lindapanzo's 999 x 2 part 2

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lindapanzo's 999 x 2 part 2

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1lindapanzo
Editado: Dez 29, 2009, 1:04 am




After finishing my first 999 challenge, I've started a second. The first thread about this 999 x 2 challenge is at:
http://www.librarything.com/topic/64075&newpost=1#lastmsg

I'm finished with my second 999 challenge!!!

My categories for 999 x 2 include:

More Cozy Mysteries--READ 9 OUT OF 9
CATEGORY FINISHED ON DEC 19

More Baseball Books--READ 9 OUT OF 9
CATEGORY FINISHED ON DEC 28

More General Nonfiction--READ 9 OUT OF 9
CATEGORY FINISHED ON NOV 18

Christmas Mysteries--READ 9 OUT OF 9
CATEGORY FINISHED ON DEC 21

Authors/Series New to Me--READ 9 OUT OF 9
CATEGORY FINISHED ON NOV 26

Next in the Series--READ 9 OUT OF 9
CATEGORY FINISHED ON DEC 25

Sports, But Not Baseball--READ 9 OUT OF 9
CATEGORY FINISHED ON DEC 6

Biographies/Autobiographies--READ 9 OUT OF 9
CATEGORY FINISHED ON DEC 10

Art and Architecture--READ 9 OUT OF 9
CATEGORY FINISHED ON DEC 27

2lindapanzo
Editado: Dez 20, 2009, 2:30 pm

CATEGORY 1

MORE COZY MYSTERIES--READ 9 OUT OF 9
CATEGORY FINISHED ON DEC 19

1. Cream Puff Murder by Joanne Fluke--READ IN MAY '09
2. Finger Lickin' Fifteen by Janet Evanovich--READ IN JULY '09
3. Dare to Die by Carolyn Hart--READ IN AUGUST '09
4. Goody, Goody Gunshots by Sammi Carter--READ IN AUGUST '09
5. Dead Hot Shot by Victoria Houston--READ IN AUGUST '09
6. Sheer Folly by Carola Dunn--READ IN OCTOBER 2009
7. Blackwork by Monica Ferris--READ IN OCTOBER 2009
8. The Chocolate Cupid Killings by JoAnna Carl--READ IN OCTOBER 2009
9. Mrs. Malory and Any Man's Death by Hazel Holt--READ IN DEC 2009

--A Plateful of Murder by Claudia Bishop
--Tragic Magic by Laura Childs
--Manna from Hades by Carola Dunn
--The Crafty Teddy by John J. Lamb
--Death at Victoria Dock by Kerry Greenwood
--The Prophet Murders by Mehmet Murat Somer
--Latte Trouble by Cleo Coyle
--Loco Motive by Mary Daheim

3lindapanzo
Editado: Dez 29, 2009, 1:05 am

CATEGORY 2

MORE BASEBALL BOOKS--READ 9 OUT OF 9
CATEGORY FINISHED!!!

1. Fergie: My Life from the Cubs to Cooperstown by Fergie Jenkins--READ IN AUG '09
2. Cooperstown Confidential by Zev Chafets--READ IN AUG '09
3. Tony La Russa: Man on a Mission by Rob Rains--READ IN SEPT '09
4. The Complete Game by Ron Darling--READ IN OCT '09
5. The Final Season by Tom Stanton--READ IN NOV '09
6. Sixty Feet, Six Inches: A Hall of Fame Pitcher and a Hall of Fame Hitter Talk About How the Game is Played by Reggie Jackson and Bob Gibson--READ IN DEC '09
7. Sandy Koufax: A Lefty's Legacy by Jane Leavy--READ IN DEC '09
8. Baseball: A History of America's Favorite Game by George Vecsey--READ IN DEC '09
9. Baseball and the Mythic Moment: How We Remember the National Game by James D. Hardy--READ IN DEC '09

--El Birdos by Doug Feldmann
--Echoing Green by Joshua Prager
--Shoeless Joe by W.P. Kinsella
--The Greatest Ballpark Ever by Bob McGee
--Yogi Berra: Eternal Yankee by Allan Barra
--Scoring from Second
--As They See 'Em: A Fan's Travels in the Land of Umpires by Bruce Weber
--Center Field Shot:A History of Baseball on Television by James R. Walker
--My Turn at Bat by Ted Williams
--Pull Up a Chair by Vin Scully
--The Yankee Years by Joe Torre
--Your Brain on Cubs by Dan Gordon
--Bottom of the Ninth by Michael Shapiro (out in May)
--The Psychology of Baseball by Mike Stadler
--The 33-Year Old Rookie by Chris Coste
--Crazy '08
--Northsiders

4lindapanzo
Editado: Nov 19, 2009, 12:28 am

CATEGORY 3

MORE GENERAL NONFICTION--READ 9 OUT of 9
CATEGORY FINISHED!!

1. 1969: The Year Everything Changed by Rob Kirkpatrick--READ IN JUNE '09
2. Columbine by Dave Cullen--READ IN JUNE '09
3. The Good Doctors by John Dittmer (Early Reviewers)
4. Racing Odysseus: A College President Becomes a Freshman Again by Roger H. Martin--READ IN SEPT '09
5. In the President's Secret Service by Ronald Kessler--READ IN SEPT '09
6. Tornado Hunter: Getting Inside the Most Violent Storms on Earth by Stefan Bechtel--READ IN OCT '09
7. Fly by Wire: The Geese, The Glide, The Miracle on the Hudson by William Langwiesche--READ IN NOV '09
8. Under the Sabers by Tanya Biank--READ IN NOV '09
9. SuperFreakonomics by Steven D. Levitt and Stephen J. Dubner--READ IN NOV

--Connected: The Surprising Power of Our Social Networks and How They Shape Our Lives by Nicholas A. Christakis
--Plain Honest Men: The Making of the American Constitution by Richard Beeman
--Bright-Sided by Barbara Ehrenreich
--Heart of Power by Blumenthal
--In a Time of War: The Proud and Perilous Journey of West Point's Class of 2002 by Bill Murphy
--The Great Good Place

--The Light Within: The Extraordinary Friendship of a Doctor and Patient Brought Together by Cancer by Lois M. Ramondetta
--The Narcissism Epidemic
--Seven Pleasures
--Nine Lives
--Undaunted Courage by Stephen Ambrose
-- Forgotten Patriots: The Untold Story of American Prisoners During the Revolutionary War by Edwin Burrows
--Eiffel's Tower by Jill Jonnes
--The Courage of Their Convictions by Peter Irons
--Outliers by Malcoln Gladwell
--Chicago: A Biography by Dominic A. Pacyga--Chaos Scenario by Bob Garfield
--Mouse Trap by Kevin Yee
--Mouse Under Glass by David Koenig
--More Mouse Tales by David Koenig
--Realityland by David Koenig

5lindapanzo
Editado: Dez 22, 2009, 12:04 am

CATEGORY 4

CHRISTMAS MYSTERIES--READ 9 OUT OF 9
CATEGORY FINISHED ON DEC 21

1. Christmas Is Murder by C. S. Challinor--READ IN AUGUST '09
2. Plum Pudding Murder by Joanne Fluke--READ IN OCT '09
3. A Christmas Promise by Anne Perry--READ IN OCT '09
4. A Rumpole Christmas by John Mortimer--READ IN NOV '09
5. Mrs Jeffries and the Yuletide Weddings by Emily Brightwell--READ IN NOV '09
6. A Wee Christmas Homicide by Kaitlyn Dunnett--READ IN DEC '09
7. Slay Bells by Kate Kingsbury--READ IN DEC '09
8. Merry Merry Ghost by Carolyn Hart--READ IN DEC '09
9. The Body in the Sleigh by Katherine Hall Page--READ IN DEC '09

--Murder with All the Trimmings by Elaine Viets
--A Catered Christmas by Isis Crawford
--Shrouds of Holly by Kate Kingsbury
--Ringing in Murder by Kate Kingsbury
--Decked with Folly by Kate Kingsbury
--Fleece Navidad by Maggie Sefton

6lindapanzo
Editado: Nov 27, 2009, 1:18 am

CATEGORY 5

AUTHORS/SERIES NEW TO ME--READ 9 OUT OF 9
CATEGORY FINISHED

1. Indemnity Only by Sara Paretsky--READ IN JULY '09
2. Deal Breaker by Harlan Coben--READ IN AUGUST '09
3. Admission by Jean Hanff Korelitz--READ IN SEPT '09
4. Navy Wife by Debbie Macomber--READ IN SEPT '09
5. The No. 1 Ladies' Detective Agency by Alexander McCall Smith--READ IN SEPT '09
6. When Did We Lose Harriet? by Patricia Sprinkle--READ IN SEPT '09
7. Maisie Dobbs by Jacqueline Winspear--READ IN OCT '09
8. The Raphael Affair by Iain Pears--READ IN NOV '09
9. The Ninth Daughter by Barbara Hamilton--READ IN NOV '09

--Deadly Nightshade by Cynthia Riggs
--The Face of a Stranger by Anne Perry
--Murder in the Marais by Cara Black
--A Duty to the Dead by Charles Todd
--The Case of the Roasted Onion by Claudia Bishop
--Death at la Fenice by Donna Leon
--No Graves as Yet by Anne Perry
--Burglars Can't Be Choosers by Lawrence Block
--The Emperor of Ocean Park by Stephen L. Carter
--A Cold Day for Murder by Dana Stabenow
--Murder on the Iditarod Trail by Sue Henry
--Eggs in Purgatory by Laura Childs
--Carbs and Cadavers by J.B. Stanley
--Room with a Clue by Kate Kingsbury

7lindapanzo
Editado: Dez 26, 2009, 12:20 am

CATEGORY 6

NEXT IN THE SERIES--READ 9 OUT OF 9
category finished on Dec 25

1. Summer on Blossom Street by Debbie Macomber--READ IN JUNE '09
2. The Second Confession by Rex Stout--READ IN AUGUST '09
3. Drop Shot by Harlan Coben--READ IN AUGUST '09
4. Skull Duggery by Aaron Elkins--READ IN SEPT '09
5. The Brutal Telling by Louise Penny--READ IN SEPT '09
6. The Lost Symbol by Dan Brown--READ IN SEPT '09
7. Kindred in Death by J.D. Robb--READ IN NOV '09
8. The Mirror and the Mask by Ellen Hart--READ IN DEC 09
9. Bookplate Special by Lorna Barrett--READ IN DEC '09

--Killer Crab Cakes by Livia J. Washburn
--The Lost Art of Gratitude by Alexander McCall Smith
--An Irish Country Village by Patrick Taylor
--Rutland Place by Anne Perry
--The Alpine Gamble by Mary Daheim
--Will You Still Love Me Tomorrow by Ed Gorman
--Deadlock by Sara Paretsky
--Wings of Fire by Charles Todd
--Tragic Magic by Laura Childs
--Eggs Benedict Arnold by Laura Childs
--311 Pelican Court by Debbie Macomber
--Water Like a Stone by Deborah Crombie
--Death du Jour by Kathy Reichs

