rabbitprincess writes about the ROOTS she's read in 2021

Back again for another year of ROOTing. This year my Category Challenge revolves around the songs of Talking Heads, so I've carried the theme over to this group.

The title of my thread comes from the song The Book I Read. Link goes to the version found on the live album The Name of This Band is Talking Heads.

My goal for the year is 60 ROOTS. Everything counts: old, new, unread, re-read. If it's in my library, I want to enjoy it.



I'm still plugging away at the really old books in my stacks for which I haven't written reviews. Sometimes I suspect I shall never finish.

Lost the ticker for this, and am not bothering to re-create it!

I'll also be doing the 2-for-1 TBR again. This is my fourth year trying it. Rereads don't count *for* me, but gifts (including books bought with gift cards), duplicate copies of books I own (e.g., buying the audio version of a book I already have in print), books I have borrowed and read but am now buying my own copy of, and freebies don't count *against* me.

Thanks largely to the fact that COVID shut down library book sales, my starting total is "only" 137, down from the 159 I started with in 2020. (I'm still paying off books I bought in 2018...)

I ended up totally ignoring the 2020 Pool in the last bit of the year, so I ended up with 23/30 books read. I wasn’t going to complete the Pool anyway because one of the books was at my parents’ place and I didn’t pick it up last time I was there.

Here is the 2021 Pool. It is even smaller than last year's: 25 books.



2021 reading list
Italics = books off the shelf. Bold = Favourite book of the month. (Parenthetical notes) = audio, rereads, and other relevant information.

January
1. The Westing Game, by Ellen Raskin
2. Doctor Who: Ghost Stories, written by George Mann, illustrated by Ivan Rodriguez, Pasquale Qualano, and Dennis Calero (ebook)
3. The Skeleton Road, by Val McDermid (Overdrive)
4. Bleeding Hearts, by Jack Harvey (aka Ian Rankin)
5. On Risk, by Mark Kingwell
6. The Case of the Left-Handed Lady, by Nancy Springer (Overdrive)
7. The Story of a Hare, by J. C. Tregarthen (Faded Page)
8. Department of Mind-Blowing Theories, by Tom Gauld
9. Henry VI, Part 1, by William Shakespeare
10. 10% Happier: How I Tamed the Voice in My Head, Reduced Stress Without Losing My Edge, and Found Self-Help That Actually Works, by Dan Harris
11. Harbour Street, by Ann Cleeves (CloudLibrary)
12. The Prime of Miss Jean Brodie, by Muriel Spark
13. Cold Earth, by Ann Cleeves (Overdrive)
14. Life, the Universe and Everything, by Douglas Adams (re-read)
15. Flying Free: My Victory over Fear to Become the First Latina Pilot on the US Aerobatic Team, by Cecilia Aragon
16. The Gambler, by Fyodor Dostoevsky (Serial Reader)
17. Le crabe aux pinces d’or, by Hergé
18. Attack of the Unsinkable Rubber Ducks, by Christopher Brookmyre
19. The Sweetness at the Bottom of the Pie, by Alan Bradley (re-read) (Overdrive)

February
20. Killer, Come Back to Me: The Crime Stories of Ray Bradbury, by Ray Bradbury (Overdrive)
21. Dark, Salt, Clear: Life in a Cornish Fishing Town, by Lamorna Ash (Overdrive)
22. The Secret Life of Lobsters, by Trevor Corson
23. Air Bridge, by Hammond Innes
24. Slaughterhouse-Five, by Kurt Vonnegut, Jr. (re-read)
25. Ashenden: Or, The British Agent, by W. Somerset Maugham (Faded Page)
26. To Forgive Design: Understanding Failure, by Henry Petroski
27. Gwen Stacy Vol. 0: Most Wanted?, by Jason Latour and Robbi Rodriguez
28. The Inimitable Jeeves, by P. G. Wodehouse (Serial Reader)
29. The Loss of the Jane Vosper, by Freeman Wills Crofts
30. Falls the Shadow, by Sharon Kay Penman
31. A Legacy of Spies, by John le Carré (audio, read by Tom Hollander)
32. Arsène Lupin contre Herlock Sholmès, by Maurice Leblanc (Faded Page)
33. The Celtic Twilight, by W.B. Yeats (Serial Reader)
34. Think Like a Rocket Scientist: Simple Strategies You Can Use to Make Giant Leaps in Work and Life, by Ozan Varol
35. The Case of the Bizarre Bouquets, by Nancy Springer (Overdrive)

March
36. The Moth Catcher, by Ann Cleeves
37. Midnight in Chernobyl: The Untold Story of the World’s Greatest Nuclear Disaster, by Adam Higginbotham
38. One Game at a Time: My Journey from Small-Town Alberta to Hockey's Biggest Stage, by Harnarayan Singh (audio, read by Harnarayan Singh)
39. Amazing Spider-Man: Edge of Spider-Verse, by David Hine, Jason Latour, Fabrice Sapolsky et al.
40. Vertical Reference: The Life of Legendary Mountain Helicopter Rescue Pilot Jim Davies, by Kathy Calvert
41. The Adventures of Robin Hood, by Roger Lancelyn Green (re-read)
42. Son of a Trickster, by Eden Robinson
43. Death on the Way, by Freeman Wills Crofts
44. Shadow in the Glass, by Stephen Cole and Justin Richards
45. The Witches are Coming, by Lindy West
46. Clanlands: Whisky, Warfare, and a Scottish Adventure Like No Other, by Sam Heughan and Graham McTavish
47. Checkpoint Charlie and the Wall: A Divided People Rebel, by Werner Sikorski

April
52. Gold Diggers: Striking it Rich in the Klondike, by Charlotte Gray
53. Indian Horse, by Richard Wagamese (CloudLibrary)
54. Blood Hunt, by Ian Rankin
55. The Art of Dying, by Ambrose Parry
56. Fourth Doctor Boxset: The Lost Stories, by Robert Banks Stewart (Big Finish audio drama)
57. Bicycle Diaries, by David Byrne
58. Kidnapped, by Robert Louis Stevenson (re-read via Serial Reader)
59. Rip It Up: The Story of Scottish Pop, by Vic Galloway
60. Winterkill, by Ragnar Jonasson (translated from the French edition by David Warriner)

May
61. Lennox, by Craig Russell
62. Rather Be the Devil, by Ian Rankin
63. A Better Man, by Louise Penny
64. American Utopia, by David Byrne and Maira Kalman
65. Love of Country, by Madeleine Bunting
66. Puppet on a Chain, by Alistair Maclean
67. The Girl Who Died, by Ragnar Jónasson (translated by Victoria Cribb)
68. Death in the Tunnel, by Miles Burton
69. Murder at the Vicarage, by Agatha Christie

