... his sister, a good friend of mine... wore Phil's clothes for a year :(

Thank you for the thumbs, Kath. How terrible to have such a close connection to the tragedy. It must have been devastating for his family.

He was one of five kids... both of his parents were already alcoholics.... his dad, a practicing physician.
Things did not get better, after he died. I stopped going to their home..it got ugly at times.

Oh, how sad for everyone. Losing a child would be hard enough (I saw my mother go through it) but when you are already emotionally fragile from alcoholism it must be so much worse.

The family crumbled. It was very sad....my friend.. her name is Margie.. was never the same, and I think.. never really happy again. W lost touch after High school.. which is where we were in life when Phil died.. she became a music teacher.

To comment on the Rex Stout, those books are excellent comfort reads. I used to keep one in my car at all times as a "car book" in case I ever got stuck somewhere and had forgotten to bring the current book I was reading. I haven't done that for awhile, and seeing your latest read is making me contemplate pulling one off the shelves behind me and bringing it to the car this morning... :)

Hi rosalita, just flying by to wish you a calm, restful and lovely remaining Sunday! Enjoyed your review of Some Buried Caesar also it is not my cup of tea. *smile*

Hi Julia, just passing through and catching up!

I need to return to the Nero Wolfe series. I have only ever read the first one!

Faith, you are so right. I have re-read all of the Nero Wolfe books time and again. Now I have ebook versions loaded on my Kobo, so I always have the full corpus at my fingertips wherever I am (it goes without saying that I don't go anywhere without my e-reader). I hope you choose one to be your "car book" again. :-)

Bianca, thanks for visiting! I hope your weekend is delightful and that Alex continues to recover — and your kitchen, too!

Hi, Katie! Hope you're having a great weekend!

Stasia, I think everyone should read the Wolfe books. And the nice thing about this series beside the wonderful characters is that you truly can read them in any order you like — with the exception of the last book, A Family Affair, which should only be read after you have read all the others. Let me recommend a couple of my favorites besides 'Some Buried Caesar' up there: If Death Ever Slept, The Doorbell Rang, Plot It Yourself. :-)

I've never read Rex Stout, but now I'm intrigued...

Just stopping in to catch up on your thread...

#148 - Ditto!

Joanne and Tina, if you like mysteries at all, and especially if you like well-drawn characters with a sense of humor, you will love the Nero Wolfe series. The first one I ever read was 'If Death Ever Slept' so that's as good a place as any to start. :-)

I've been felled by whatever viral monstrosity is floating in the air these days. I spent all afternoon and evening Sunday completely out of it, and all day Monday wishing I was out of it as I only was aware enough to know that I was miserable. I'm feeling a bit better today, at least enough to pick up a book, but nothing too taxing. And so ...


4. The Surgeon, Tess Gerritsen.

This is the first in the series dubbed Rizzoli and Isles. Rizzoli is a Boston homicide detective who finds herself fighting for the respect of her male colleagues. It sometimes leads her into impetuous actions, but it also leads to nabbing the bad guy. And Isles is ... well, actually I have no idea who Isles is. Isles does not appear at all in this book, not even as a passing reference. And since I've never watched the US television series based on the books, I don't know exactly where she fits in (though I do know she is a she, at least).

A serial killer targets emotionally fragile women. The method seems very much like a serial killer who was caught in Georgia several years earlier, but that perpetrator is dead. So how could he be committing this new series of crimes in Boston? And where does the beautiful doctor who was the only surviving victim of the Georgia killer fit into the picture?

This was a decent procedural. Gerritsen uses the technique of alternating segments told from the killer's point of view, so that all of the suspense that the killer might be someone we've already met in the course of the investigation is diluted. And, unsurprisingly for an author who is also a physician, the autopsy and death scenes are quite graphic. Still, the characterizations are pretty strong for a first book in a series. I have several more in the series checked out as an ebook bundle from the library, so I'll continue for at least one more book.

If nothing else, I just want to find out who the heck Isles is!