8lindapanzo
Editado: Dez 7, 2009, 1:31 pm

CATEGORY 7

SPORTS BUT NOT BASEBALL--READ 9 OUT OF 9
CATEGORY FINISHED

1. When March Went Mad: The Game That Transformed Basketball by Seth Davis--READ IN MARCH '09 (duplicate with challenge 1--general nonfiction)
2. Between the Lines by Ray Scapinello (with Rob Simpson)--READ IN MARCH '09 (duplicate with challenge 1--general nonfiction)
3. Frozen in Time: The Enduring Legacy of the 1961 U.S. Figure Skating Team by Nikki Nichols--READ IN MAY '09 (overlaps with disasters category in challenge 1)
4. Red and Me: My Coach, My Lifelong Friend by Bill Russell--READ IN AUGUST '09 (overlaps with biographies)
5. Open Ice: Confessions of a Hockey Lifer by Jack Falla--READ IN OCT
6. A Few Seconds of Panic by Stefan Fatsis--READ IN NOV
7. The Ice Bowl: The Cold Truth about Football's Most Unforgettable Game by Ed Gruver--READ IN NOV
8. Jean Beliveau: My Life in Hockey by Jean Beliveau--READ IN NOV
9. When the Game Was Ours by Larry Bird and Earvin Magic Johnson

--Brodeur: Beyond the Crease by Martin Brodeur
--Pistol: A Biography of Pete Maravich by Mark Kriegel
--Thunder and Lightning: A No-B.S. Hockey Memoir by Phil Esposito
--The Punch: One Night, Two Lives, and the Fight That Changed Basketball Forever by John Feinstein
--The Best Game Ever by Mark Bowden
--How Football Explains America

--Friday Night Lights by Buzz Bissinger
--Age Is Just a Number by Dara Torres

9lindapanzo
Editado: Dez 11, 2009, 12:26 am

CATEGORY 8

BIOGRAPHIES/AUTOBIOGRAPHIES--READ 9 OUT OF 9
CATEGORY FINISHED

1. Society's Child: An Autobiography by Janis Ian--READ IN APRIL '09 (duplicate with challenge 1--general nonfiction)
2. My Life and Hard Times by James Thurber--READ IN JULY '09
3. Red and Me: My Coach, My Lifelong Friend by Bill Russell--READ IN AUGUST '09 (overlaps with sports)
4. Lost in the Meritocracy: The Undereducation of an Overachiever by Walter Kirn--READ IN SEPT '09
5. Elvis Presley by Bobbie Ann Mason--READ IN SEPT '09
6. Frank Lloyd Wright by Ada Louise Huxtable--READ IN OCT '09
7. Leonardo da Vinci by Sherwin Nuland--READ IN NOV '09
8. Jean Beliveau: My Life in Hockey by Jean Beliveau--READ IN NOV
9. Journey of a Thousand Miles by Lang Lang--READ IN DEC

--True Compass by Edward Kennedy
--Charles Schulz and Peanuts: A Biography by David Michaelis
--Louis D. Brandeis: A Life by Melvin Urofsky
--Mozart by Peter Gay
--Girls Like Us: Carole King, Joni Mitchell, Carly Simon by Sheila Weller
--Winston Churchill by John Keegan
--Last Lion: The Fall and Rise of Ted Kennedy
--American Pharaoh (Richard J. Daley)
--Walt Disney bio
--Robert Wagner bio
--Martin Luther King bio
--David Hackett Souter: Traditional Republican On The Rehnquist Court by Tinsley E. Yarbrough

10lindapanzo
Editado: Dez 27, 2009, 6:48 pm

CATEGORY 9

Art and Architecture--READ 9 OUT OF 9
CATEGORY FINISHED

1. The Plan of Chicago: Daniel Burnham and the Remaking of the American City by Carl Smith
(overlaps with 999 challenge 1 Chicago category)
2. The Look of Architecture by Witold Rybczynski--READ IN AUGUST '09
3. The Gardner Heist: The True Story of the World's Largest Unsolved Art Theft by Ulrich Boser--READ IN AUGUST '09
4. American Gothic by Thomas Hoving--READ IN SEPT '09
5. American Gothic: A Life of America's Most Famous Painting by Steven Biel--READ IN OCT '09
6. Frank Lloyd Wright by Ada Louise Huxtable--READ IN OCT '09
7. The Raphael Affair by Iain Pears--READ IN NOV '09
8. Leonardo da Vinci by Sherwin Nuland--READ IN NOV '09
9. Staying Up Much Too Late: Edward Hopper's Nighthawks and the Dark Side of the American Psych by Gordon Theisen--READ IN DEC '09

--The Titian Committee by Iain Pears
--Norman Rockwell's Christmas
--Holidays on Display by William L. Bird
--Looking Around: A Journey Through Architecture by Witold Rybczynski
--Museum by Danny Danzier
--Luncheon of the Boating Party by Susan Vreeland
--Conquering Gotham: Building Penn Station and Its Tunnels by Jill Jonnes
--My Love Affair with Modern Art by Katharine Kuh
--Realityland by David Koenig
--The American Porch: An Informal History of an Informal Place by Michael Dolan
--A Clearing in the Distance by Witold Rybczynski
--The Great Bridge: The Epic Story of the Building of the Brooklyn Bridge by David McCullough
--The Path Between the Seas by David McCullough
--Why Buildings Fall Down by Matthys Levy
--Robert Moses and the Modern City by Hilary Ballon
--St Louis: The Evolution of an Urban Landscape by Eric Sandweiss
--Edward Hopper: An Intimate Biography by Gail Levin
--Edward Hopper: The Art and the Artist by Gail Levin
--Crabgrass Frontier by Kenneth T. Jackson
--Home: A Short History of an Idea by Witold Rybczynski
--The Lost Museum by Hector Feliciano
--The Rape of Europa by Lynn H. Nicholas
--Inland Architecture by Philip Bess
--A Place of My Own: The Architecture of Daydreams by Michael Pollan

11MusicMom41
Set 25, 2009, 1:41 pm

Thanks for the link! It makes it easy to follow you. I'm impressed that you will probably acomplish teo 999 cchallenges this year. I'm reading my last two books for my 999 right now. After that "free reading" until I decide what to do in 2010!

12sjmccreary
Set 25, 2009, 1:50 pm

You're making amazing progress. I can't believe that you're about to finish 2 complete challenges!

13lindapanzo
Editado: Set 25, 2009, 1:56 pm

I figure I'll have 39 books left at the end of the month so 13 per month doesn't sound so bad. I think I've got 2 that will count for two categories so it'll really be only 37 books.

I can read 37 though, increasingly, I might have more "non-99 challenge" books as I go along.

I'm glad you guys "found" your way over here.

14MusicMom41
Set 25, 2009, 3:14 pm

I glanced over your lists and noticed you have Death at la Fenice by Donna Leon and Maisie Dobbs by Jacqueline Winspear on your list of New Authors/Series that you are considering. I read the Donna Leon book this summer and enjoyed it a lot. In fact, I've already bought the second one, Death in a Strange Country. Maisie Dobbs is one of my favorite series; I've read all but the last two. I like the post WWI England setting, which is the same setting for the Lord Peter series. But in Maisie you see it from the "downstairs" point of view. Some people object to Maisie's "intuitive gift" but I think that adds to the charm of the story. (I also like "magical realism.")

15lindapanzo
Set 27, 2009, 10:18 pm

The Lost Symbol by Dan Brown

This is the new bestselling thriller. Langdon is back, this time in a situation involving Masons and Washington DC.

Not the greatest book ever but fast-paced and interesting. There's a lot of talk about little-known D.C. so I enjoyed this one a bit more than The Da Vinci Code.

16-Eva-
Set 28, 2009, 12:04 pm

#15

Good to hear that it's fast-paced and interesting. I'm saving it to read on a long and booooring planeride I'm taking in a few weeks. The others were great at killing time, so it's sounding like this one is too!

17MusicMom41
Set 28, 2009, 12:32 pm

linda

Just coming by to say "Hi!" I'm finally on my last book for my 999 challenge but didn't get much time to read this weekend (none yesterday!) so I'm hoping to finish it before tomorrow night--I want to finish in the 9th month! One way to get more reading time is to avoid reading the LT threads! :-D Once the challenge is over I'll start working on my TBR and Wish List piles--and have more time for LT.

18lindapanzo
Editado: Set 30, 2009, 6:00 pm

September recap

I've made great strides on my second 999 challenge in September and I now have 41 out of the 81 books read. This month, I read 14 books, including 13 that counted towards 999 x 2. I'm close to finishing another but it's an iffy thing as to whether I finish by month's end. If so, I will update accordingly.

My favorites of the month, by far, were The Brutal Telling my Louise Penny, as well as Admission by Jean Hanff Korelitz. My least favorite of the month was probably the Elvis bio, Elvis Presley, by Bobbie Ann Mason.

Here's where I stand:

More Cozy Mysteries--READ 5 OUT OF 9

None read for this category, unless I finish the current one.

More Baseball Books--READ 3 OUT OF 9

--Tony La Russa: Man on a Mission by Rob Rains

More General Nonfiction--READ 5 OUT OF 9

--In the President's Secret Service by Ronald Kessler

Books from the Rue Morgue Press--READ 2 OUT OF 9
--Death at Crane's Court by Eilis Dillon

Authors/Series New to Me--READ 7 OUT OF 9

--Admission by Jean Hanff Korelitz
--Navy Wife by Debbie Macomber
--The No. 1 Ladies' Detective Agency by Alexander McCall Smith
--When Did We Lose Harriet? by Patricia Sprinkle

Next in the Series--READ 6 OUT OF 9

--Skull Duggery by Aaron Elkins
--The Brutal Telling by Louise Penny
--The Lost Symbol by Dan Brown

Sports, But Not Baseball--READ 4 OUT OF 9

--Nothing this month

Biographies/Autobiographies--READ 5 OUT OF 9

--Lost in the Meritocracy: The Undereducation of an Overachiever by Walter Kirn
--Elvis Presley by Bobbie Ann Mason

Art and Architecture--READ 4 OUT OF 9

--American Gothic by Thomas Hoving

19MusicMom41
Out 1, 2009, 12:43 am

By my quick calculation it looks like you are about half finished with your second 999! Good job and nice summary.

I'm just pleased that I finished my 1st (an only!) 999 last night. I won't get the review written until either tomorrow or Friday-- after we go up to the house in Vallejo and I have a little free time.

20lindapanzo
Editado: Out 1, 2009, 6:00 pm

Sheer Folly by Carola Dunn

This is about the 18th book in the Daisy Dalrymple series set in 1920s England. Much earlier on in the series, Daisy, aka Lady Dalrymple, married Alec Fletcher, Detective Chief Inspector of the Scotland Yard. Daisy also has a career of her own, writing magazine articles. Oftentimes, such as in this one, she works in tandem with her friend, Lucy, aka Lady Gerald, who is a photographer.

In this book, Daisy and Lucy head off to a country house of a plumbing magnate, to do an article about his famous grotto.

This series is great for information about the times, about how the gentry and the commoners treat each other etc. It's an ultra cozy mystery series, one of the coziest I read.

While I love this series, Sheer Folly takes forever to get going. Until about halfway, it's all about who's visiting at the English country house weekend houseparty. It was tough keeping all the characters straight.

Not one of the better entries in this series. It's okay, but nothing to write home about.

21lindapanzo
Out 1, 2009, 6:26 pm

It's going to be tough to read anything during the next little while, not until I know whether we'll get the 2016 Olympics here.

Very exciting!! I sure hope so. Around our house, it's all Olympics, all the time.

22sjmccreary
Out 1, 2009, 8:12 pm

#21 That is very exciting - I didn't realize that Chicago was in the running. Keeping my fingers crossed for you!