June
70. Murdered Midas: A Millionaire, His Gold Mine, and a Strange Death on an Island Paradise, by Charlotte Gray
71. A Tapping at My Door, by David Jackson
72. Famous Last Words, by Timothy Findley
73. The Deep Dark Sleep, by Craig Russell
74. The Case of the Peculiar Pink Fan, by Nancy Springer (Overdrive)
75. The Doorbell Rang, by Rex Stout
76. Dear Life: A Doctor’s Story of Love and Loss, by Rachel Clarke
77. Come Fly the World: The Jet-Age Story of the Women of Pan Am, by Julia Cooke
78. The Queen’s Gambit, by Walter Tevis
79. Dear Miss Kopp, by Amy Stewart
80. Death in Fancy Dress, by Anthony Gilbert

July
81. A Perfect Likeness, by Richard Wagamese
82. The PS Royal William of Quebec: The First True Transatlantic Steamer, by Eileen Reid Marcil
83. The Naming of the Dead, by Ian Rankin (re-read)
84. Expert: Understanding the Path to Mastery, by Roger Kneebone
85. A Fatal Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum: Murder in Ancient Rome, by Emma Southon
86. The Data Detective: Ten Easy Rules to Make Sense of Statistics, by Tim Harford
87. The English Way of Death, by Gareth Roberts
88. The Art of WolfWalkers, by Charles Solomon
89. The Doctors Blackwell: How Two Pioneering Sisters Brought Medicine to Women and Women to Medicine, by Janice P. Nimura
90. Murder in the Museum, by John Rowland
91. Straight Outta Crawley: Memoirs of a Distinctly Average Human Being, by Romesh Ranganathan
92. The Witch Elm, by Tana French
93. Am I Overthinking This?: Overanswering Life’s Questions in 101 Charts, by Michelle Rial
94. Empire of Pain: The Secret History of the Sackler Dynasty, by Patrick Radden Keefe
95. The Lost Books of the Odyssey, by Zachary Mason
96. The Cat Saw Murder, by Dolores Hitchens
97. Herding Cats: A Sarah’s Scribbles Collection, by Sarah Andersen
98. The Haunting of Alma Fielding: A True Ghost Story, by Kate Summerscale

August
99. Vultures in the Sky, by Todd Downing
100. Our Town, by Thornton Wilder
101. The Arctic Fury, by Greer McAllister
102. Attack of the Video Villains, by Franklin W. Dixon
103. The Icepick Surgeon: Murder, Fraud, Sabotage, Piracy, and Other Dastardly Deeds Perpetrated in the Name of Science, by Sam Kean
104. Ride the Pink Horse, by Dorothy B. Hughes
105. The Brain is Kind of a Big Deal, by Nick Seluk
106. Henry VI, Part 2, by William Shakespeare
107. The Decagon House Murders, by Yukito Ayatsuji (translated by Ho-Ling Wong)
108. Monkey Beach, by Eden Robinson
109. The Seven-Percent-Solution, by Nicholas Meyer
110. Memoirs of a Kamikaze: A World War II Pilot's Inspiring Story of Survival, Honor and Reconciliation, by Kazuo Odachi, translated by Shigeru Ota and Alexander Bennett
111. Nonsense Novels, by Stephen Leacock
112. The Medicine Book, by DK Publishing
113. The Conjure-Man Dies, by Rudolph Fisher
114. The Unexpected Mrs. Pollifax, by Dorothy Gilman (reread)
115. My Remarkable Journey: A Memoir, by Katherine G. Johnson

September
116. How Iceland Changed the World: The Big History of a Small Island, by Egill Bjarnason
117. Harvest of Time, by Alastair Reynolds (audio, read by Geoffrey Beevers)
118. Mr. Humble and Doctor Butcher: A Monkey's Head, the Pope's Neuroscientist, and the Quest to Transplant the Soul, by Brandy Schillace
119. Project Hail Mary, by Andy Weir
120. Written in Bone: Hidden Stories in What We Leave Behind, by Sue Black
121. The Time Traveler’s Guide to Medieval England, by Ian Mortimer
122. Ariadne, by Jennifer Saint
123. The Thirteenth Doctor, Vol. 0: The Many Lives of Doctor Who, by Richard Dinnick et al. (ebook)
124. Safety Differently: Human Factors for a New Era, by Sidney Dekker
125. The Sparrow, by Mary Doria Russell
126. Magnetic North: Imagining Canada in Painting, 1910-40, by Martina Weinhart
127. Wild Fire, by Ann Cleeves
128. The Rez Sisters, by Tomson Highway

October
129. The House of Ashes, by Stuart Neville
130. Richard Wagamese Selected: What Comes from Spirit, by Richard Wagamese
131. Ride with Me, by Thomas B. Costain
132. Miss Kopp Investigates, by Amy Stewart
133. You Look Like a Thing and I Love You: How Artificial Intelligence Works and Why It's Making the World a Weirder Place, by Janelle Shane
134. Doctor Who and the Power of Kroll, by Terrance Dicks
135. Fighting for Space: Two Pilots and Their Historic Battle for Female Spaceflight, by Amy Shira Teitel
136. The Dark Remains, by William McIlvanney and Ian Rankin
137. The Darkness Knows, by Arnaldur Indriðason (translated by Victoria Cribb)
138. The Man Who Died Twice, by Richard Osman
139. The Blue Hammer, by Ross Macdonald
140. The Memory Thief: The Secrets Behind How We Remember—A Medical Mystery, by Lauren Aguirre
141. 1979, by Val McDermid
142. The Hobbit, by J. R. R. Tolkien (reread)
143. Fuzz: When Nature Breaks the Law, by Mary Roach

November
144. I Live a Life Like Yours, by Jan Grue (translated by Becky Crook)
145. The Terrorists, by Maj Sjöwall and Per Wahlöö (translated by Joan Tate)
146. What Patients Say, What Doctors Hear, by Danielle Ofri
147. A Corruption of Blood, by Ambrose Parry
148. The Plague Court Murders, by John Dickson Carr
149. The Athenian Murders, by José Carlos Somoza (translated by Sonia Soto)
150. Bullet Train, by Kotaro Isaka (translated by Sam Malissa)
151. Safety-I and Safety-II: The Past and Future of Safety Management, by Erik Hollnagel
152. Falling, by T. J. Newman
153. DK Eyewitness Books: Flight, by Andrew Nahum
154. A Noise Downstairs, by Linwood Barclay

December
155. Range: Why Generalists Triumph in a Specialized World, by David Epstein
156. No Man’s Land: The Untold Story of Automation on QF72, by Kevin Sullivan
157. The Thirteenth Doctor, Issue 1, by Jody Houser, Rachael Stott, and Enrica Eren Angiolini (ebook)
158. The Chrysalids, by John Wyndham (Faded Page)
159. I Me Mine, by George Harrison
106. All the Devils Are Here, by Louise Penny
161. Because Internet: Understanding the New Rules of Language, by Gretchen McCulloch (audio)
162. I, Davros: Innocence, by Gary Hopkins (Big Finish audio drama)
163. I, Davros: Purity, by James Parsons (Big Finish audio drama)
164. What Abigail Did That Summer, by Ben Aaronovitch
165. Oddball: A Sarah’s Scribbles Collection, by Sarah Andersen
166. I, Davros: Corruption, by Lance Parkin (Big Finish audio drama)
167. I, Davros: Guilt, by Scott Alan Woodard (Big Finish audio drama)

rabbitprincess,

Just waving "Hi". And wishing you this best of luck, and lots of time for your reading.They look like interesting books.