Thanks for stopping by my thread - like you, I am amazed at the turn that the Study in Scarlet took as well. Imagine all the years I've been around and had no idea of the plot! :)

Deb, I've been wondering if the reason I don't remember ever reading about it was because everyone but me already knew "the twist"!

I've been missing you Julia! No wonder... you've been ill :(

I hope you're up and at it soon! Glad you're feeling better enough to read, at least. That's when we KNOW we are sick, right?? When you feel too bad to read, it's death's door!

Tina, that's usually my cue to call the doctor if not the mortuary, if I don't even feel like reading. ;-)

And I had such grand plans for a three-day weekend, complete with watching the presidential inauguration and everything. Instead I listened to it on the radio while curled up in the fetal position in bed, and kept drifting in and out and missed all the good stuff. I can only assume it all went OK or I'd have heard of more of a kerfuffle.

It's back to work for me tomorrow. And that's another way to measure how sick I've been — if I'm actually anxious to get back to work, then it has been an unpleasant interlude indeed!

Oh my.... You have been a sick gal! I watched the inauguration speech last night on you tube because I was out of commission with a migraine...

I'm glad you are feeling better. Good luck with work tomorrow and don't overdo!

I am sorry to hear that you are not feeling well, Julia. I hope you feel better soon!

Oh, that's a good idea, Tina. I'll have to look on YouTube for it.

Thanks for the well wishes, Stasia. The only good thing that came out of it is that I lost 5 pounds. I think I'd rather do it some other way, though. :-)

Yeah, I'd love to lose 5 pounds but not by having the flu / virus!

And I can't take credit for figuring out the You Tube thing. That was Richard's idea.

Yikes, that was a nasty little bug you had. Hope you're not going back to work too soon. Surely you need to take a day or two longer to recover...and read! Being sick is a hard way to lose 5 pounds, Julia.

Ah, yes, the Sick Diet. Gotta love it. Hope you are feeling better.

I read two or three of the Tess Gerritsen series... they were okay. I thought they were a wee bit grisly for my taste.. but not enough to keep me from reading more than one..

Hope you are feeling better, Julia.

Tina, I can't go over to Richard's thread to thank him properly because I might never be able to crawl back out. :-)

Donna, I was hoping that I wasn't pushing it to go back to work today, but it actually went very well. Other than just being extremely tired, I feel quite okay. I had a flu shot last fall, and I wondered if that made the flu less severe than it might have been otherwise?

I am so much better, Morphy! Thanks for asking, and stopping by.

Kath, they are indeed grisly. That sort of thing never used to bother me at all, and it still mostly doesn't, but every once in a while I did pause and think, "Wow, that was just a little too much decomposing flesh right there, Tess."

Thanks for stopping by, Judy! I am feeling so much better I could almost cry with relief. :-)

Oh dear, that was not a fun way to spend the weekend!

Glad to hear you're feeling better.

Thanks, Joanne! Me, too.

Glad you're feeling better, Julia!

Yay!! I'm glad you are getting better! :)

Thanks, Katie and Tina. And hey, it's Friday!

One way I can tell I am definitely back to normal (or as close as I'll ever get, anyway!) is that today I started Robert Caro's Path to Power, the first volume of his Lyndon Baines Johnson biography. So far, it's definitely less bloody than the Tess Gerritsen books, but I'm not sure it's any less ruthless and malevolent. I'm learning a lot.

I'm so sorry that you were ill, Julia, but glad to hear that you're on the road to recovery and have a weekend for recouping.
And I'm THRILLED that you're reading the first Caro. I predict that you will fall in love with his writing - certainly not with his subject - and look forward to the rest. I'm down for Master of the Senate this year. I'm pacing myself so that I won't have to buy #4 until it's out in pb so that it will match the others in my set.

Thanks, Peggy! I am enjoying Caro's writing so far. I've got a challenge ahead of me because this is a library book ... a very LONG library book as you know. I should just break down and get the whole set in paperback myself so I can take my time and absorb it all.

I second what Peggy said about Caro's writing. I thought Path to Power was excellent. One of these days I need to get back to read the rest of the series - but not while I am in school.