23lindapanzo
Out 1, 2009, 9:19 pm

Chicago is one of four. Friday morning, they announce the first and then the second eliminated cities. Then, at 11:30 central or so, they announce the host city. Many people think it'll come down to Chicago or Rio. I think Madrid and Tokyo are the other two cities in it.

The equestrian events would be held about 10 minutes away from home. A friend at work said tennis would be held right near her house in the city.

Despite what I said, I am reading a bit tonight.

24sjmccreary
Out 1, 2009, 11:52 pm

#23 After reading your first comment, I went out to the Olympics website to find out who you are up against. It also told how the voting process was to go - eliminating one city at a time until only one remains. Unless one gets an absolute majority the first time around, though, right? I was especially surprised by the 3 cities that were eliminated early - in Dubai, Czech Republic, and Azerbijan. It would be good, but I doubt we'll see an Olympic Games in one of those places for a while. If I had to guess, I'd probably give Rio the edge - has there ever been an Olympics in S. America?

I'd be worried about how the games would disrupt the traffic making it hard to get to work - willl the prices of gasoline and food go way up? But how exciting to be able to go see some of the competitions!

25lindapanzo
Out 2, 2009, 12:55 pm

Very disappointing to be knocked out first today. Oh well, life can return to normal now.

26RidgewayGirl
Out 2, 2009, 1:03 pm

I felt a little jab of disappointment on your behalf, but won't it be fun to look at pretty pictures of Rio?

27lindapanzo
Out 2, 2009, 1:35 pm

One of my old law school friends has already invited me down there. She met and married a Brazilian man and moved down there a few years ago.

Very disappointing though. I thought Rio would get it but was surprised that Chicago got knocked out first.

28ivyd
Out 2, 2009, 1:54 pm

Sorry about the results -- for you, Chicago & the US as well. But how wonderful for you to be able to go anyway!

29lindapanzo
Out 4, 2009, 7:17 pm


Open Ice: Confessions of a Hockey Lifer by Jack Falla

This is a wonderful collection of hockey essays (13, I think). I'd say it's probably the best hockey book I've read in many, many years. In fact, this was a library book but I'm thinking of buying my own copy, which I rarely do.

Falla has a knack of tying his hockey observations to life and vice versa, such as his "Life Lessons Learned from Tending Goal." Many of his hockey essays focus on the Original Six teams, which is music to my ears as I'm an old school kind of fan.

One essay addressed, for instance, Maurice "Rocket" Richard's funeral and what he meant to French Quebec. Another talked about fantasy hockey (I'm an avid fantasy league sports participant so I enjoyed that one.)

Other favorites included an essay about skating the Rideau Canal in Ottawa and another about the rinks the Original Six played in. I loved the Chicago Stadium so it was interesting to hear someone else's observations about it.

Very interesting and informative, both where I knew quite a bit about the topic, such as the late 50s/early 60s Montreal Canadiens, and also where I knew very little, such as about Hobey Baker.

30lindapanzo
Out 5, 2009, 11:13 pm

American Gothic: A Life of America's Most Famous Painting by Steven Biel

A few weeks ago, I accidentally read the "wrong" book on the cultural history of the famous Grant Wood painting, American Gothic. This one, the Biel book, is the one I intended to read.

I think this one is the better book and I probably would've really enjoyed it if I'd read it first. As it is, I'm American Gothic'd out. I did enjoy the portion of the book dealing with parodies of American Gothic.

31lindapanzo
Editado: Out 9, 2009, 10:58 pm

Frank Lloyd Wright by Ada Louise Huxtable

(I'm counting this one twice--in art/architecture and also in biography.)

This is a good biography of the life and the work of architect Frank Lloyd Wright. Though it's an entry in the Penguin Lives series, it's got quite a bit more depth than the usual overview-type biography.

From it, I learned that Wright was both a genius and, in many ways, a crackpot and Huxtable does a good job addressing both the great work Wright did and the character problems--the aversion to truth, for instance. As Huxtable said, "character and creativity run on separate tracks."

Many books encourage me to read more about a particular topic. This book has encouraged me to go seeking more information in local Wright landmarks and at the Chicago Architecture Foundation.

32lindapanzo
Editado: Out 13, 2009, 8:39 pm

Blackwork by Monica Ferris

This is the 13th (and newest!) installment in one of my favorite cozy mystery series, featuring small town Minnesota needlecrafts shop owner Betsy Devonshire.

Blackwork presents an interesting modern "locked room" mystery. It's also a great read for fall as much of the book revolves around fall festivals, Halloween parties/poetry readings, witches' spells etc.

Very enjoyable, as usual.

33ivyd
Out 13, 2009, 2:13 pm

Linda, how many favorite mystery authors do you have???? I've recently added Louise Penny, Cynthia Riggs, Laura Childs and Carolyn Hart to my wishlist (all, I think, by your recommendation) -- should I add this one, too???

34lindapanzo
Out 13, 2009, 4:14 pm

On my profile, I show Laura Childs, Mary Daheim, Aaron Elkins, Monica Ferris, Joanne Fluke, Hazel Holt, and Victoria Houston as "favorite authors." I would probably add a few others to that list, such as Carolyn Hart, Louise Penny, and Ellen Hart.

Actually, in my daytimer, I have a list of 25 mystery authors I really like. When I haven't heard from them in awhile, I search for them on Amazon.

You did not get Cynthia Riggs from me. I've never read her at all.

35tututhefirst
Out 13, 2009, 6:40 pm

Oh no! Never read Cynthia Riggs....she has New England settings and a wonderfuly feisty 92 year old detective - retired news journalist, Victoria something or other!! One of my favorites...But I've never read Monica Ferris, so I've put her on my list.

36lindapanzo
Editado: Out 13, 2009, 8:44 pm

Tina, I will have to look for the first Cynthia Riggs book. I think I've seen those around and a woman in my old mystery book group liked them.

It looks like there are 8 of them, starting with Deadly Nightshade.

I see that my local library has this first one. Why was I never informed? I will pick it up when I pick up my reserve copy of the new chocoholic mystery, The Chocolate Cupid Killings by JoAnna Carl. Oh, that's another cozy author I love.

37lindapanzo
Editado: Out 14, 2009, 1:17 pm

Okay, I realize this is late in the game to be changing categories but I'm going to do it anyway.

I love Christmas books, particularly Christmas mysteries, though I love all kinds of holiday books. I have quite a few on my upcoming TBR list so I plan to change my Rue Morgue Press category to a Christmas mysteries category.

Note that I found a new (to me at least) cozy mystery website and have found many, many Christmas cozies that I haven't read. Here, I thought I'd read a lot of them.

38tututhefirst
Out 14, 2009, 11:31 pm

They say great minds run in the same something or other...I'm not changing categories, but I seem to be piling up a bunch of Christmas themed books here lately....I figure they can go for just bcuz or suprise, or other people's recommendations, etc etc and most of them will fit into my current categories.....

just one today got one that is collection of Christmas Short Stories (mysteries) that I ordered from A-zon --proceeds benefit Toys 4Tots. I'm too lazy to get up and go get it to give you the title/Author, but I post it for you tomorrow. THere were 19 stories and I figured I could read 3 a week until the end of the year.

39tututhefirst
Out 15, 2009, 11:15 am

Linda...the Toys 4 Tots benefit book is The Gift of Murder edited by John M. Floyd...it was $10 on a-zon--no Touchstone yet.

40lindapanzo
Out 15, 2009, 11:58 am

Thanks, Tina. I will have to look for The Gift of Murder.

Also, when I shop on Amazon, I always start first at the website of one of my very favorite charities, The Libri Foundation (www.librifoundation.org which donates new childrens' books to rural public libraries). When I like from Libri to Amazon, Libri gets 4 to 6% of what I spend on Amazon. So far, they've earned $1,000 this way, which, for a small charity, is pretty substantial.

41lindapanzo
Editado: Out 17, 2009, 11:22 am

Maisie Dobbs by Jacqueline Winspear

This is an amazing book. It starts out very slowly. In fact, I almost put it down but I'm really glad that I stuck with it as it turned out to be one of the better "first in series" I've read in awhile.

The first quarter or so is set in 1929 England and involves the title character, a woman who is starting out as a sort of a private investigator. Nothing very exciting, somewhat dull.

Then, there's a flashback to her pre-World War 1 and WW1 life. I don't want to give away too much here but Maisie was a maid to a rich family who is caught sneak reading books in their library. During World War 1, Maisie was a battlefield nurse in France. The entire roughly 50 percent of the book that was a flashback was the best part, I thought.

The final quarter or so moves back/ahead to the 1929 mystery and the reader has a much better understanding.

I don't think I'm doing this book justice but it really is fabulous in how it deals with the ravages of war. Though I'd call it a mystery, it's not a typical whodunnit.

I am definitely going to continue reading in this series, and soon. I think Birds of a Feather is the second one.

42MusicMom41
Out 17, 2009, 12:35 pm

Linda

I'm a fan of the Maisie Dobbs series. I like the characters and I love the setting (England during the "Long Weekend"--the time between the two WWs). Winspear has really done her research and I like getting the view of that time from the opposite end of the social spectrum from the view we get in the Lord Peter novels of Sayers. I've read the first 4 and have the 5th one waiting on my "short shelf" until I have a nice free space of time to enjoy it. I'm waiting for the newest one to come out in paperback--or turn up in a used bookstore. I delighted to find another fan!

BW Birds of a Feather won the Agatha Award the year it was published.

43tututhefirst
Out 17, 2009, 1:26 pm

Well Carolyn and Linda, I've tried Maisie and couldn't get into it. Based on your glowing recommendations, I'm going to put her back on the 'try it again' pile. It won't be anytime soon, but maybe early next year.

44MusicMom41
Out 17, 2009, 1:35 pm

Tina

Linda is correct--with the first book you need to be patient. It doesn't really get started until the flashback--but the background material is important for the character. Read it when you don't have anything really compelling waiting in the wings! :-D

45lindapanzo
Out 17, 2009, 2:51 pm

That's true about the flashback. I found that, when it returned to the "present," I followed it better after reading the flashback.

I think it's also necessary to read that first one first. I was reading a review of someone who started with the second one and had no idea why Maisie was helped as she was.

46cmbohn
Out 17, 2009, 9:34 pm

I loved Maisie Dobbs. The next couple in the series were good too, but not quite the same.

47lindapanzo
Out 18, 2009, 10:45 pm

The Chocolate Cupid Killings by JoAnna Carl

The Chocoholic series is yet another long-running cozy mystery series I enjoy, though, with this one, I am getting just a bit tired of it.

Lee McKinney Woodward works with her Aunt Nettie at her luxury chocolate business in western Michigan, along Lake Michigan. There's a whole town of the usual type of characters found in cozies. This time, a focus is the "underground railroad" used to help abused women escape.

Maybe I've read just too many cozies lately but this one was a bit disappointing to me.

48lindapanzo
Editado: Out 20, 2009, 10:17 pm

Plum Pudding Murder by Joanne Fluke

The Hannah Swensen, Minnesota cookie maker series by Joanne Fluke is probably one of my favorite cozy mystery series and this one could well be my favorite in this series, so far (I think there are 13 books so far).

As the name would indicate, this is a Christmas mystery. I loved the fact that Christmas was not just an afterthought in this book. The whole book was Christmasy. I thought the mystery itself was fairly obvious but I love these characters--reading a Joanne Fluke book makes me feel like I'm visiting old friends. (I just wish that Hannah would make up her mind, once and for all, between the two guys.)

Next spring's Joanne Fluke mystery is Apple Turnover Murder, due out in March and, of course, added to my TBR list.