Hi RP, Good to see you back for another year. Happy ROOTing!

Good luck and Happy ROOTing!

Happy ROOTing, RP.

Good to see you here again - hope you make a big dent in Mt TBR in 2021!

>3 LadyBookworth: >4 connie53: >5 Sace: >6 Ameise1: >7 Jackie_K: Thanks, all, and best of reading to you as well!

>3 LadyBookworth: I picked these books based on challenges over at the 2021 Category Challenge. I use them for ideas on what to read but almost never read the books in the assigned month :D

>7 Jackie_K: I can't believe my starting total for the 2021 2-for-1 TBR is actually down from last year's!

Best of luck! Let's hope 2021 is a much better year.

Happy ROOTing, Princess! I know you'll reach your goal!

Loved Mrs. Pollifax!
Happy 2021 Reading!

Have fun reading and ROOTing. Your challenge is always so well.organized. :-)

>9 majkia: Thanks, Jean! I definitely hope so!

>10 mstrust: Thanks! I like to lowball the goal a bit so that I can help with the group total ;)

>11 cyderry: Mrs. Pollifax is great! I've finally brought them up from my parents' place so I'm re-reading them gradually.

>12 This-n-That: Aww thanks! Sometimes I think organizing the challenge is just as much fun as actually reading ;)

Happy ROOTing and happy new year !

Both my husband and daughter are huge Doctor Who fans - hope you enjoy the book.

Good luck with your reading goals in 2021 :)

Happy ROOTing in 2021, RP!

Happy New Year! And happy ROOTing in 2021.

Have a happy and healthy year of ROOTing in 2021, rp.

>14 h-mb: >15 beach85: >16 FAMeulstee: >17 floremolla: >18 Robertgreaves: Thank you all for the New Year wishes!

>15 beach85: I've never met a downright bad Doctor Who book -- even an OK one is worth my time :)

Happy New Year! I love the Talking Heads and I'm glad to see that you're also counting re-reads in your ROOT count. I always vaguely feel like I'm cheating when I count them, but you're right: they're in my library and they need to be enjoyed. I'm looking forward seeing what you're reading!

Hi RP, and Happy New Year!

>1 rabbitprincess: Our Friends of the Library had to cancel our 2 book sales in 2020 and we’ve already cancelled the Spring 2021 book sale, scheduled for March. We’re hoping to have at least one book sale this year.

Happy ROOTing!

Happy new year, and happy ROOTing! :)

Happy ROOTing this year! Happy New Year! I look forward to following your ROOTs this year.

Hello RabbitPrincess! I'm looking forward to following along with your progress.

>20 Miss_Moneypenny: The only place re-reads don't count for me is when I am trying to "pay back" books I've bought. I usually aim for about 6 re-reads a year. I doubled that loose goal last year, probably because the pandemic lent itself to re-reading.

>21 karenmarie: Happy New Year, Karen! I am hoping that things will improve enough for the big book sale one of the local public schools holds in November. It is a glorious sale, lots of really good books in really good condition (sometimes like new!).

>22 readingtangent: Thanks, and same to you!

>23 crazy4reading: Great to see you, Monica! Hope you have a good year as well :)

>24 susanj67: Thanks, Susan! I hope we both make good progress through our TBR stacks this year :)

First ROOT of the year is a nice short one.

Doctor Who: Ghost Stories, written by George Mann, illustrated by Ivan Rodriguez, Pasquale Qualano, and Dennis Calero (ebook)
ROOT 1 of 60
Source: Doctor Who Humble Bundle
Rating: 3/5
Review: https://www.librarything.com/review/179423649

This collection continues the story begun in the Twelfth Doctor episode "The Return of Doctor Mysterio" (which is one of my favourites). I liked the concept and the story, but the art was not to my taste.

Welcome back and #1 read already, yay! I always enjoy following your progress on the Pool.

Happy ROOTing in 2021! Another fan of Mrs. Pollifax here. I just reread the series last year :) This year maybe I will reread some of Gilman's standalone books such as The Nun in the Closet…

Good to see you again! You've got some great books in your pool!

Happy new year and happy ROOTing! Wishing you a year of great reading

>27 detailmuse: Thanks! I have two books from the Pool in my on-deck pile, which gets them that much closer to being read :D

>28 leslie.98: I never got into Gilman's stand-alones, but I never get tired of Mrs. Pollifax! I started reading them at the same time I discovered Monty Python, so when I read Mrs. Pollifax, my internal casting department makes Bishop look like Terry Jones in "The Bishop": https://montypython.fandom.com/wiki/The_Bishop_(sketch)

>29 MissWatson: Thanks, Birgit! I'm looking forward to them! And hoping the smaller Pool will actually be completed ;)

>30 Carmenere: Thanks, Lynda! I hope you have a great reading year as well.

The Story of a Hare, by J. C. Tregarthen
ROOT 2 of 60
Source: ebook, via Faded Page
Rating: 4/5
Review: https://www.librarything.com/review/194437865

Of COURSE I was going to read this book when I saw it on Faded Page. I enjoy stories featuring any member of the order Lagomorpha :)

>32 rabbitprincess: Are you on Twitter? I love the tweets by @BunnyNamedCoava.

>33 detailmuse: Oh that is a delightful feed! Thank you for sharing!

Henry VI, Part 1, by William Shakespeare
ROOT 3 of 60
Source: Book Bazaar
Rating: 3/5
Review: https://www.librarything.com/review/123463145

I joined a group read on Litsy that's starting the Henry VI plays at the rate of one act a week. Naturally I had to read the whole play in one week (albeit at the rate of one act a day). This was surprisingly fast-paced for a history play and set up some threads that will likely be continued in parts 2 and 3. Having watched The Hollow Crown beforehand may have made it easier to follow.

>35 rabbitprincess: Interesting idea to pace the reading of the plays like that - there is time to appreciate the writing but it must be hard to restrain yourself when the action is most intense.

I didn’t like part one much. It was too much history lesson without a distinct dramatic quality, but I really enjoyed the second and especially the third part. The contrast between Henry and the later Richard III is fascinating.