Hello. I missed your 2012 thread and found your 2013 tread this evening. I'll be back to often to follow what you are reading.

Chiming in on the conversation regarding reviews, surprisingly, the ones that turn out the best for me are those that are free flow without a lot of editing.

Stasia, even just a few chapters into 'Path to Power' I can see why you'd feel reading any of the other volumes is out of the questions while you are in school. It takes some concentration to read nonfiction and history, and you need to focus yours on your classes. How are they going, by the way? I haven't looked lately to see if you've made a 2013 thread; I should go do that now!

Linda, I'm delighted that you've found me! I see your thoughtful comments all over the 75ers group and I would be tickled to have you share your thoughts on my thread, too, as you have time. I think I know what you mean by free-flow reviews. Sometimes I work too hard to either be clever or to be thorough in an explanation and it brings the whole review to a screeching halt, pacing-wise. I am trying this year to 1) write the reviews closer to the time I finish the book, and 2) not spend too much time over-analyzing but just sum up a bit of the story and give my reaction. So far it seems to be working!

Not much happening on the reading front for me lately. I'm continuing to make my way through 'The Famine Plot' and also 'The Path to Power'. I also churned through eight books in a series that was new to me, Tess Gerritsen's Rizzoli and Isles series of forensic thrillers. I thought they were a cut above the usual. One of the things I liked (and noticed much more reading them virtually back to back) is that each one is pretty distinct plotwise. It's not always a serial killer who hunts women and does unspeakable things to them and it's a race against time to find his latest victim before he kills her, which is one of the things that made me weary of Karin Slaughter's books.

Oh, one very excellent reading-related thing! I won a copy of The Burgess Boys from Early Reviewers this month. I've read a number of positive reviews on LT, and I loved Elizabeth Strout's previous ER book Olive Kitteridge, so I am quite looking forward to getting it.

I've long wanted to read the Caro books on LBJ.

Did you see that this year's Wrigley Field concert is Pearl Jam? I think I'll skip it, this year.

I must say, I'm finding the Caro book fascinating, even though I'm a fair way into it and LBJ hasn't been born yet. :-) I sure am learning a lot about Texas geography, though.

I have a good friend who is a huge Pearl Jam fan and she is over the moon at the prospect of seeing them at Wrigley. I like them OK, but it couldn't possibly top the Springsteen shows for me so I'll let someone else have the seats who will really appreciate them.

Good luck with the Caro book Julia - fancy it myself too if truth be known. I know there is the Presidential challenge group somewhere about and that Jim and others are in there doing their stuff. What do you think is the best Presidential biography you have read?

Paul, I am just getting started with reading presidential biographies so I'm not sure I have a "best" just yet. I went through a period of being rather obsessed with JFK so I've read quite a bit about him, but the best book about him that I've read was Death of a President by William Manchester. An amazing "you are there" book about the assassination.

Other than that, I've read the usual superficial stuff on Lincoln and Washington. I did read and enjoy American Sphinx last year about Thomas Jefferson. There are so many good presidential biographies out there that I want to read, though.

hey... little while back you posted on my thread about looking forward to dystopia recs... well I finished one titled Partials and thought that you may be interested in a peek at it... barnes and noble has a free ebook with like the first five chapters... along with a few other YA dystopias.... don't know if you are an YA kind of person... but I read this free sampler and have ended up reading all but three so far... but I'm on my way.... Happy reading! :)

http://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/hunger-for-dystopian-teen-sampler-various/110802...

Thanks for the tip, Jennifer! I'll have to check that one out. The description sounds intriguing for sure.

>174 rosalita: 2) not spend too much time over-analyzing but just sum up a bit of the story and give my reaction
I share your resolution #2!
I resisted writing reviews for a long time as I felt I wold need to agonise over them to get them perfect, now I just bang one out, and sometimes they are good and sometimes average at best (just as sometimes I am writing them with a toddler grizzling at me to give him some deserved attention, and sometimes I am not!)