49lindapanzo
Out 20, 2009, 10:25 pm

Just realized that I've read a lot of cozy mysteries lately. Time to shift to some nonfiction or biography, I think.

50MusicMom41
Out 20, 2009, 10:40 pm

"Just realized that I've read a lot of cozy mysteries lately."

LOL I was just about to make the same comment!

I was being envious--I think I will carve out some time to just read a few mysteries to get back into the "rhythm" of enjoying them without feeling the need to "criticize" them. I've been such a mystery addict all my life it never occurred to me that I could loose the knack of just reading for enjoyment!

Have you tried Murder with Peacocks by Donna Andrews? I read that a few weeks ago and really did enjoy that one--it was hilarious and I just got into the flow. I'm looking for the next one--I think it is a series.

51lindapanzo
Out 20, 2009, 10:43 pm

I've read a few Donna Andrews mysteries, including the Christmas one in that series (was it Six Geese a Laying?) and really liked it, as well as a few in her Turing Hopper series.

While waiting at the dr's office the other day, I started Ron Darling's The Complete Game so I'm thinking I'll continue with that one.

52tututhefirst
Out 21, 2009, 12:50 am

whew....I'm not the only one with a liberal sprinkling of cozies...they are my favorites when it comes to audios because they don't require quite the concentration, but I've also found them just the touch for night-night readingn.

I too have Donna Andrews staring me in the face on my TBR shelf--soon, soon, I keep promising myself.

53ivyd
Out 21, 2009, 1:15 pm

>48 lindapanzo: Lucky you to have read the new one! This series (which I discovered thanks to you & Cheli) is also one of my favorites. I still haven't read Cream Puff Murder, and thought it would be out in paperback once Plum Pudding Murder was released, but alas! it won't be until February. So now I don't know what to do... I was really hoping to read both before Christmas...

54sjmccreary
Out 21, 2009, 1:48 pm

#53 Ivy, have you checked your local library? You can read them right now, in hardback, and buy them later after the paperbacks come out if you want to.

55ivyd
Out 21, 2009, 1:57 pm

>54 sjmccreary: I want to read them enough that I may do that. I don't have a good relationship with the local library (several reasons), plus it's almost an hour round trip (B&N is just as close). But they may have them, and it is an option...

56lindapanzo
Editado: Out 23, 2009, 11:51 pm

I know I've had a lot of good mystery suggestions for everyone but one series I completely neglected was the Joanne Dobson series featuring college English professor sleuth Karen Pelletier. The reason I forgot about it is that Dobson stopped the series in 2003 and there hasn't been one since. (The last one was The Maltese Manuscript.

To my happiness, though, I discovered today in Publishers Weekly that the series will resume in January 2010 with Death Without Tenure.

Very exciting news. I met Dobson once, at Malice Domestic, I think, and really enjoyed talking to her. She's a college English professor, too.

57lindapanzo
Out 26, 2009, 7:42 pm

The Complete Game: Reflections on Baseball, Pitching and Life on the Mound by Ron Darling

This book by longtime NY Mets pitcher and current baseball color analyst is one of the better baseball books I have read in awhile. Darling, a Yale graduate, writes really well and offers a tremendous amount of insight into what a pitcher thinks, how he develops, and even what he's feeling as his career is in a downward spiral.

If you like baseball, you would probably enjoy this book. Loads of interesting insights and great stories about life in the big leagues

58MusicMom41
Out 26, 2009, 9:00 pm

The Complete Game is going on my wishlist.. Thanks--I'm stacking up on baseball books to get me through the winter! :-)

59lindapanzo
Out 27, 2009, 1:43 am

Baseball books and Christmas mysteries are the two categories I've sort of been holding back on because I know these are what I'll want to read when it starts to get colder (after the World Series ends).

I've got a lot of great books left to go in each category.

60lindapanzo
Out 28, 2009, 11:56 pm

Tornado Hunter: Getting Inside the Most Violent Storms on Earth by Stefan Bechtel

I love to read pretty much anything about storms and weather but the first few chapters of this one, when the author talks about storm chasers, were almost too breathlessly written. Then, he moved on to other tornado-related topics, including just about anything you'd want to know about tornado science and tornado history and I was hooked.

Who knew that, when storm chasers get together to show off their tornado pictures and videos, this is "torn-porn"?

Several chapters were exceptionally interesting, including the one about the Marine Corps pilot who was trying to go over a violent thunderstorm only to have an onboard emergency causing him to parachute out of his jet at high altitude right into an incredible storm and get buffeted about by updrafts, downdrafts and all sorts of weather phenomena for 40 minutes.

The chapter about the "father of tornado science" Ted Fujita was interesting as well, as was the chapter on storm chasing tourists.

If you can get past the at times breathless writing and the at times scientific jargon, this is quite an interesting book.

Even if you don't want to read it, it's worth it just to pick it up at the bookstore or library (it's a 2009 release) just to look at the astounding tornado pictures, including a series of photos taken from inside a tornado. Amazing!!

61MusicMom41
Out 29, 2009, 1:39 pm

Tornado Hunter sounds like a good read--and I have several books about weather and storms planned for 2010 so on the wishlist it goes. Great review!

62lindapanzo
Editado: Out 30, 2009, 12:28 pm

A Christmas Promise by Anne Perry

I love Anne Perry's Christmas novels but this one was a big disappointment. I had a lot of waiting time in various places today and read this in its entirety over the course of the afternoon and early evening so it's a quick read.

Her usual Christmas novellas are usually in the nature of heartwarming stories with Christmas as a key focus and some mystery elements. This time, however, I didn't really enjoy the story, which featured a little 8-year old girl with a dead uncle whose much-loved donkey is missing, set in 1800s England a few days before Christmas. The little girl enlists a slightly older girl who lives a few streets down and they "investigate."

A good part of the book is written in Cockney and, after a few pages of that, I was annoyed at reading things like "ooo eee? I never saw 'im wif you before."

Good series but a disappointing new entry in that series.

63tututhefirst
Out 30, 2009, 9:12 am

hmmm....glad to have your input. I have a Christmas category to complete to finish my 2nd 999....I had listed 'one of Anne Perry's annual stories' but now I'll be sure to NOT choose this one.

I wonder if it would be more enjoyable in audio,, where you just heard the accents, and didn't have to process them as you read?

64lindapanzo
Out 30, 2009, 12:57 pm

#63, Tina, I bet it would sound better on audio. It's very distracting to have to read it with non-words, almost in a foreign language at times.

Most of the other books in this series have tended to take place out in the country but this one didn't.

It's not a bad book and is definitely a quick read. Just not up to the standards of the rest of the series, I believe.

65lindapanzo
Editado: Dez 5, 2009, 12:26 am

As was true for 999 challenge 1, I find it easier to list the books I plan to read for the remainder of the challenge, once I start getting close. This is subject to change, of course. (In fact, I'm almost certain of it, with the category most ripe for change is "Authors/Series New to Me.")

October was not my best reading month of the year and my pace has slipped a bit. (I would expect it to pick up again once the baseball playoffs are over, next week.) I have 30 books to go and just a bit over 2 months left to read them all.

My remaining 999 x 2 challenge books:

More Cozy Mysteries--READ 8 OUT OF 9

--A Plateful of Murder by Claudia Bishop

More Baseball Books--READ 4 OUT OF 9

--Sixty Feet, Six Inches: A Hall of Fame Pitcher and a Hall of Fame Hitter Talk About How the Game is Played by Reggie Jackson and Bob Gibson--done
--Baseball and the Mythic Moment: How We Remember the National Game by James D. Hardy
--As They See 'Em: A Fan's Travels in the Land of Umpires by Bruce Weber
--The Greatest Ballpark Ever by Bob McGee
--Center Field Shot: A History of Baseball on Television by James R. Walker

More General Nonfiction--READ 9 OUT OF 9

--Superfreakonomics: Global Cooling, Patriotic Prostitutes, and Why Suicide Bombers Should Buy Life Insurance by Steven D. Levitt--finished on Nov 18
--Fly by Wire: The Geese, The Glide, The Miracle on the Hudson by William Langwiesche--finished on Nov 12
--Under the Sabers by Tanya Biank--finished on Nov 14

???
--The Measure of Our Days
--When Everything Changed: The Amazing Journey of American Women from 1960 to the Present by Gail Collins

Christmas Mysteries--READ 4 OUT OF 9

--The Body in the Sleigh by Katherine Hall Page
--Mrs Jeffries and the Yuletide Weddings by Emily Brightwell--done
--A Rumpole Christmas by John Mortimer--finished on Nov 7
--Fleece Navidad by Maggie Sefton
--Slay Bells by Kate Kingsbury
--A Wee Christmas Homicide by Kaitlyn Dunnett--done

Authors/Series New to Me--READ 8 OUT OF 9

--The Face of a Stranger by Anne Perry
--The Raphael Affair by Iain Pears (will be counted twice)--finished on Nov 5

Next in the Series--READ 7 OUT OF 9

--Kindred in Death by J.D. Robb--finished on Nov 8
--The Mirror and the Mask by Ellen Hart
--Bookplate Special

Sports, But Not Baseball--READ 7 OUT OF 9

--Jean Beliveau: My Life in Hockey by Jean Beliveau--done
--A Few Seconds of Panic by Stefan Fatsis--finished on Nov 2
--The Ice Bowl: The Cold Truth About Football’s Most Unforgettable Game by Ed Gruver--finished on Nov 17
--When the Game Was Ours

Biographies/Autobiographies--READ 6 OUT OF 9

--Journey of a Thousand Miles
--True Compass by Edward Kennedy
--Charles Schulz and Peanuts: A Biography by David Michaelis

Art and Architecture--READ 7 OUT OF 9

--Looking Around: A Journey Through Architecture by Witold Rybczynski
--The Raphael Affair by Iain Pears (will be counted twice)--finished on Nov 5
--Museum by Danny Danzier

66sjmccreary
Out 30, 2009, 7:20 pm

#65 I'd be hard pressed to finish 30 books in 2 months - especially Nov + Dec - but I expect that you'll be able to do it! I recognize several of these titles, and will be watching for your comments about them.

67lindapanzo
Editado: Out 31, 2009, 3:26 pm

OCTOBER RECAP

October was a slow reading month--only 11 books read towards the goal this month. I also changed one category--from Rue Morgue Press books to Christmas mysteries. Here's where I stand now:

More Cozy Mysteries--READ 8 OUT OF 9
--Sheer Folly by Carola Dunn
--Blackwork by Monica Ferris
--The Chocolate Cupid Killings by JoAnna Carl

More Baseball Books--READ 4 OUT OF 9
--The Complete Game by Ron Darling

More General Nonfiction--READ 6 OUT OF 9
--Tornado Hunter: Getting Inside the Most Violent Storms on Earth by Stefan Bechtel

Christmas Mysteries--READ 3 OUT OF 9
--Plum Pudding Murder by Joanne Fluke
--A Christmas Promise by Anne Perry

Authors/Series New to Me--READ 7 OUT OF 9
--Maisie Dobbs by Jacqueline Winspear

Next in the Series--READ 6 OUT OF 9

Sports, But Not Baseball--READ 5 OUT OF 9
--Open Ice: Confessions of a Hockey Lifer by Jack Falla

Biographies/Autobiographies--READ 6 OUT OF 9

Art and Architecture--READ 6 OUT OF 9
--American Gothic by Steven Biel
--Frank Lloyd Wright by Ada Louise Huxtable

68ivyd
Out 31, 2009, 3:46 pm

You're doing really well on a 2nd challenge, Linda! I'll bet you'll make it!