>36 Henrik_Madsen: I've been keeping only half an eye on most of the discussions, but they might do it that way to give people time to read the act and maybe other materials if they want to get more context or look up stuff that is mentioned in the play.

I might have become more bogged down in the play if I'd tried to read it all in one go like a novel; this approach definitely didn't serve me well with plays like Othello and King Lear and Julius Caesar.

After nearly a week of trying to finish up library books, I'm finally back with a ROOT.

Life, the Universe and Everything, by Douglas Adams
ROOT 4 of 60
Going Through the Stacks #101
Source: bought for myself a long time ago
Rating: 3.5/5
Review: https://www.librarything.com/review/70444419

I haven't read this installment of the Hitchhiker's Guide series nearly as much as the first book, and I probably liked it more now than I did in my preteens, when I first discovered the books. It's a bit meandery and silly, but quite enjoyable. Looking forward to seeing what I make of So Long and Thanks for All the Fish.

>38 rabbitprincess: I found Life, the Universe and Everything the low point of the series - too meandery for me I guess. Speaking of Adams, I need to get to The Salmon of Doubt sometime this year...

>39 leslie.98: My low point was So Long and Thanks for All the Fish. I seem to recall it being less fun than even Life, the Universe and Everything. It's the only one of the five that I have in a different format, so maybe that was part of the problem. Apparently the physical characteristics of the book have an effect on my reading!

****

Last year my reading mojo was so depleted that I couldn't even keep up with Serial Reader reading. I'm happy to report that I'm back on that train.

The Gambler, by Fyodor Dostoevsky (translated by J. C. Hogarth)
ROOT 5 of 60
Source: Serial Reader
Rating: 3/5
Review: https://www.librarything.com/review/194437766

I'd likely call this my "favourite" Dostoevsky so far by virtue of the fact that it's short. Dostoevsky's protagonists tend to get really wound up and bounce from one emotional extreme to another, which was exhausting in The Brothers Karamazov. There was a bit of that bouncing around in The Gambler but not as much.

>38 rabbitprincess: Like you, I found Adams as a pre-teen. I still have all the books but am a little wary about going back -- I'd be worried they wouldn't hold up.

>41 curioussquared: Same here!

>41 curioussquared: Whereas I never read Adams and he didn't really cross my radar till much later. As it happens I've still not read any of the Hitchhikers books (I know! Must remedy that), but have enjoyed the two books of his I have read (Dirk Gently and Last Chance to See).

>41 curioussquared: >42 connie53: I've found I am a bit more charitable toward my less-preferred installments now, because I know they aren't on the same level as Hitchhiker's Guide. I was definitely more set in my ways about these kinds of things as an 11-year-old (although some may say I am still rather set in my ways, haha).

>43 Jackie_K: I'm going to have to re-read the Dirk Gentlys next, once I'm finished my re-read of Hitchhiker's! Then I want to try the UK TV adaptation. I tried the US one with Elijah Wood but didn't get on with it. Probably more me than the show.

****

Last ROOT of January was a pretty good one.

Attack of the Unsinkable Rubber Ducks, by Christopher Brookmyre
ROOT 6 of 60
Source: Great Glebe Garage Sale
Rating: 3/5
Review: https://www.librarything.com/review/169132756

I put this on my read-soon pile after James Randi died last October; he coined the phrase "unsinkable rubber ducks", which is explained in the book. Only three months later, I've finally read it. I liked it but it was a bit of a slow burn. Nevertheless, I was invested in finding out how everything fit together.

>44 rabbitprincess:
I admit to being incredibly intrigued by that title...

>44 rabbitprincess: >45 Caramellunacy: I love the title too, it's very silly B movie-esque!

>45 Caramellunacy: >46 Jackie_K: He has a lot of good titles, including A Big Boy Did It and Ran Away and All Fun and Games Until Somebody Loses an Eye.

****

January recap: 6 ROOTS pulled (YTD: 6)

Doctor Who: Ghost Stories, written by George Mann, illustrated by Ivan Rodriguez, Pasquale Qualano, and Dennis Calero (ebook)
The Story of a Hare, by J. C. Tregarthen (Faded Page)
Henry VI, Part 1, by William Shakespeare
Life, the Universe and Everything, by Douglas Adams (re-read)
The Gambler, by Fyodor Dostoevsky (Serial Reader)
Attack of the Unsinkable Rubber Ducks, by Christopher Brookmyre

ROOT of the Month: The Story of a Hare (of course)

Books from the Pool:

Completed this month: 0
In progress: 1
On deck: 2

>47 rabbitprincess: Nice progress! One of these days I'd like to re-read the Hitchhiker's series, too. I loved them so much the first time around :).

You're doing good with the ROOTs, RP. Another fan of Mrs Pollifax here. I should get back to those books for a re-read sometime soon.

I enjoyed How to Stop Time- it was fun. I have the Midnight Library on my digital queue. It's by the same author, Matt Haig. That one looks very interesting too.

I loved your choice of January ROOT.

>48 readingtangent: They've made very good light reads during the pandemic!

>49 Familyhistorian: There are one or two I never managed to read when I was more actively reading the series, so it will be fun to go hunting for them once I'm able to browse bookstores and library sales again.

>50 enemyanniemae: Excellent, I'll add How to Stop Time to the list then! And yes the January ROOT choice was pretty apt :)

>44 rabbitprincess: Hmm, as a long-time fan of James Randi, I'm wondering if I should add that one to the wishlist.

>52 bragan: It may be worth a shot!

****

It's been a slow reading month for me so far. Didn't finish my first ROOT until Valentine's Day!

Air Bridge, by Hammond Innes
ROOT 7 of 60
Source: Bearly Used Books, Parry Sound, ON
Rating: 3/5
Review: https://www.librarything.com/review/168724144

Of course I'm going to pick up cheesy-looking mid-20th-century thrillers with airplanes on the cover. This one is about the Berlin airlift, a part of the Cold War I haven't read much about, so that was an interesting angle.

OK, now I've managed to pick up the pace a bit. Finished three ROOTs this week! Here are reviews for two of them.

Slaughterhouse-Five, by Kurt Vonnegut, Jr.
ROOT 8 of 60
Going Through the Stacks #102
Source: library book sale
Rating: 4.5/5
Review: https://www.librarything.com/review/70443588

I'm not entirely sure what prompted me to pick this book up again for a re-read, but I'm glad I did. I read this last when I was in university, so little memory of the finer details, but I was propelled along by the story.

Ashenden: Or, The British Agent, by W. Somerset Maugham (Faded Page)
ROOT 9 of 60
Source: Faded Page
Rating: 3/5
Review: https://www.librarything.com/review/195173970

This has been on my to-read list for AGES because it's on one of the Top 100 Crime Novels lists I used to get my Goodreads list started back in the day. It was a coolly interesting collection of stories. The Switzerland part was my favourite.