I don't have the toddler excuse for my poor reviews, unless you count my inner toddler who is constantly pointing at things and shouting "Shiny!" when I am trying to concentrate on something. :-)

I'm all caught up here, Julia, and so sorry that it has taken me so long. I had the Nero Wolfe that you just finished rereading ordered from the library, and it finally came in, so I checked it out and brought it home. Picked it up today to start reading it and guess what? I am gonna go out on a limb and say that the last person reading it was drinking coffee or soda and had a major spill - no, just no. So I returned it today, and then I could not believe my luck because what had just arrived for me at the library hold desk - Before Midnight! So, I will be reading a different one than I had planned. I did, however, in my post library glee purchase Some Buried Caesar for my Kindle! So there.

I also have the first on the Rizzoli and Isles loaded on my Kindle - a digital download from the library, so it is a strange twist of fate that you are also discussing those books here. Serendipitous for sure! Hoping that today was kind to you and that you have a Friday full of fabulous waiting just around the corner.

Julia- Congrats on snagging The Burgess Boys. I won a copy a couple months ago and plan to read it in February. I was also crazy about Olive!

Oh, Rex Stout talk! I have never read him and I now have his first book, Fer-de-Lance lined up for sometime in the near future. Looking forward to trying him.

I've added Death of a President to my tbr pile. Thanks for mentioning this book.

Mamie, no apologies necessary! I'm happy to have you stop by whenever you can squeeze it in. I don't blame you for rejecting the stained book — that really bothers me too when it's a library book. You just have no idea what it is. But how great that you got the other Stout book! And then bought 'Caesar' for your Kindle — so you are all set! I'll look forward to your reviews. That is very strange that you are also just starting the Rizzoli and Isles series. It's like we are book twins right now!

Thanks, Mark! I'm looking forward to it.

Judy, I will look with interest for your comments when you've finished 'Fer-de-Lance'. I do hope you like it.

Linda, glad I could return the favor of adding to your wishlist. :-) It's quite a fascinating book, as I remember it.

Congrats on your Burgess Boys win! I won it, too, a month or so ago and plan to get to it soon. Everyone seems to love it!

HI Julia, just stopping by to say hello. The Burgess Boys seems t be a big hit here. I've read Strout's Amy and Isabelle and have Olive Kitteridge and Abide with Me on my TBR shelves.

Thanks, Joanne. It does seem to have gotten pretty solid reviews so far.

Katie, thanks for dropping in. I've only read 'Olive Kitteridge' of Strout's books, but I should look those others up, too. Did you like 'Amy and Isabelle'?

I did, but it was years ago so I don't remember much about it....

I can barely remember the books I read last December. :-)

I read books?

Ha!

"I can barely remember the books I read last December."

How true! Unless a book makes a huge impression, I sometimes forget if I read it, or if I own it.

It is frustrating the number of times I purchased a book, only to find I previously read it, and/or own it.

Oh, I know exactly what you mean, Linda!

Hi Julia! I believe I'm all caught up now. Great reviews, particularly of A Possible Life, which I believe I'll pass on and Some Buried Caesar, which I will throw on the wishlist.

Interesting discussion of ebooks as well (sorry I'm so late to the discussion.) Due to the outrageous numbers of errors I've found in e-versions of older, converted books, I'm trying to make a point of staying away from them....except when I run into $1.99 sales and that sort of thing. My plan is to only purchase recently published books as ebooks and download free out-of-copyright ebooks. And then there's the whole libraries and publishers issue, but there seems to be some progress on that front lately.

Also, glad to hear you're feeling better!

Thanks for swinging by, Kerri. I hope you like 'Some Buried Caesar' when you get to it. Have you read any of the other Nero Wolfe series?

I have also been very disappointed in the number of typos and other errors in older books converted to ebooks, and even in some newer books. It's really sloppy and frustrating, and I agree with your plan to not spend very much money if at all. Truthfully, most of the ebooks I read are either library books or freebies.