69lindapanzo
Out 31, 2009, 4:03 pm

#68, Ivy, I think I have a decent chance at finishing the second one UNLESS health care reform passes this year. If that happens, I will be busy 24/7 reporting on it and probably will miss out on a week's worth of reading, at a minimum.

70ivyd
Out 31, 2009, 4:07 pm

>69 lindapanzo: I hadn't thought of that, but of course that would mean major work for you!

I hope you get to the Edward Kennedy book, though. I was considering it for a Christmas gift, and would love to have your opinion before buying it.

71lindapanzo
Out 31, 2009, 4:48 pm

#70, Ivy, I actually had the 1,000 page Justice Brandeis bio on the table next to my living room easy chair (this is my book I'll tend to pick up from time to time). However, I just replaced it with the Ted Kennedy book. I love it so far but am only 50 pages into it.

72ivyd
Out 31, 2009, 5:20 pm

Thanks, Linda! I'll watch for your review of it!

73MusicMom41
Out 31, 2009, 5:26 pm

Linda

I'm betting you finish before the champagne flow at midnight for 2010!

I just bought The Raphael Affair by Iain Pears in the batch of mysteries to read in December. I'm on a mystery orgy right now to make up for the "deprivation" I experienced during the 999 challenge! :-) I'll be interested to see how you like it--if you get to it before I do.

74lindapanzo
Out 31, 2009, 7:51 pm

#73, Carolyn, I started The Raphael Affair this morning and read a bit while waiting to hand out candy to trick or treaters. They'd all seem to come at once and then none for a 15-20 mins so I got some reading in. It's just about over and so I can start to read again in earnest.

75sjmccreary
Nov 1, 2009, 11:03 am

#73, 74 I'm going to be watching to see both your reactions to The Raphael Affair. I've actually never heard anything about it, but read Stone's Fall by Iain Pears a couple of months ago and liked it quite a lot, so now I'm interested in trying him again.

76lindapanzo
Nov 3, 2009, 2:24 pm

A Few Seconds of Panic by Stefan Fatsis

What an enjoyable book this is!! As the subtitle indicates, the author is a 5'8, 170 pound, 43 year old sportswriter who trains, learns how to kick, and goes to training camp with an NFL team, the Denver Broncos. Sort of a modern-day George Plimpton. (I loved Plimpton's books way back when, including Paper Lion, Out of My League, and Open Net, in which Plimpton worked out with the NFL, Major League Baseball, and the NHL.

By doing all that the players do, Fatsis earns a lot of respect from the players and they really open up, providing a tremendous insight into the National Football League and the people who play in it--what happens, how they deal with stress etc. After reading it, I have a lot of respect for all that the players go through.

77MusicMom41
Nov 3, 2009, 2:36 pm

A Few Seconds of Panic goes on the wishlist! I read the Plimpton books many years ago and enjoyed them tremendously. I don't know why it's so much fun to watch a "regular" guy mix it up with the pros--but I loved it back then and I'll probably love it still!

78lindapanzo
Nov 3, 2009, 2:41 pm

Carolyn, I liked A Few Seconds of Panic even more than the Plimpton books because he truly got into it, even if he was just a kicker. He did all the drills, got hazed a bit etc.

You're right, it is fun to see a regular guy try something like this. In his other book, apparently, he tried to be a professional Scrabble player, which isn't quite the same.

79MusicMom41
Nov 3, 2009, 5:32 pm

"In his other book, apparently, he tried to be a professional Scrabble player, which isn't quite the same."

LOL Even I might have the courage to try that!

80bonniebooks
Nov 4, 2009, 11:28 pm

Linda, I've actually been watching the World Series tonight (first game this season for me and looks like the last) while I'm catching up on posts. I know what you're doing right now! ;-)

81lindapanzo
Editado: Nov 5, 2009, 12:07 pm

#80, I'm always a bit sad when the baseball season ends. I'm reminded of one of my favorite baseball-related quotes by Rogers Hornsby: "People ask me what I do in winter when there's no baseball. I'll tell you what I do. I stare out the window and wait for spring."

For me, I do that but also read a whole lot more, too, while I wait for the start of Spring Training.

I tried to save a lot of the baseball books to tide me over til February.

82MusicMom41
Nov 5, 2009, 2:55 pm

Here's something to ponder while waiting for Spring Training to start. You can use it to help your friends understand why baseball is such an interesting and challenging sport--especially for fans. :-D

Baseball Explained

Baseball is a game played by two teams, one out the other in.
The one that's in sends players out, one at a time, to see
if they can get in before they get out. If they get out
before they get in, they come in, but it doesn't count. If
they get in before they get out it does count.

When the ones out get three outs from the ones in before
they get in without being out, the team that's out comes in
and the team in goes out to get those going in out before
they get in without being out.

When both teams have been in and out nine times the game is
over. The team with the most in without being out before
coming in wins unless the ones in are equal. In which case,
the last ones in go out to get the ones in out before they
get in without being out.

The game will end when each team has the same number of ins
out but one team has more in without being out before
coming in.


(from Bills's Punch Line)

83tututhefirst
Nov 5, 2009, 10:13 pm

Oh Carolyn...that is too too precious. My husband the baseball fanatic is rolling his eyes, but he's also holding his sides laughing.

84lindapanzo
Nov 5, 2009, 10:57 pm

The Raphael Affair by Iain Pears

I've had this mystery, the first in the Iain Pears Art History Mystery series, on my bookshelves for a long time. Though it's slow-going at times, I enjoyed it and look forward to reading more of these.

It's charming, sometimes clever, and has a few characters I really liked and hope to see more of, including the General, who is the head of the Italian National Art Theft Squad, his assistant Flavia, and bumbling British art historian, Jonathan Argyll.

I always like a mystery where I learn about something, in addition to enjoying the mystery and I certainly did here. Art history, art forgery, and even a bit of a travelogue.

For 999 purposes, I am counting this one twice--art/architecture and also in the authors/series new to me.

85MusicMom41
Nov 5, 2009, 11:52 pm

re Raphael Affair now I'm really looking forward to it! :-)

86lindapanzo
Nov 6, 2009, 12:03 am

I just went on Amazon and ordered the second one in the series, The Titian Committee and also got the new Lorna Barrett booktown mystery, Bookplate Special. This used up the rest of the gift card I had.

87lindapanzo
Nov 7, 2009, 5:17 pm

A Rumpole Christmas by John Mortimer

One of my very favorite fictional characters is British barrister, Horace Rumpole, and, since author John Mortimer died earlier this year, I didn't think I'd be able to read any new Rumpole novels or short stories. I was excited when I learned that this book of 5 short stories featuring Rumpole would be available.

Overall, this collection was disappointing. I think I had already read several of them in The Strand Magazine. Even though the stories were somewhat light on Christmas elements and really light on mystery elements, I was still glad to have read them and visit, once again, with Rumpole, She Who Must Be Obeyed (Hilda) and all the others.

I hope there are more Rumpole stories.

88cmbohn
Nov 7, 2009, 10:26 pm

I found some Rumpole on tape at the library. They were fun.

89lindapanzo
Editado: Nov 8, 2009, 2:41 pm

Fun reading quiz!!

What Kind of Reader Are You?
Your Result: Dedicated Reader
You are always trying to find the time to get back to your book. You are convinced that the world would be a much better place if only everyone read more.
Result Breakdown:
92% Dedicated Reader
77% Obsessive-Compulsive Bookworm
67% Literate Good Citizen
58% Book Snob
8% Fad Reader
0% Non-Reader
Quiz URL: http://www.gotoquiz.com/what_kind_of_reader_are_you

90ivyd
Editado: Nov 8, 2009, 3:05 pm

Lots of fun! My results:

What Kind of Reader Are You?
Your Result: Dedicated Reader
You are always trying to find the time to get back to your book. You are convinced that the world would be a much better place if only everyone read more.

Result Breakdown:
85% Dedicated Reader
82% Book Snob
81% Literate Good Citizen
78% Obsessive-Compulsive Bookworm
0% Non-Reader
0% Fad Reader

91lindapanzo
Editado: Nov 8, 2009, 3:04 pm

Fun quiz, isn't it? For a few questions, I would've had multiple answers though.

I would be willing to bet that most of us are dedicated readers

92ivyd
Nov 8, 2009, 3:10 pm

After several tries, I finally got the results in a decent form.

Yes, I'd be surprised if we weren't mostly dedicated readers. Why else would we spend hours on LT?

93lindapanzo
Nov 9, 2009, 12:56 pm

Kindred in Death by J.D. Robb

Kindred in Death is the latest in the long line of futuristic mysteries by J.D. Robb (Nora Roberts).

After an overly gory, graphic beginning detailing the rape, torture, and murder of a 16-year old girl, the book settles in nicely. I really enjoyed it (once I got past this disturbing part) and thought this was one of the better recent books in this series.

My only gripe is that they're getting just a bit too predictable. I think she needs to shake things up more.

94ivyd
Nov 9, 2009, 2:11 pm

>93 lindapanzo: Thanks for the report! I'm sure I'll get to it, probably when it's issued in paperback.

My only gripe is that they're getting just a bit too predictable. I think she needs to shake things up more.

I keep hoping for something more about Peabody and her New Ager background...

95MusicMom41
Nov 9, 2009, 3:48 pm

#93

I still have at least 10 more to read before I get to the new one--by that time I should be able to find it on a remaindered shelf! I didn't discover that series until a couple of years ago and that was by accident. I was stuck without a book and knew I would have a long wait so I hopped into a drugstore to get one and a J.D. Robb book--Innocent in Death-- was the only thing on their shelves that looked even tolerable. Of course, I got "hooked" and had to start reading from the beginning of the series. :-D Unfortunately, I haven't had a chance to read any this year--wouldn't fit into my 999. I'm hunting the next one on the list (for me) to read this December.

96lindapanzo
Nov 10, 2009, 11:52 pm

This cozy fan read about 30 pages of a cozy Christmas mystery and put it aside. The book was Fleece Navidad by Maggie Sefton. This is the second time I've tried this author and the second time I've put the book aside. I'm not a knitter but a non-LT friend who is an avid knitter said the same thing.

Anyone else try this author and like her books?

Most unusual for me.

97lindapanzo
Editado: Nov 13, 2009, 12:20 pm

Fly by Wire: The Geese, The Glide, The Miracle on the Hudson by William Langwiesche

I love disaster books and so I had high hopes for this book about Captain Sullenberger and the airplane crash earlier this year in which he landed his jet in the Hudson River. I read another book by Langwiesche years ago about 9/11 and thought it was excellent.

For this one, though, I had mixed feelings after reading it. In some ways, it was disappointing and, in other ways, it was pretty good. If you think Sully is a hero or you are an airline pilot, this might not be the book for you.

(He praises Sully but points out that ability to concentrate intently does not equal coolness under pressure and points out that a lot of the credit for the safe landing should go to the engineers who created a "fly by wire" airplane.)

The good involved general aviation issues and how the prestige of airline pilots has declined over the years.
Discussions about major pilot blunders, how the NTSB conducts hearings, how planes are evacuated were all interesting to me. A bit over my head, technically, but still interesting was how the Airbus has made "fly by wire" planes, which basically are semi-automatic and leave little control for the pilot, especially as to overriding.