>54 rabbitprincess: I've had a battered copy of Ashenden on my shelf for ages and ages. Maybe this will be the year I get to it!

>54 rabbitprincess: I really enjoyed Slaughterhouse-Five when I read it a couple of years ago. It had been one of those books I had heard a lot about, but just never gotten round to read. And when I did it turned out to be something a great book unlike anything I had ever come across before.

>55 curioussquared: Hope you like it!

>56 Henrik_Madsen: It was excellent! And strangely now I want to revisit Joseph Heller's Catch-22.

****

The Inimitable Jeeves, by P. G. Wodehouse
ROOT 10 of 60
Source: Serial Reader
Rating: 4/5
Review: https://www.librarything.com/review/195762288

A delightful splash of colour in my days. This volume of Jeeves stories featured Bingo Little's various romantic tribulations. Could be repetitive, but I spaced it out enough thanks to Serial Reader.

Hi RP, 10 out of 60 is a good thing. You're right on track.

Good progress with your ROOTing, rabbitprincess. Keep up the reading. :-)

>58 connie53: >59 This-n-That: Thanks for the encouragement! Feels good to be on track.

****

Falls the Shadow, by Sharon Kay Penman
ROOT 11 of 60
Source: Chaptigo
Rating: 4.5/5
Review: https://www.librarything.com/review/139133269

The second volume in the Welsh Princes trilogy is even better than the first. It was a melancholy experience reading it when the news about Penman's death broke. But what better way to honour her memory than by enjoying one of her books?

A Legacy of Spies, by John le Carré (audio, read by Tom Hollander)
ROOT 12 of 60
Source: CDs
Rating: 4/5
Review: https://www.librarything.com/review/155722817

I've read this before in print and picked up the audio because of Tom Hollander. I still think either Benedict Cumberbatch, or even better, his father, Timothy Carlton, should have narrated this (in a nod to the 2011 film of Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy), but Tom does a good job.

>60 rabbitprincess: You put me in the mood for a political thriller. I have two on the shelves by Nelson DeMille, a favorite writer.

>61 detailmuse: Enjoy!

****

Nipping some book malaise in the bud by bailing on two public-domain ebook reads.

Arsène Lupin contre Herlock Sholmès, by Maurice Leblanc
ROOT 13 of 60
Source: Faded Page
Rating: 2/5
Review: https://www.librarything.com/review/196682605

This is probably more of an "it's not you, it's me" sort of bail. I am not fond of Holmes pastiches where Watson is portrayed as dimwitted. Being less smart than Holmes does not automatically equal being stupid.

The Celtic Twilight, by W.B. Yeats
ROOT 14 of 60
Source: Faded Page
Rating: 2/5
Review: https://www.librarything.com/review/196753986

I'm not sure if this actually overlaps with Irish Fairy and Folk Tales, but it felt like it did. And that was a long slog that I was not up to.

February recap: 8 ROOTS pulled (YTD: 14)

Air Bridge, by Hammond Innes
Slaughterhouse-Five, by Kurt Vonnegut, Jr. (reread)
Ashenden: Or, The British Agent, by W. Somerset Maugham (Faded Page)
The Inimitable Jeeves, by P. G. Wodehouse (Serial Reader)
Falls the Shadow, by Sharon Kay Penman
A Legacy of Spies, by John le Carré (audio, read by Tom Hollander)
Arsène Lupin contre Herlock Sholmès, by Maurice Leblanc (Faded Page)
The Celtic Twilight, by W.B. Yeats (Serial Reader)

ROOT of the Month: Falls the Shadow

Books from the Pool:

Completed this month: 2
In progress: 0
On deck: 2

Hi RP!

>54 rabbitprincess: I re-read Slaughterhouse Five in 2009 and it was good as the first time I read it. One of my LT friends said he’d never read it, and I said I’d never read The Rapture of Canaan by Sheri Reynolds. The “I’ll read yours if you’ll read mine” challenge was on and we both really appreciated a book we were never going to read.

>60 rabbitprincess: I just acquired The Spy Who Came in From the Cold, The Looking Glass War, and The Naïve & Sentimental Lover by le Carré. I’ve tentatively tagged The Looking Glass War to read this year.

Congrats on a good reading month in February!

>64 karenmarie: The Spy Who Came In From the Cold is my book club's choice for April

Hi RP, just visiting your thread to see what you are reading. Nice!

Hello RP - you're doing really well with the ROOTs so far! I know what you mean about having to stop for library books, though - I try to reserve things at the elibrary that have months to go but somehow they arrive more quickly than I planned.

Hi rabbitprincess, I think you're reading the British Library's crime classics. I just finished Fell Murder by E.C.R. Lorac, which was very good. I recommend it.

>64 karenmarie: Thanks, Karen! I like that idea of swapping "I've never read"s with someone. Glad you both enjoyed the books you hadn't read before.

>65 Robertgreaves: Great choice! I kept picturing Richard Burton whenever Leamas showed up in A Legacy of Spies.

>66 connie53: Hi Connie! It's getting more springlike here -- I hope you'll be able to get back into the garden soon :)

>67 susanj67: Thanks, Susan! The library books seem to be like buses, always coming in clumps. Our library has started automatically renewing books for you if nobody's placed a hold on them, and I am leaning on that quite heavily at the moment.

>68 QuestingA: Thanks for the rec! I'll have to look out for that one. I've liked at least most of hers that I've read so far. My favourite was probably Murder by Matchlight.

The Adventures of Robin Hood, by Roger Lancelyn Green
ROOT 15 of 60
Source: no idea
Rating: 5/5
Review: https://www.librarything.com/work/42230/reviews/70476115

I was in the mood for a re-read, and this was what I picked up. I love this retelling and it's made me want to re-read Ivanhoe too.

>70 rabbitprincess: said: "I love this retelling and it's made me want to re-read Ivanhoe too."

Oh, good. I'm not the only one this happens to! Rereading The Three Musketeers made me want to reread The Count of Monte Cristo but I have been resisting that urge in order to get to some of my ROOTs (and I still have several library books to read as well).

>70 rabbitprincess: I haven't ever read much of Ivanhoe, but I was pleasantly amused by the bit that I did read. I may move on to Scott next, after I've finished North and South.

>71 leslie.98: I've never read The Count of Monte Cristo! Part of me wants to read it in French, but the more realistic part of me thinks I should hold out for a good translation ;)

>72 Caramellunacy: Ooh I liked North and South! Wives and Daughters is my favourite Gaskell though.

****

A couple of ROOTs to report.