*waving* at Julia

*waving back at Stasia as she swings by*

More or less caught up with you, Julia! I feel your pain over writing reviews. Every now and then I feel that a book is so good that I simply must write a review -but I find it to be a challenge and sometimes it holds up my reading. This year, I have resolved to only write a review when I feel like it. That said, I do enjoy reading others comments and reviews, so as to chose my next book! Tis a quandry!

Glad you are feeling better. As for the flu, I've read that it is only about the flu shot is only 50 % effective this year, due to new strains etc.

Deb, I think you have a sensible review policy! I've heard the flu shot is around 60% effective, but either way those aren't great odds, are they? I do think that if I had not gotten a flu shot it would have been more severe and not just four days of misery, so there's that to console me.

I did not love Amy and Isabelle but others have... It was not a happy ending / all tied up at the end and I wanted more. It was about a dysfunctional mother / daughter relationship. That's pretty much all I remember from reading it in 2012. That doesn't bode well for you, huh? :)

60% effective??? My bosses 'insisted' that I get it, even though Lisa has already had the flu after being vaccinated and I didn't get it. If I get it now, I'll be one peeved gal!

Tina, it certainly doesn't sound like an overly memorable book, no!

My understanding is that the strain of flu that has been most prevalent this year is not part of the vaccine, thus its less effectiveness. Still, it's better than nothing, I suppose.

Spring IS right around the corner, right? Right?!

I see none of you weather forecasters answered by question about spring, so I'll just have to assume I'm right and it is indeed just around the corner. :-)

I am currently reading a book that is irritating the ever-loving daylights out of me. It's so annoying that I can't read too much at one stretch without wanting to throw it across the room, but I need to finish it so I can write a scathing review. As I'm reading, I keep getting distracted by thoughts of perfect insults to hurl in its general direction. Hey, it's not easy being me.

Ooooh, what book is it?

*sits down to await scathing review*

That's what I was doing with Drawing Blood, which I just finished - I kept pausing long enough to plot out how I'd express my opinion of this bit (which relieved the pain enough that I could keep reading). Though my review ended up being relatively mild - just "not for me".

Katie, the book is E Street Shuffle: The Glory Days of Bruce Springsteen and the E Street Band. It's one of the rare biographies I've ever read where the author expresses open contempt for his subject. Not to mention ... no, wait! I have to save it for the review!

Mamie, you just make yourself comfy! Can I get you anything? Some tea, wine, bourbon? I just got some Girl Scout cookies from my dealer today — Thin Mints, Thanks-a-Lots, Lemonades. Anything sound good?

Jennifer, it does help you get through the bad ones, doesn't it? I'm glad I'm not the only one.

Thank you for asking - I'll have some Thin Mints and a glass of wine, please.

Coming right up!

No Samoas?? Wine for me too please!

Skipping the Bruce bio, for sure!

You're just in time, Tina. Mamie and I were about to finish off the bottle. *hiccup*

Looking forward to that review!

I hope to get it up this weekend, Donna. I didn't get any more of the hateful book read last night because I had to watch the Iowa Hawkeyes lose a real heartbreaker of a basketball game in double overtime to the despised Wisconsin Badgers (apologies to any cheeseheads out there). It's been one of those seasons — every game comes down to the wire and more often than not the luck runs the other way.

I enjoy scathing reviews a lot, especially when they're not reviews of a book I own! Looking forward to it...

I had a book like that too.... The Hollow by Jessica Verday I hated the main character so much that I was going to quit reading it... but I said to myself "Jennifer, you paid $16.00 for this book.... you WILL finish it...." and I did.... and I still hated it.... but I bought and read the two sequels that followed and enjoyed them much better.... LOL

Heather, it's coming right up!

Jennifer, I am amazed that you actually read the two sequels to a book you hated, and even more amazed that you liked them. You are a better woman than I, for sure!

18. E Street Shuffle: The Glory Days of Bruce Springsteen and the E Street Band, Clinton Heylin.

This book is meant to "chronicle the evolution and influence of Springsteen’s E Street Band as they rose from blue-collar New Jersey to the heights of rock stardom." (That's straight from the book jacket.) What it really is is a poorly written, thinly sourced, morally bankrupt hatchet job that denigrates and belittles the artist it's meant to celebrate.