The less than stellar parts of the book, I thought, were the parts dealing with the "Miracle on the Hudson" itself. Those parts sounded like they were slapped together quickly. Lots of long, block quotes from reports and testimony seemed like filler to me.

I almost got the impression that he was writing another book about aviation when this accident happened and he expanded the book to make the accident the focus.

98lindapanzo
Nov 14, 2009, 11:49 pm

Under the Sabers: The Unwritten Code of Army Wives by Tanya Biank

Written by a former reporter, this book focuses on wives of Army soldiers at Fort Bragg, in North Carolina. The book was originally written in response to the murders of numerous Army wives at Fort Bragg in 2002, though the author goes beyond that to focus on four Army couples--one officer and his wife and three enlisted men and their wives, including a Command Sergeant Major who son is an Army private.

As a former Army brat herself, Biank provides a warts and all look at the military and how the wives, often called the backbone of the army, deal with all kinds of day to day and other challenges.

The book is quite interesting at times but, at other times, unexpectedly depressing.

99lindapanzo
Nov 18, 2009, 11:49 am

The Ice Bowl: The Cold Truth about Football's Most Unforgettable Game by Ed Gruver

This is an interesting book about one of the most famous games in NFL history, the "Ice Bowl" game at Lambeau Field in Green Bay on New Year's Eve, 1967, between the Packers and the Dallas Cowboys. By the end of the game, the temperature was 20 below and the windchill was 50 below.

Though the second half of the book focuses mainly on the game itself, including the game-winning drive, the book goes way beyond that. Of particular interest were stories about the two coaches, Vince Lombardi and Tom Landry, and how they coached together for the NY Giants. Lombardi was considered the great offensive coach in the 1960s and Landry the best defensive coach. Also interesting was a discussion about how TV was just starting to impact the game.

As a lifelong Packers fan who spent my college years in Green Bay but was too young to really remember the Ice Bowl, this is one fascinating book at how football was played back then. I would definitely recommend this one!!

100lindapanzo
Nov 19, 2009, 12:25 am

SuperFreakonomics by Steven D. Levitt and Stephen J. Dubner

This is a follow-up to their bestselling book, Freakonomics from a few years ago. While I enjoyed SuperFreakonomics, I absolutely loved the original and this one didn't quite measure up, though it was still very good.

People respond to incentives and these economists challenge how people think about everyday, ordinary things, showing their hidden sides. They talk about prostitution, terrorists, global warning, and apathy, among other things, in ways you wouldn't expect.

101lindapanzo
Nov 19, 2009, 12:32 am

With SuperFreakonomics, I finished my first category in 999 x 2, general nonfiction.

102lindapanzo
Nov 23, 2009, 11:55 pm

Mrs Jeffries and the Yuletide Weddings by Emily Brightwell

This is an extremely cozy mystery set in Victorian England and features Inspector Witherspoon and his servants, led by Mrs Jeffries, who secretly investigate cases simultaneously to the Inspector's investigations. In this 26th entry in the series, as usual, Witherspoon pursues leads via official channels and the servants (and some well-heeled friends) do so via informal channels.

Very light, pleasant, and enjoyable.

103tututhefirst
Nov 24, 2009, 9:47 am

I'm not familiar with this series, but I'm going to investigate...I always like to have 'light & pleasants' on hand for when the going gets tough.

104lindapanzo
Nov 24, 2009, 11:44 am

#103--I've read the first Emily Brightwell, this most recent one, and one in the middle. The order doesn't really seem to matter all that much.

105MusicMom41
Nov 25, 2009, 11:42 pm

I've been trying to catch up on the LT threads a little while I had a few minutes today. As usual you've read some really interesting books. I especially hope I can find The Ice Bowl--that sounds like a great read. Lombardi and Landry stand out as two of my favorite coaches in pro football (Don Schula would be another!).

Have a Happy Thanksgiving.

106cmbohn
Nov 26, 2009, 3:09 pm

I like Mrs. Jeffries. I'll have to look for this one.

Happy Thanksgiving!

107lindapanzo
Nov 27, 2009, 1:15 am

The Ninth Daughter by Barbara Hamilton

The Ninth Daughter, featuring sleuth Abigail Adams and set in Boston in 1773, is one of the best "first in the series" mysteries I've read in a long, long time. It's not perfect--there are parts in the middle that seemed to go on forever--but it has so much series potential, has some terrific characters, and brings the era to life so much that I'm eagerly awaiting the next one in the series.

Abigail, John Adams, Sam Adams, Paul Revere, and both British soldiers and the Sons of Liberty are all a part of this book as Abigail tries to investigate a murder without betraying the Sons of Liberty, all while getting assistance from an unexpected source.

Excellent book, one that even a non-mystery fan might love. I'd definitely recommend this one!!

108lindapanzo
Editado: Nov 29, 2009, 4:53 pm

The Final Season by Tom Stanton

This is an enjoyable book about the author's lifetime of Detroit Tigers fandom and various memories that arose when he attended every game during the final season at Tiger Stadium in 1999. Though it's a baseball book, it's less about the actual games and more about family memories and baseball memories.

109lindapanzo
Editado: Nov 29, 2009, 4:53 pm

Leonardo da Vinci by Sherwin B. Nuland

The combination of a book in the Penguin Lives series and a subject about whose life, or at least many aspects of it, are not that well known made for a less than exciting book. I kept wavering between thinking "okay, this is tedious" and "whoa, that's interesting." Overall, I'd say this bio of artist da Vinci was only so so.

The author is a doctor and, indeed, the most interesting parts came towards the end, as Nuland spoke of da Vinci's amazing anatomical studies (amazing for occurring in the late 1400s). Despite, the at-times mind-numbing tedium, the author did do a pretty good job of touching on how many interests da Vinci had, as well as how he took a scientific approach to art (and an artistic approach to science).

110lindapanzo
Nov 30, 2009, 6:54 pm

Jean Beliveau: My Life in Hockey by Jean Beliveau

I've been a lifelong hockey fan but love the old-time game, back in the days before they wore helmets and there were only 6 teams in the league. One of the greatest players of that era--the 1950s and 1960s--was the star center of the Montreal Canadiens, Jean Beliveau.

It was a real treat to hear his life story told in his own words, his pre-hockey days, his days in juniors and his career, of course, but also of his post-hockey career as an executive for the Montreal Canadiens. I also loved hearing his insights on how the game has changed.

Best of all were his comments about other players of his era and later. Beliveau was called "le Gros Bill"--the Gentle Giant--and he seems like a wonderful guy, one who deserves all the accolades that came his way.

111lindapanzo
Editado: Nov 30, 2009, 7:10 pm

NOVEMBER RECAP

I read 13 books in November, though several counted as overlaps. This leaves me with 14 books to read to finish my 999 x 2 in 2009.

My favorite fiction book of the month was The Ninth Daughter by Barbara Hamilton, featuring Abigail Adams as an amateur sleuth. My favorite nonfiction, though a close call, was The Ice Bowl: The Cold Truth about Football's Most Unforgettable Game by Ed Gruver.

More Cozy Mysteries--READ 8 OUT OF 9

More Baseball Books--READ 5 OUT OF 9
--The Final Season by Tom Stanton

More General Nonfiction--READ 9 OUT OF 9
CATEGORY FINISHED ON NOV 18
--Fly by Wire: The Geese, The Glide, The Miracle on the Hudson by William Langwiesche
--Under the Sabers by Tanya Biank
--SuperFreakonomics by Steve D. Levitt and Stephen J. Dubner

Christmas Mysteries--READ 5 OUT OF 9
--A Rumpole Christmas by John Mortimer
--Mrs Jeffries and the Yuletide Weddings by Emily Brightwell

Authors/Series New to Me--READ 9 OUT OF 9
CATEGORY FINISHED ON NOV 26
--The Raphael Affair by Iain Pears
--The Ninth Daughter by Barbara Hamilton

Next in the Series--READ 7 OUT OF 9
--Kindred in Death by J.D. Robb

Sports, But Not Baseball--READ 8 OUT OF 9
--A Few Seconds of Panic by Stefan Fatsis
--The Ice Bowl: The Cold Truth about Football's Most Unforgettable Game by Ed Gruver
--Jean Beliveau: My Life in Hockey by Jean Beliveau

Biographies/Autobiographies--READ 8 OUT OF 9
--Jean Beliveau: My Life in Hockey by Jean Beliveau
--Leonardo da Vinci by Sherwin B. Nuland

Art and Architecture--READ 8 OUT OF 9
--The Raphael Affair by Iain Pears
--Leonardo da Vinci by Sherwin B. Nuland

112lindapanzo
Dez 2, 2009, 12:09 am

A Wee Christmas Homicide by Kaitlyn Dunnett

I read enough cozy mysteries to know all the cliches. Many times, those types of cliche-ridden cozies start to become tedious. Other times, despite the cliches, the book is charming and fun. A Wee Christmas Homicide, the third in the series, is one of those charmers.

This was the first Dunnett book I've read and I enjoyed it. It features Liss MacCrimmon, owner of the Scottish Emporium in Moosetookalook, Maine. There's a run on the hot toy of the Christmas season, Tiny Teddies, but, amazingly, there's quite a supply of these treaures in Moosetookalook.

Yes, the amateur sleuth bumbles into things, does stupid things. All the usual. But somehow it works and I'll be looking for the other two in the series.

113tututhefirst
Dez 2, 2009, 10:32 am

Well my goodness, if it's set in Moosetookalook Maine I have to read it....actually I think there really is such a place name (or close to it---sorta like my husband's favorite--the Passawagas river!)

Sounds delightful, and this time of year, light cozies are about all I can handle. Enjoy the end of year festivities.

114lindapanzo
Editado: Dez 3, 2009, 12:01 am

Under the Tree by Susan Waggoner

This evening, I took a quick break from the 999 challenge to read something exceptionally light and fun.

This is a fact-filled book with lots of photos of toys that we grew up with and received under the Christmas tree. I don't think it's up to the standard of her other books but it's somewhat interesting. I was never a girl who liked dolls but, even so, read the doll section with interest (who knew that Barbie's full real name is Barbie Millicent Roberts?).

I was always more interested in board games and read that chapter with particular interest. The memories came floating back as I read about other old favorites like viewmasters, Matchbox cars, Silly Putty, Play-Doh, Colorforms, and pretty much any toy I could think of. No mention of one of my old favorite board games, Go for Broke, though.

A fun read though not very substantial.

115sjmccreary
Dez 3, 2009, 11:44 am

#114 Linda, that book sounds like fun. I skipped the wishlist completely and went straight to ordering that book from the library. It will be a fun thing to have laying about when all the relatives come for Christmas!

116lindapanzo
Dez 3, 2009, 11:50 am

I got a copy for my sister, too. Even though it says through 1970 (when she was only 3), a lot of those toys were still around. Plus, I bet her kids would like seeing pictures of the toys that Mommy and Auntie Linda played with when they were kids.

117tututhefirst
Dez 3, 2009, 12:01 pm

I too just put the ILL request in - should be here in about a week...just in time for eggnog sipping to soothe the frazzled nerves just before Santa day.

118sjmccreary
Dez 3, 2009, 12:03 pm

#116 I didn't even think about whether the kids would be interested! I'm thinking it might be a trip down memory lane, not only for Mom and Dad, but aunts and uncles, grandma and grandpa, and also great-grandma (who is actually a step- and was a child herself during 1930-1970). My brother will be in much the same situation as your sister. He was born in 1971 (the oops baby), but had so many hand-me-downs from my other brother and me that he will also remember many of the same toys I do.