Shadow in the Glass, by Stephen Cole and Justin Richards
ROOT 16 of 60
Source: BMV, Toronto
Rating: 1/5
Review: https://www.librarything.com/review/147110296

A Doctor Who book has to be pretty objectionable for me to rate it 1 star. What torpedoed this book for me? A conspiracy theory surrounding the death of Hitler. I have zero stomach for WW2 counterfactuals, and conspiracy theories fall into that category.

Checkpoint Charlie and the Wall: A Divided People Rebel, by Werner Sikorski
ROOT 17 of 60
Source: Rockcliffe Park book sale
Rating: 3/5
Review: https://www.librarything.com/review/174965403

This was a random find at my favourite used book sale (which I sorely missed last year, among all the book sales that were cancelled as a result of COVID). Worth the purchase price at any rate!

>73 rabbitprincess: Ah, the dilemmas of being bilingual! There is no way I could read it in French despite having taken it as my foreign language through most of secondary school... But whether you read it in French or English, you should definitely try to make time to read it! One of the world's best revenge sagas with a touch of romance thrown in :)

>73 rabbitprincess: That's how I keep feeling about Les Miserables. But realistically... I'm 99.9% sure I will never get around to reading it in French, lol.

Do you have any favorite French novels you've read in the original?

>73 rabbitprincess: I have always found it amazingly easy to read in French. There's reams and reams of dialogue which is quite easy to follow. Plus: Edmond Dantès!

>75 curioussquared: My French is pretty rusty, but I do enjoy the Asterix books in the original language. That's about my level these days, although I do have a Camus book in French on the pile. I'm not in a huge hurry to get to that though!

When I was still working at school as a secretary to the deans one of them was/is a French teacher and I occasionally picked a French book that she was reading with her classes from the piles she had. It was very good to see my French was still enough to understand most of the texts. But I will stick to Dutch and English reading.

>74 leslie.98: I'll probably add it to the virtual pile on Serial Reader :)

>75 curioussquared: I have the Christine Donougher translation of Les Mis in the Penguin Deluxe Classics edition. Gorgeous! Now to carve out the time to read it.

Lately I've been enjoying Fred Vargas's Commissaire Adamsberg series and Maurice Druon's The Accursed Kings series in the original French.

>76 MissWatson: I think I'm more concerned about not knowing the more obscure historical French of Dumas's era. Modern French works pretty well for me. The dialogue helps for sure!

>77 Jackie_K: Asterix is on my list of books to get back to, to complement my occasional reading of Tintin. Camus would be a good choice as well -- I've read The Plague in English and want to read it in French.... maybe not for a couple of years though, haha.

>78 connie53: It is great when you pick up a book in another language and you can follow along! I find I can usually get the idea of some words and expressions from context, but then I go look them up so that I can use them later :)

Coming late to this conversation, but I studied French and German at university (though opted not to do much in the way of literature) and this has essentially resulted in me reading none of the "classics" written in those languages, as I'm too daunted by the original version, but feel guilty at the idea of picking up an English translation. This is a ridiculous state of affairs and - 20 years after graduating - I think it's time to ditch the guilt! I'm glad you're being more realistic :)

>80 Rebeki: I figure for the longer or more intimidating-seeming novels, I can always do a re-read in the original French, once I've read the English to get the general story. For the Count of Monte Cristo anyway, I have at least seen an adaptation (from the children's TV show Wishbone) :)

Certainly in the case of the Adamsberg novels, I chose the French originals because I'd heard that the translations felt clunky to some people, and I felt I'd probably be spending the book trying to back-translate!

****

Haven't finished many ROOTs lately. Reading has slowed down a lot, partly because of "ugh one-year anniversary of the lockdown" and partly because I got hooked on the farming RPG Stardew Valley :) I am working on an audiobook though, and I think audiobooks will be my go-to for the next little while.

>81 rabbitprincess: Oh, I love Stardew Valley! It's so pleasant and absorbing - plus it works a treat to hang out with family far away chatting while harvesting blueberries or fishing.

>82 Caramellunacy: My other half got me set up with a multiplayer farm so that he could show me how the game mechanics work. Then I set up a second single-player farm for myself. There have been some days in the past month where playing Stardew has been the most productive thing I've done that day! Even though the crops aren't real, I do feel proud when I harvest a gold-star batch of cranberries ;) It took me a while to get the knack of fishing, but now I really like it. I've even slowly started conquering the mines, although I have to take out my headphones because I startle easily with sound and don't want to hear the monsters!

>81 rabbitprincess: Another Stardew addict here! It took out large swaths of my reading time last year :) at this point I've completed the community center and gotten married, so I drifted away a bit without those goals, but I want to get back to it because the creator recently released a big update in the game with new locations. Maybe I'll play a little today... My best friend and I have also started a multiplayer farm and played while on the phone during lockdown and that's been a fun way to virtually hang out.

>84 curioussquared: Playing multiplayer is such a great way to hang out! My other half and I sit in separate rooms and talk over Zoom as we play, haha. I downloaded it after 1.5 came out, so I have all the new stuff already. The Beach Farm looks super neat! My eventual goal is to have one save file for each type of farm, except for the Wilderness Farm because I don't want a farm with monsters on it.

My daughter's another fan of Stardew Valley! I'm clueless about it, but the soundtrack and background noises are quite sweet. She and Pete laughed at me the other week when I got all excited thinking I'd heard a new bird chirping in the garden, but it turned out to be on Stardew Valley.

>81 rabbitprincess: I also prefer to read contemporary fiction in the original French - it's just those 19th-century novels that intimidate me! But you're right - it's always possible to go back and reread in the original language if the book is worthwhile.

I have never heard of Stardew Valley, but that sounds like a fortunate thing for my reading!

>86 Jackie_K: The soundtrack is delightful! I ended up buying the first volume of music as an album on Bandcamp. The animal noises are fun as well. My BF and I have cows on the farm we share, and today he was saying they were making a lot of noise :D

>87 Rebeki: Haha yes it is probably a good thing for your reading, but if there were a time in your life when you didn't feel like reading, this would be a good distraction ;)

****

March recap: 3 ROOTS pulled (YTD: 17)

The Adventures of Robin Hood, by Roger Lancelyn Green (re-read)
Shadow in the Glass, by Stephen Cole and Justin Richards
Checkpoint Charlie and the Wall: A Divided People Rebel, by Werner Sikorski

ROOT of the Month: The Adventures of Robin Hood

Books from the Pool:

Completed this month: 0
In progress: 1
On deck: 3

****

Q1 Pool update: 2/25 books read. Not great progress.

All of you who read in other languages make me feel bad as I only read in English. Maybe I should try to read something in French, something really short!

>88 rabbitprincess: I see Mrs. Pollifax on your pile! I remember enjoying that one lo, these many years ago and hope it has not since been visited by the Suck Fairy as I recall them being rather delightful.