How did I hate this book? Let me count the ways …

1. The book has virtually no original reporting in it at all. Nearly every page has one or more paragraph-length excerpts of interviews of Bruce Springsteen from other printed sources.

The author did not speak to Bruce or, as far as I can tell, anyone except Bruce's first producer/manager, who Springsteen ended up suing in the late 1970s to get released from a bad contract, and the original drummer in the band who was fired after punching out another guy in the studio. Naturally, both of those people are portrayed extremely positively; the author takes the side of the producer/manager (Mike Appel) to an almost laughable extent. Seriously, I have read a fair bit about the lawsuit and that whole period and nothing I've read ever claimed that Springsteen was completely blameless in what happened, but this guy makes him seem like some combination of Machiavelli and Lenny from 'Of Mice and Men'.

2. The author repeatedly asserts that none of Springsteen's recordings with the E Street Band come close to replicating the magic that they conjure in a live show. Fair enough; that's a common assertion by rock critics and fans all over the world. But the author seems to feel that simply asserting that as his opinion is sufficient; he offers absolutely nothing to try to explain what it is about the live Springsteen concert experience that so thoroughly has captivated and mesmerized fans and critics over the past 40 years. By contrast, Springsteen biographers Dave Marsh and Peter Ames Carlin both managed to convey the magic and the mystery that happens when the E Street Band comes together on a stage in front of an audience.

3. In the album by album chronology of the book, the author repeatedly mocks and denigrates the process by which Springsteen, his band, and his subsequent producer/manager Jon Landau (who is clearly held in the highest contempt by the author) managed to produce albums that have sold tens of millions of copies and been listed by respected critics* as among the very best rock records ever produced.

* A sidetone: Every critic who ever wrote a complimentary review of one of these albums (i.e., disagreed with the author's viewpoint) is a sycophantic fool; writers who voiced reservations or criticism of Springsteen or his albums are portrayed as bravely speaking truth to power.

The author criticizes the song choices, the recording process, the sequencing of the songs on the albums, the choice of cover art — pretty much everything. With every album, he has a list of songs that are supposedly so superior to the ones that made the final cut that only an idiot would have left them off the record. Some of these discarded songs, which were later released on a boxed set, are amazing cuts, no doubt about it. But the author curtly refuses to take into account the fact that they were not included because they did not fit the mood or theme of the album being recorded, as Springsteen (you know, the guy whose name is on the record) conceived it.

4. Some of the songs that the author holds in highest esteem have still never been released in any official way, either as B-sides of singles or in the compilation set of unreleased songs called "Tracks". So how does the author know these unreleased tracks are so great? How did he happen to hear them? By purchasing illegal bootleg* records of studio sessions that were stolen from Springsteen and then sold to fans. This is where the morally corrupt charge comes in. The author makes no apologies for buying studio bootlegs; indeed, he seems to feel that he and other Springsteen fans are entitled to hear everything the man has ever recorded, whether he himself felt it was suitable for public listening or not. And that's just wrong.

* There are two types of bootlegs when it comes to music: There are live bootlegs, surreptitious fan recordings of concerts that are traded or sold among fans, and there are studio bootlegs, which are copies of the tape that is recorded during studio sessions when albums are being produced. Some people think all bootlegs are wrong. I have a more nuanced viewpoint which is important to this review. I have a number of live bootlegs, of Springsteen and other artists, and I don't apologize for it. To my mind, the difference is that those live bootlegs are recordings of public performances; in other words, the music was meant to be heard by fans. Studio bootlegs, on the other hand, are recordings that the artist for whatever reason chose not to release to the public. Some of those unreleased recordings might even be superior to material that was officially released but that is irrelevant; the point is that the artist did not intend anyone to hear them outside of the studio and therefore fans and even self-important writers have absolutely no right to listen to them, let along make someone else rich by purchasing them.