119lindapanzo
Dez 3, 2009, 12:08 pm

I think it's really worthwhile for the photos and lists. For this one, unlike the others I've read by Waggoner, the text itself is not all that interesting.

If my sister happens to see this...Laura, please act surprised.

(She rarely looks at posts, unless she happens to see my name at the top of the discussion list.)

120sjmccreary
Dez 3, 2009, 12:17 pm

#119 That actually sounds better. A book full of pictures will be more engaging than a lot of text. I'll have 15 people here for 6 hours. Not conducive to reading, but plenty of time for passing around a "do you remember this" book.

I tried to post quickly to get your name off the list!

121lindapanzo
Dez 3, 2009, 12:21 pm

Sandy, I don't think it matters too much. Only once has she ever posted. She really just joined LT to keep track of her books, not to chat about books. I was going to do a Santa Thing on her behalf but will probably give her a few months' Bookswim gift card instead. I think she'd like that.

Oops, I did it again.

122tututhefirst
Dez 3, 2009, 12:28 pm

linda --- don't reply...you're off the hook now.

123ivyd
Dez 3, 2009, 2:26 pm

I have a number of Christmas books that I set out at Christmas time. This sounds like a perfect addition to my collection!

124RidgewayGirl
Dez 3, 2009, 6:14 pm

I carefully wrote the title for Under the Tree on a post it note to bring with me when I took the kids to the library this afternoon. I promptly forgot it at home. Next time then.

125lindapanzo
Dez 5, 2009, 12:12 am

Sixty Feet, Six Inches by Bob Gibson and Reggie Jackson

Structured in the format of a conversation between two of the greatest ballplayers ever, Sixty Feet, Six Inches is a master class in anything and everything baseball. Of all the many baseball books I've read in recent years, this is one of the more insightful, interesting books.

There is a bit too much of a mutual admiration society thing going on and certainly plenty of "things were better back in our day," but that's probably to be expected. Where else can you get two great Hall of Famers offering opinions on the game, and its players, then and now?

This is a book that baseball fans won't want to miss.

126lindapanzo
Editado: Dez 27, 2009, 6:49 pm

I'm now down to my final FIVE books in 999 x 2. They probably will include the following:

1. Slay Bells by Kate Kingsbury--finished on Dec 8
2. Merry, Merry Ghost by Carolyn Hart--finished on Dec 18
3. The Mirror and the Mask by Ellen Hart--finished on Dec 12
4. The Body in the Sleigh by Katherine Hall Pagefinished on Dec 21
5. Mrs Malory and Any Man's Death by Hazel Holt--finished on Dec 19
6. Bookplate Special by Lorna Barrett--finished on Dec 26
7. When the Game Was Ours by Larry Bird and Magic Johnson--finished on Dec 6
8. Journey of a Thousand Miles by Lang Lang--finished on Dec 10
9. Staying Up Much Too Late: Edward Hopper's Nighthawks and the Dark Side of the American Psych by Gordon Theisen--finished on Dec 27
10. Baseball: A History of America's Favorite Game by George Vecsey--finished on Dec 23
11. El Birdos by Doug Feldmann
12. Sandy Koufax: A Lefty's Legacy by Jane Leavy--finished on Dec 16

127lindapanzo
Dez 7, 2009, 1:28 pm

When the Game Was Ours by Larry Bird and Earvin Magic Johnson

I thought this book was going to be much like the Sixty Feet Six Inches book I just read. Two of the greatest ever in a particular sport collaborating on a book. I thought it would be as terrific as Sixty Feet Six Inches but I was really disappointed.

Even though Bird and Johnson are listed as the authors, I suspect that they provided some background info and detail and it was written by the other person shown. Though there is some interesting "in the know" kind of information, particularly about the events surrounding Magic Johnson's disclosure that he has HIV, for the most part, this is a surprisingly bland biography. I can't even call it an autobiography.

Not a bad book but very disappointing nonetheless.

128tututhefirst
Dez 7, 2009, 4:52 pm

Just jumping on the bandwagon to say thanks for the lead to under the tree--my ILL came in today, and we've already had a great time thumbing through it. We're in for a huge storm later this week, and I'm thinking this one will really be fun in front of the fire.

129lindapanzo
Editado: Dez 7, 2009, 6:06 pm

Glad you like it, Tina.

Probably the same snow that we're getting starting mid-day on Tuesday and all day on Wed.

Even so, I got my Cubs ticket renewal today so things are looking up, despite the cold/snow.

130lindapanzo
Dez 9, 2009, 12:01 am

Slay Bells by Kate Kingsbury

I love Kate Kingsbury's other cozy mystery series, the Manor House series, which was set during World War 2. This one is set earlier (I think it's set in about 1913). This particular book is a Christmas mystery and is the 14th book in Kingsbury's Pennyfoot Hotel series. I believe there are 16 in all, so far, with the recent ones being Christmas mysteries.

That said, this was my first Pennyfoot Hotel mystery, featuring sleuth and hotel owner Cecily Baxter. Not sure that it was wise starting in the middle of the series as there were a lot of references to earlier crimes and I had a hard time, at first, keeping the characters straight.

About halfway in, though, suddenly everything clicked and I started to like it a whole lot more. This has the potential to be a series I might like but I believe that, next year, I will start with the first one in the series, Room with a Clue.

131lindapanzo
Editado: Dez 11, 2009, 12:24 am

NINE BOOKS TO GO!!!

Journey of a Thousand Miles by Lang Lang

I love listening to classical music and attending the symphony so reading this autobiography of one of the greatest young classical pianists today was a big treat for me, especially since he got his big break with the Chicago Symphony Orchestra at the nearby summertime Ravinia Festival.

Though the language of the Chinese born and raised pianist (who is now 27) was a bit stilted at times, this book really conveyed how driven Lang Lang was and is to succeed, driven both internally and by his at times brutal father. I know very little about Chinese culture but I got some good insights into the impact of the one child rule and the 1966-1976 Cultural Revolution.

In China, classical music performers are like rock stars here, widely adored. Classical music is extremely competitive there but Lang Lang is one pianist who succeeded in Chinese and international competitions and then further developed in the somewhat more laid-back American training methods. Now he is a worldwide sensation.

This is an excellent book that is not only an interesting autobiography but also an insightful book about music and Chinese culture.

132lindapanzo
Dez 11, 2009, 12:28 am

To complete my second 999 challenge, I'm left with 6 (cozy) mysteries and 3 baseball books. What could be better?!?

133cmbohn
Dez 11, 2009, 12:33 am

Sounds like a nice, fun way to end the year.

134sjmccreary
Dez 11, 2009, 3:18 pm

#132 No doubt, due to excellent planning on your part! ;-)

135lindapanzo
Dez 11, 2009, 6:48 pm

#134, I would've preferred more mysteries but this is a good selection to finish with.

Right now, I'm reading a baseball book on my Kindle, Sandy Koufax: A Lefty's Legacy by Jane Leavy and, when I get home, I suspect I will start a mystery I still have checked out from the library and need to return. Ellen Hart's The Mirror and the Mask, which is the latest installment in her long-running Jane Lawless mystery series.

136lindapanzo
Dez 13, 2009, 12:39 am

The Mirror and the Mask by Ellen Hart

I've been reading the Jane Lawless series by Ellen Hart for years and The Mirror and the Mask is the newest in the long-running series, the 17th book, I think. Jane is a lesbian Minneapolis restaurant owner, assisted by her quirky friend, Cordelia Thorn, stage theater director.

As is always true in the Hart books, the crime somehow involves the past. Though Jane is an amateur sleuth, this series is far from cozy, much less cozy than most of the others I read. In this instance, while it's a wonderful book, I just plain didn't care much for the non-recurring characters that were unique to this book.

Great series and a great book though.

137lindapanzo
Dez 16, 2009, 12:53 am

My pace has slowed a bit but I am thoroughly enjoying the Sandy Koufax biography. It's one of the best baseball books I've read this year.

It's a whole lot denser than most of them, as it talks about social issues of the day and also about what Koufax meant to the American Jewish community.

138tututhefirst
Dez 16, 2009, 11:18 am

Linda...hubbie has that Sandy Koufax book on his shelf...I may have to put in on my TBR list...I love good bios and this one sounds very interesting. My Mom was a huge Koufax fan so maybe it's time to take a look.

139lindapanzo
Dez 17, 2009, 12:24 am

SEVEN BOOKS TO GO!!!

Sandy Koufax: A Lefty's Legacy by Jane Leavy

I'd have to go back and look at the 20 or so baseball books I've read this year to be sure, but I think that this Sandy Koufax biography was probably the best baseball book I've read this year.

All of the biographical details are here, of course: how this Jewish kid from Brooklyn made it to the majors, to become one of the most dominant, though not durable, lefty pitchers ever. How he walked away from the game, after the 1966 season, at age 30. How he and fellow Dodger pitching star, Don Drysdale, jointly held out before the start of the 1966 season, which led, in part, to the rise of the baseball players' union.

But Leavy's book goes way beyond the typical sports bio and really examines Koufax's role in the American Jewish community and how he changed what it meant to be Jewish by refusing to pitch Game 1 of the World Series because it fell on Yom Kippur. She also examines how Koufax remains the iconic ballplayer, even to this day.

Interwoven throughout the book is an inning-by-inning account of probably the most famous game Koufax pitched, the Sept 9, 1965 perfect game against my Cubs (in which Cub pitcher Bob Hendley himself gave up only one hit).

This was a treat for me because, even though I'm a lifelong Cub fan, I am too young to remember this. I enjoyed seeing some of those Cub players I know only from baseball cards come to life, players such as young Cubs catcher Chris Krug who made the key error for the Cubs in that game. However, in his post-baseball career, he went on to become a landscape architect and, in fact, designed the famed Field of Dreams in Iowa.

Leavy did a good job of showing how quiet and introspective Koufax was and is, how he shunned publicity and never really fit in as a ballplayer because, in part, he read too much. For instance, Leavy says, after his baseball career ended, Koufax is "as well travelled as he is well read."

One interesting thing I learned is that, in middle age, Koufax somewhat resembled author Phillip Roth. Leavy talked of how Roth believes that a serious reader is a person "who thinks not only about they read but about they are going to read." For Koufax, Leavy suggests, everything was of interest to him except Koufax himself.

Excellent baseball biography!!

140lindapanzo
Dez 19, 2009, 12:12 am

HALF DOZEN BOOKS TO GO!!!

Merry, Merry Ghost by Carolyn Hart

This Christmas mystery is the second book in Hart's Bailey Ruth series. Her Death on Demand series is among my favorites, though I don't like her Henrie O series nearly as well.

This one started out a bit slow for me but it has an interesting premise and I'm glad I stuck with it. It's a charming mystery featuring sleuth Bailey Ruth Raeburn. The interesting thing about it is that Bailey Ruth died in a boating accident but was sent back to earth under Heaven's Department of Good Intentions.

I don't typically like paranormal type mysteries but this one was cute, delightful really. I intend to track down the first one in the series, Ghost at Work.

141ivyd
Dez 19, 2009, 1:49 pm

>140 lindapanzo: I almost got this book the other day from the price-slashed table of Christmas novels, then decided against it because it was paranormal. Maybe I will get it when I go back.

I did get Plum Pudding Murder from the same table, and want to read it before Christmas but still haven't read the preceding book, which I couldn't find.