>89 Familyhistorian: Yes! Or you could start by reading a translation of something you've already read in English, so that you at least have an idea of the story. When I was first building up my second-language reading muscles, I did that with Harry Potter.

>90 Caramellunacy: Most of my favourites in the series that I've re-read recently have been delightful! I'm not sure what I'll make of Mrs Pollifax and the Lion Killer whenever I get back to that one... given that it's set in a fictional African country and was written by a white author, that might be awkward to read now :-/

>91 rabbitprincess: I was just listening to Judi Dench on David Tennant's podcast talking about how she would like to play someone written off as benign and bumbling, but who was actually bumping people off - and aside from the villainous part, my first thought was that she would make a brilliant Mrs. Pollifax.

>92 Caramellunacy: I would watch the heck out of either of those shows, if they existed.

Apparently there have been two adaptations of The Unexpected Mrs. Pollifax: a 1971 film featuring Rosalind Russell, and a 1999 TV movie featuring Angela Lansbury. In the Lansbury adaptation, a guy with the last name of Bishop plays Carstairs, which is funny because of the character named Bishop.

Hi RP. Just want to wish you a Happy Easter and see what you are up to.

>94 connie53: Thanks, Connie! Easter is my favourite holiday: bunnies and chocolate! :) Happy Easter to you as well!

>95 rabbitprincess: Especially the chocolate!

>93 rabbitprincess: lol - Bishop playing Carstairs!! But I can't imagine either Rosalind Russell or Angela Lansbury as Mrs. Pollifax. Why is it that movie producers & directors have such a hard time casting old women? Think of all the terrible choices made for Miss Marple over the years like Margaret Rutherford!

Just passing through, RP!

It cracks me up that you play Stardew in separate rooms with Zoom. My husband and I text each other even if we're only a room apart sometimes.

>96 connie53: Easter chocolate is the best kind! I'm going to have to go find some more.

>97 mstrust: Thanks, Jennifer! I love the card :)

>98 leslie.98: Haha the Margaret Rutherford movies are a running joke in our household -- my BF hated the harpsichord music that was part of the soundtrack, so of course I make reference to it as much as possible :D

>99 karenmarie: We have a 2-bedroom apartment, and his computer is in the second bedroom; we figured that of the two of us, I'd be more likely to have friends over, so he could have the second bedroom / office to hide from us in ;) My computer is in the living room area. Not great for work from home, but nothing a virtual background can't solve :)

Having fun here learning a bit about Stardew Valley. It sounds like a good distraction, and it makes me smile to picture everyone incorporating the sounds of those digital animals into their household day :)

>100 rabbitprincess: And did you find some?

How's the reading going?

>101 detailmuse: It is a very good distraction. I am not a computer game person, but I love this!

>102 connie53: Yep, found some chocolate, but did not find a lot of reading mojo. I haven't finished any ROOTs this month!

>103 rabbitprincess: I'm slow at my ROOTing too. Must be the time or year.

>104 connie53: I am probably also watching too much TV or playing computer games!

****

At long last, ROOTS!

Lost Stories: The Fourth Doctor by Robert Banks Stewart (Big Finish audio drama)
ROOT 18 of 60
Source: Big Finish Humble bundle
Rating: 3.5/5
Review: https://www.librarything.com/review/179423616

These were originally written as possible candidates for the TV series of Doctor Who but were resurrected as Big Finish audio dramas. The Foe from the Future in particular felt like it would have made a good TV story. Valley of Death would have busted the special-effects budget.

Bicycle Diaries, by David Byrne
ROOT 19 of 60
Source: Xmas gift
Rating: 3.5/5
Review: https://www.librarything.com/review/198796397

This is probably a bit lighter on bike infrastructure and a bit heavier on discussions of art and architecture and culture than you might imagine based on the dust jacket. It goes off on a lot of tangents, but DB's preface warns about this, so I knew what to expect. Would love to see an updated edition once travel is safe again, maybe with some new cities (...Ottawa??).

I did read some ROOT's too. Finished a small ROOT last Friday. And I'm now halfway Alias Grace by Margaret Atwood so I'm picking up speed!

>106 connie53: Excellent!

****

Two more to report.

Kidnapped, by Robert Louis Stevenson
ROOT 20 of 60
Going Through the Stacks #103
Source: probably a gift, this time read on Serial Reader
Rating: 4/5
Review: https://www.librarything.com/work/24257/reviews/71328467

I was trying to get back into Serial Reader so decided to re-read this book despite already owning a print copy. It was a good re-read, although the Gutenberg edition that Serial Reader uses likes to explain Scottish terms in parentheses, which is annoying in dialogue.

Rip It Up: The Story of Scottish Pop, by Vic Galloway
ROOT 21 of 60
Source: National Museums Scotland, Edinburgh, Scotland
Rating: 3.5/5
Review: https://www.librarything.com/review/160501799

I bought this after seeing the National Museums Scotland exhibition of the same name in 2018. It's a pretty good book, with the strongest part beginning in the 80s. I'm going to have fun looking up all the artists mentioned.

April recap: 4 ROOTS pulled (YTD: 21)

Fourth Doctor Boxset: The Lost Stories, by Robert Banks Stewart (Big Finish audio drama)
Bicycle Diaries, by David Byrne
Kidnapped, by Robert Louis Stevenson (re-read via Serial Reader)
Rip It Up: The Story of Scottish Pop, by Vic Galloway

ROOT of the Month: Bicycle Diaries

Books from the Pool:

Completed this month: 1
In progress: 1
On deck: 1

FINALLY getting around to reviewing a ROOT I read at the beginning of the month.

Lennox, by Craig Russell
ROOT 22 of 60
Source: Christmas gift
Rating: 4/5
Review: https://www.librarything.com/review/198796488

I started with book 4 in the series, liked it, and started at the beginning again. Will probably binge the rest.

I have been soooooo sloooooooow at reading this month. Ugh.

American Utopia, by David Byrne and Maira Kalman
ROOT 23 of 60
Source: Christmas gift
Rating: 3/5
Review: https://www.librarything.com/review/198796430

This is a bit of a niche book: pictures and text from David Byrne's Broadway show American Utopia. It worked pretty well when I flipped through it while watching the Spike Lee film of the show. I'm not sure how well it works on its own though.

Sorry to hear about the reading slump :(

In other news, I found out this week that the house literally next door to Leakey's in Inverness is for sale. I think having them as neighbours would be fatal for any attempt to reduce Mt TBR! (see here: https://www.rightmove.co.uk/properties/91104007#/ )

>111 Jackie_K: Haha I love that the listing specifically mentions "neighbouring a book shop" :D Very important information! Thanks for the link. I've sent it to my parents in hopes that they are considering a retirement property ;)

And thanks for the commiseration! I just haven't been able to focus on reading as much as I'd like. Hoping that having the next week off will help... that and bailing on a couple of long-standing books!