5. For a book with the subtitle "The Glory Days of Bruce Springsteen and the E Street Band" there is virtually nothing about the individual members of the E Street Band. If they are so important (and they are) why does the author ignore their contributions? The relationships between Bruce and Steven Van Zandt, and between Bruce and Clarence Clemons, are legendary. For all this book tells you about them, they might as well have met via classified ad.

6. I left this one for last because I freely admit it's a petty criticism. The book is just poorly written. The author (who is apparently British) uses words like "gotta" and "gonna" and "ain't" repeatedly in the narrative of the book ad apparently without irony. If the rest of the book had been worthwhile, this would have resulted in no more than the occasional eye-roll and a footnote in the review. But the rest of the book is crap, and thus I'm piling on with this final gripe.

If anyone reading this is interested in a decent, objective biography of Bruce Springsteen that doesn't shy away from criticizing him or his actions when it's warranted but also manages to explore all the reasons why and how he became one of the biggest and most acclaimed rock and roll singer-songwriters of his generation, I'd recommend Bruce by Peter Ames Carlin. As for this piece of dreck, it's the rare music biography that isn't suitable either for diehard or casual fans.

Ok, E Street Shuffle is firmly crossed off my list. Sorry you had such a disappointing read, Julia. Fingers crossed that your next book is much, much better.

Actually, Judy, my next book was much better! It was an ER book, Black Irish by Stephen Talty. I need to review it soon so I can wash the taste of this one out of my mouth!

And I just picked up Sharp Objects by Gillian Flynn at the library. I'm curious to see how it compares to 'Gone Girl'.

Ooh, Sharp Objects was creepy. Not quite as polished as GG but very good for a debut novel.

Hi Julia- Great review of E Street Shuffle! It sounds like quite a stinker. I thought Heylin was a good writer? I read one of his Dylan bios years ago.
I hope you enjoy sharp Objects much more. I loved it, although it is extremely dark & twisted.

Julia - I think that I enjoyed reading your scathing review of E Street Shuffle much more than I would have enjoyed the actual book. Thanks for saving me from that one!

love your review of E Street Shuffle. Whew, did you feel better after writing your thoughts/feelings?

And a big thumbs up for your thumbs down on E Street Shuffle. You tell him, Julia!

Katie, thanks for the mini-review of 'Sharp Objects'. I'm looking forward to some creepy!

Mark, apparently his Dylan bios (good grief there are a lot of them!) are much better. He must actually like Dylan's music. In fact, I think this book exhibited some striving to prove that Springsteen being hyped as 'the new Dylan' at the start of his career was an insult to Bobby Z.

Amy, I aim to serve! I have to say I enjoyed writing the review much more than reading the book.

Linda, I do feel better. Although, I keep thinking of other things about the book that made me mad. Seriously, every time I read through the review I think, "Oh, I can't believe I didn't mention ..." But it's already far too long as it is. :-)

Stephen, it is a travesty of a biography. I am indignant on Springsteen's behalf and I'm pretty sure he doesn't need me to stick up for him!

Thanks for the no holds barred review of the Springsteen "bio". Well done but too bad you had to suffer through the book. Such an awful book doesn't deserve such an entertaining review!

wow! Bravo for plowing to the end of a one star read!! Very brave of you! I think I would have chucked it! Excellent review, though.

Joanne, I'm glad it was entertaining! It's awfully long, but then there was a lot to hate.

Deborah, I came so close to chucking it so many times, but I couldn't because I was so looking forwarding to writing the review. :-)

Super review of a book you hated!! You are a better reader than I, dear friend. Methinks I would have tossed it aside!

My rage kept me reading, Tina. :-)

Hi Julia! Nice review! I appreciate your rage and love for Bruce. Gosh, there's some terrible music journalism out there. Unfortunately, the standards aren't very high.

Kerry, that is very true about music journalism. Usually you either get the overly sycophantic rainbows-and-unicorns version, or you get the sensationalized tell-all. Very few writers seem capable of a clear, careful, nuanced, and objective biography.