142tututhefirst
Dez 19, 2009, 8:50 pm

I love Carolyn Hart - particularly that Death of demand series. haven't read anyh in a couple years.....must must must get a couple and get back to her.

Good to see you nearly the end....I know you'll be able to do it. But it's not a stressor for you.

143lindapanzo
Dez 20, 2009, 2:27 pm

Mrs Malory and Any Man's Death by Hazel Holt

This is the newest in the long-running British village cozy series. A total comfort read that feels like a bit of gossip with an old friend. This one seemed a bit skimpier than is usual for Holt.

Also, it contains one of my mystery pet peeves, which I won't detail as it'd be a spoiler. Enough to say that I was disappointed with that.

144lindapanzo
Editado: Dez 22, 2009, 12:08 am

Five books yet to go in order to finish my second 999.

I'm reading a Christmas mystery right now, The Body in the Sleigh by Katherine Hall Page.

Beyond that, I've got an art history mystery, The Titian Committee by Iain Pears, along with another cozy, Bookplate Special by Lorna Barrett.

Also, two baseball books remaining. I'd planned to read a Robert Goldsborough mystery set in 1930s Chicago for one of these but, 10 percent into it and there's not any baseball. Instead, I'll probably read El Birdos about the 1967-8 St Louis Cardinals. The other one might end up being Center Field Shot, which is about baseball on TV, over the years. Or else, possibly, George Vecsey's book, Baseball: A History of America's Favorite Game.

145lindapanzo
Dez 22, 2009, 12:01 am

The Body in the Sleigh by Katherine Hall Page

This is the latest in the Faith Fairchild cozy mystery series. I've read a few of these and I believe they're usually set in Massachusetts, though, in this one, Faith and her husband, the minister, and family are spending Christmastime at their cottage on a Maine island.

I always have mixed feelings about this series. Something I can't quite put my finger on, but I seem to take long breaks between books in this series. They are quite cozy but, on further reflection, maybe not so much. Reading about drug trafficking at Christmas is probably not the ideal cozy mystery topic for me. Nicely done but a bit too unsettling for me, somehow.

If you do read this book, do not miss the author's note following the story and the recipes. Page talks about her inspiration for the story, as well as of her love for libraries.

146tututhefirst
Dez 22, 2009, 12:15 pm

Good review Linda....I've decided to make Ms. Hall page one of my first reads for 2010 - it will meet both the public library and mystery thriller/suspense (cozy genre) challenge categories. and besides.....they just sound like good reads. we have almost all of them at our little town library (except the christmas one -go figure) so I don't even have to do ILL.

147RidgewayGirl
Dez 22, 2009, 4:02 pm

Thanks for your review of the Sandy Koufax book. I've had a terrible time finding a present for a friend of mine, but after reading your review, have gone out and gotten him a copy. He'll love it.

148lindapanzo
Dez 23, 2009, 11:59 pm

Baseball: A History of America's Favorite Game by George Vecsey

If you're someone who rarely or never has read a book about baseball history, this would be a terrific book. It's well-written and entertaining.

However, if you're someone (like me) who has read a lot of baseball history, this book adds very little. It's got some interesting comparisons, such as comparing the 1930s minor league farmhands in the St Louis Cardinals organization, run by Branch Rickey, to the Joad Family in the Grapes of Wrath.

149sjmccreary
Dez 24, 2009, 3:19 pm

#148 OK, Linda. I've been watching you read baseball books all year. I've never read on in my whole life. I'm adding this to the wishlist since you're recommending it for baseball "beginners". The synopsis in the library catalog also makes it sound very interesting. (Plus it will count for the Dewey Decimal challenge!)

150lindapanzo
Dez 26, 2009, 12:17 am

Bookplate Special by Lorna Barrett

I love this relatively new cozy mystery series by Lorna Barrett set in a "Booktown" in New Hampshire filled with bookstores. The sleuth, Tricia Miles, owns a mystery bookstore, Haven't Got a Clue.

Interesting characters and plot make this series a keeper, as far as I'm concerned. I hope there are many more to come.

151lindapanzo
Dez 26, 2009, 2:25 pm

I've started my penultimate 999 book, which is Gordon Theisan's Staying Up Much Too Late, about Edward Hopper's Nighthawks painting. Once again, this is one of my favorite paintings at the Art Institute of Chicago.

Once I finish this, I will read a short novel for the Missouri Readers group, Daniel Woodrell's The Death of Sweet Mister. Hopefully, I can read that one tomorrow and then start on my final book of the 999 challenge, El Birdos by Doug Feldmann.

152lindapanzo
Dez 26, 2009, 5:14 pm

#147, RidgewayGirl, I hope he likes the Sandy Koufax bio. I was just watching Game 7 of the 1965 World Series on MLB Network and it was fun to see Koufax pitching, after having just read that book.

153lindapanzo
Dez 27, 2009, 6:45 pm

Staying Up Much Too Late: Edward Hopper's Nighthawks and the Dark Side of the American Psyche by Gordon Theisen

I've long loved Edward Hopper's Nighthawks and always make sure to see it whenever I'm at the Art Institute so this book was a natural choice for me. Theisen analyzes Nighthawks in great deal, artistically, but this book is more about the sociology of the painting. This is true even though Hopper himself has said that his art has no sociological meaning whatsoever.

Among the "dark" topics raised by Nighthawks and discussed in this book are diners, cigars, pin-up girls, film noir, and crime noir.

Quite interesting!!

154lindapanzo
Dez 27, 2009, 6:50 pm

One book left to go!!

155tututhefirst
Dez 27, 2009, 7:27 pm

You can do it....I have no doubt.

156lindapanzo
Editado: Dez 29, 2009, 1:02 am

I did it!!! I finished my second 999 challenge for the year and, at the same time, established a new personal best for most books I've read in a single year (154)

Baseball and the Mythic Moment by James D. Hardy, Jr.

This book completes my second 999 challenge and also establishes a "personal best" for me. Before 2009, my "most books ever" was 153 books in 1993 but I've now surpassed that with this one--154 books. Too bad it wasn't with a better book.

Baseball and the Mythic Moment has an interesting premise--some moments in baseball history--seemingly unforgettable--are remembered only by local fans or as "run of the mill" memories while others take on a mythic aspect. Bobby Thomson's home run giving the New York Giants the pennant in 1951 is mythical. Joe Carter's World Series-winning home run probably is not.

Despite the interesting premise, the book never really gets "there" and the writing seems haphazard. Annoyingly, the authors seems to make moments of barely remembered history into mythical baseball moments while downplaying others.

It has its moments but, overall, this was not the best of the roughly 20 baseball books I've read this year.

157sjmccreary
Dez 29, 2009, 1:10 am

Congratulations on the accomplishment! Are you finished for the year, or will you manage to get to 155 or 156?

158lindapanzo
Editado: Dez 29, 2009, 1:15 am

Thanks, Sandy. I think I might read an A book--either an A author, most likely, or an A title. I've wanted to read the first Rosemary Aubert mystery, Free Reign and will probably read that one next. It's set in Toronto, I believe.

155 would be a good number to finish with.

159sjmccreary
Dez 29, 2009, 1:29 am

Ah, I'd forgotten that you were going to do an alphabetic challenge. 155 does sound like a good number to end at. If I can get one more finished (American Lion, I hope) I'll be at 145 for the year. A record for me, I believe. Last year was the first time I kept track and I had 120 books in 10 months - an annual rate of 144. That felt like a record pace. So, I'll consider 145 to be a new personal best.

160lindapanzo
Dez 29, 2009, 1:34 am

Last year, 2008 that is, I read, I think, 102 books so I am way, way up. Just over 100 has been my usual for the last few years.

Once I'm done for the year, I think I will look at books read, such as where I got them--owned, from library, Kindle etc, as well as look at how many were mysteries. In 2008, about 60 to 65 percent were mysteries. In 2009, I'm guessing less than 25 percent were mysteries.

161sjmccreary
Dez 29, 2009, 2:06 am

It's amazing, isn't it, how we can not only read so many more books than before, but read more substantial books. I've experienced the same thing. I've considered keeping track of how many audio books are in my total, and may do that for 2010. I'm guessing it will be around 50%. I know my percentage of romances and mysteries are way down, but that isn't a totally new thing. I didn't always read them, and it had only been in the last few years that I read so many of those, and so little of everything else. I'm just getting back to the more balanced reading that I used to have (now if I could only get back to the smaller pants size that I used to have!)

162cyderry
Dez 29, 2009, 1:38 pm

Linda,
I'm glad you made it!

I finished my 162th book and still have to write the review, and I'm trying to eliminate my one overlap on my second 999 so that I can say mine were true 999s.

Do you have your list all ready for 2010? Have you ordered the books?

163cmbohn
Dez 29, 2009, 1:44 pm

Way to go, Linda! I can't wait for Friday!!

164ivyd
Dez 29, 2009, 2:38 pm

Congratulations, Linda! A second challenge is really impressive!

165tututhefirst
Dez 29, 2009, 3:31 pm

Outstanding! What a great accomplishment! Like you, I'm really feeling good about the amount and the diversity of the reading I've been doing since I joined this wonderful group of friends. A big virtual hug to all of you. We are expecting a HUGE snow event for NewYear's day, so I'm preparing to settle in to a TutuRead-a-thon and get 2010 off to a great start.

Can't wait to see you reads for next year Linda. Happy 2010.

166lindapanzo
Dez 29, 2009, 3:56 pm

Thanks!!

I still need to examine the sources but, if I finish Free Reign, of my 155 books, I will have read 60 mysteries. Actually, this is about the same number of mysteries as I read in 2008. What's different is that, last year, I read 42 non-mysteries whereas this year, the number of non-mysteries more than doubled--to about 95.

Cheli, I have about 15 to 20 possibles for each category and I own, or can get to, most of them. I'm sure others will spring up along the way.

I am definitely looking forward to Chicago books, disasters, presidential bios, and medicine, in particular. Also to books that aren't my usual. I've already picked up a short story collection from F. Scott Fitzgerald.

167lindapanzo
Dez 29, 2009, 7:00 pm

Hmmm, after finishing my 999, I wanted something totally stress-free, for me so I thought I'd read a YA book. Haven't read one of those in years!!

I am finishing the year with Here Lies the Librarian by Richard Peck.

(I still plan to read Free Reign, but not immediately.)

168tututhefirst
Dez 29, 2009, 7:25 pm

HLTL is a favorite -- great way to finish the year.

169cmbohn
Dez 29, 2009, 8:25 pm

I liked that one too.

170lindapanzo
Editado: Dez 31, 2009, 12:53 am

I finished and loved Here Lies the Librarian by Richard Peck, which was book #155 for me in 2009.

Come visit me at the 1010 challenge for 2010 at:
http://www.librarything.com/topic/70676

More books in many of the same categories, with a few new categories thrown in for good measure.

171tututhefirst
Dez 31, 2009, 1:04 pm

Hooray! I knew you could do it. I'm trying to finish up my two today, and have narrowed my starters for tomorrow down to three. Enjoy the ball drop!

172cyderry
Dez 31, 2009, 1:33 pm

I'm going to remove my one overlap by finishing my last book of 2009 (got 30 pages left). that's my goal, then on to 2010!

173lindapanzo
Dez 31, 2009, 5:07 pm

I'm halfway through Give a Little but certainly won't finish it til the new year.

Tina, looks like a heavy snowstorm heading your way. Looks like a good weekend to stay in and read.

For 2010's 1010 challenge, I do not plan to do any overlaps at all.