Things that make me ridiculously happy today: I bought a new purse/bag (a messenger-style bag, really) recently, so I had to transfer all my junk from my old bag to my new one. It's a good chance to stop and think, "Why the heck am I carrying that around with me everyday?!" and dump some stuff out.

BUT, the best part was that amongst all the detritus lurking at the bottom of my old bag was a $50 gift certificate to Prairie Lights Books! Now my mind is racing with ideas of what to spend it on!

ETA: AND I found a gift card for the same bookstore that has $40 on it! That's $90 to spend on books. I feel dizzy with anticipation. :-D

Oh, my, Julia - that is a good start to the day!

Katie, I spent my whole lunch hour looking up books from my wishlist and making lists of various combinations that would get me the most book for my bucks. :-)

For all of my fellow NPR nerds:

>220 rosalita:: My current read is a musical biography more in the rainbows-and-unicorns line, fortunately by a writer talented enough that I don't mind the whitewash. But the Heylin ... ugh, sounds awful. Thanks for reading it so we don't have to.

Julia, I loved your scathing review - thanks for taking one for the team! Can't wait to read your thoughts on Black Irish and glad to hear that you liked it better than the previous book. I have not read any Gillian Flynn, but I do have Gone Girl in the stacks. Hope you have a lovely Thursday!

#240 by swynn> May I ask who is the subject of the music biography? Though I guess I should wait and be surprised when you post your review on your thread. And you're right that the quality of the writing can make even problematic books palatable.

#241 by Crazymamie> How funny that we were posting on each other's threads at the same time! I will look forward to your thoughts on 'Gone Girl' when you get around to it. It's a memorable book, that's for sure.

>240 swynn:: The subject is the composer and songwriter Kurt Weill, who you'd think was a saint from his treatment in Ethan Mordden's Love Song : the lives of Kurt Weill and Lotte Lenya. And what do I know, maybe he was.

It's also about Lotte Lenya, who comes across (unfairly, I think) as enchanting but so frivolous you wonder why St. Weill bothered; and Bertolt Brecht, who comes across (more fairly, I think) as a megalomaniac.

Well, it sounds fairly interesting anyway, even though I don't know much at all about Weill. Isn't he the guy who wrote "Mack the Knife"? I'm sure he has much more distinguished credits to his name.

>244 rosalita:: Yep, "Mack the Knife" was his & Brecht's, the opening song of their Singspiel "Threepenny Opera," which hasn't a dud in the score. His work includes program music, operas, song cycles, musical theater and film scores.

Other credits include

Moon of Alabama

September Song

Speak Low (When You Speak Love)

Lotte Lenya was an actress and singer, Weill's wife (twice) and, it's said, his muse.

>220 rosalita: LOL
Love your review. Telling it like it is!

>233 rosalita: your rage kept me reading your review too :)
It really worked!

Placing E Street Shuffle firmly on my 'Do Not Read' list!

Thanks, Megan!

You've made a wise decision, Stasia. :-)

$90 for books!!!! Yipeeeeeeeeeee!

I bet you are going to be dancing for joy when you make that trip! Can't wait to see what you choose!

Tina, it's going to be epic for me. I can't remember I walked into a full-price bookstore and bought actual paper books that weren't a gift for someone else! I think I'm having "performance anxiety" — I want to make sure that I buy the absolute best and most books for the money that I can. :-)

HI rosalita,

woah $90 for books! Yep, I seriously can understand your possible "performance anxiety" I had that last year when I got for my birthday a total of 70 Euro in book vouchers from our local book shop. I spend over 3 hours in there, because I didn't know what to get. Ahem, it took me in the end 5 trips to spend the money and my family was completely buffled by that *grin*. They thought I would spend the money in less then 10 minutes.

Wish you good luck on your book spending and I wish you a wonderful weekend!

woot woot!!!!.... $90 in book money.... I know that would put a pretty good dent in my wishlist!.... hope you have a great time spending all your book money!!!

Thank you, Bianca and Jennifer. I am still debating my list; it's an enjoyable way to spend a gloomy Saturday.

Please join me on my new thread! Just click the continuation link below.