So apparently I forgot about a ROOT... I was trying to forget about it...

Puppet on a Chain, by Alistair MacLean
ROOT 24 of 60
Source: library book sale
Rating: 1.5/5
Review: https://www.librarything.com/review/107475880

I've been trying to read this for two months and it just wasn't working. "Squalid" is the word I would use to describe the atmosphere.

Fortunately, Lennox was better.

The Long Glasgow Kiss, by Craig Russell
ROOT 25 of 60
Source: Stirling Books, Stirling, Scotland
Rating: 4/5
Review: https://www.librarything.com/review/160767453

I'm really enjoying this series and am vexed that books 4 and 5 in the series, recently reprinted, are not available at the moment! I've asked Book Depository to notify me if they come back in stock, but I might have to try AbeBooks.

Death in the Tunnel, by Miles Burton
ROOT 26 of 60
Source: Chaptigo
Rating: 3.5/5
Review: https://www.librarything.com/review/133214984

Another of the many British Library Crime Classics in my possession. This was a good one, heavily featuring trains. Suspension of disbelief is required, but I was prepared to do that.

>110 rabbitprincess: I have been soooooo sloooooooow at reading this month. Ugh.

Me too! - nothing finished since May 13 :0 I'm blaming it on spending my energy on spreading compost/mulch in all my plant beds. Thankfully, I'm finally in a book I'm liking and that has given me some energy to catch up on reviews.

>115 detailmuse: That is a good way to spend time as well! Glad you're into a book you're enjoying :)

****

May recap: 5 ROOTS pulled (YTD: 26)

Lennox, by Craig Russell
American Utopia, by David Byrne and Maira Kalman
Puppet on a Chain, by Alistair Maclean
The Long Glasgow Kiss, by Craig Russell
Death in the Tunnel, by Miles Burton

ROOT of the Month: Lennox

Books from the Pool:

Completed this month: 1
In progress: 0
On deck: 0

A Tapping at My Door, by David Jackson
ROOT 27 of 60
Source: Bearly Used Books, Parry Sound, ON
Rating: 3.5/5
Review: https://www.librarything.com/review/168723999

This is the first in a series set in Liverpool. I liked it enough to buy the other three books in the series on spec ;)

From Liverpool to Glasgow...

The Deep Dark Sleep, by Craig Russell
ROOT 28 of 60
Source: Christmas gift
Rating: 4/5
Review: https://www.librarything.com/review/198796514

Now I've read all the Lennox books in my possession. This is such a good series. Will have to order the other two books. They make a good investment... my mum reads them too :)

I was about to do my month-end stats and realized I had forgotten to record a ROOT here!

The Doorbell Rang, by Rex Stout
ROOT 29 of 60
Source: used book sale at the Great Glebe Garage Sale
Rating: 3.5/5
Review: https://www.librarything.com/review/130511154

This was a very economically told mystery, only about 150 pages in my edition. A good introduction to Nero Wolfe.

June recap: 3 ROOTS pulled (YTD: 29)

A Tapping at My Door, by David Jackson
The Deep Dark Sleep, by Craig Russell
The Doorbell Rang, by Rex Stout

ROOT of the Month: The Deep Dark Sleep

Books from the Pool:

Completed this month: 0
In progress: 1
On deck: 2

****

Q2 Pool update: I've doubled my Pool books read. However, this just means I've read 4 of 25 books :-/

>120 rabbitprincess: I've doubled my Pool books read. However, this just means I've read 4 of 25 books :-/

:) Excellent use of statistics!

>121 detailmuse: Haha, I agree! There must be some kind of graph you can make where one axis is so distorted that the rise from 2 to 4 books takes up most of the graph!

>121 detailmuse: >122 Jackie_K: Haha probably! Maybe I should re-borrow How Charts Lie, by Alberto Cairo, to figure it out ;)

The Naming of the Dead, by Ian Rankin
ROOT 30 of 60
Source: pilfered from mum’s collection (she had a duplicate)
Rating: 3.5/5
Review: https://www.librarything.com/review/139917814

A re-read of a book I read 14 years ago and had pretty much forgotten entirely (if I read it before Goodreads or LibraryThing, I barely remember it).

O my! Neglecting your thread since April! How did that happen? I'm here now and seeing the reading takes up speed.

I hope everything is fine, RP!.

>125 connie53: Thanks for stopping by, Connie! This thread hasn't been terribly busy in the past couple of months. I had a wicked reading slump that I'm only just now climbing out of.

I hope the climb goes steady and you get back into the reading groove!

>127 connie53: I'm getting there, although mostly with library books ;) Working on a ROOT this evening.

Past the halfway mark, only slightly behind schedule!

The English Way of Death, by Gareth Roberts
ROOT 31 of 60
Source: used-book sale at the Great Glebe Garage Sale (pre-pandemic)
Rating: 4/5
Review: https://www.librarything.com/review/141824465

This is the Fourth Doctor's entry in the "history collection" of Doctor Who novels, and is set during a heatwave in London in 1930. A fun story.

>129 rabbitprincess: Past the half way mark is a good thing, RP.

>130 connie53: Indeed! It was looking pretty rough a couple of months ago.

Murder in the Museum, by John Rowland
ROOT 32 of 60
Source: Chaptigo
Rating: 3/5
Review: https://www.librarything.com/review/133214933

Yet another British Library Crime Classic. This one will do the rounds of my best friend and my mum, then probably be passed along to the secondhand shops. It was OK but not a keeper for me.

Looks like you're getting out of the slump - I hope the second half of the year has many good reads!

>132 Jackie_K: Thanks, Jackie! The clouds seem to have cleared and I'm back on the reading train. Now instead of not feeling like reading, I feel like reading all the things at once!

I admire all you folks who can read in more than one language. I did try to brush up on my rusty French now that my 12 year old has started learning French but it's a work in progress.

>133 rabbitprincess: Reading all the things at once is my downfall—I feel like I never finish anything because I’m always trying to read everthing. But reading anything is good!

>134 humouress: It's definitely a muscle that becomes stronger with practice! French translations of familiar stories help a fair bit. I also like reading Georges Simenon; the Maigrets are short and dialogue-filled, which is easier than more descriptive fiction.

>135 Charon07: Yes! I am trying to reframe having all the books on the go at once as "I have something going for every possible reading mood"... results are mixed.

****

The Witch Elm, by Tana French
ROOT 33 of 60
Source: Pickwick Books, Waterdown
Rating: 4.5/5
Review: https://www.librarything.com/review/168674266

I've had this on my read-soon pile for most of 2021 and finally got stuck into it. It is so good! A lucky find in a used bookstore on my last big road trip.

The Lost Books of the Odyssey, by Zachary Mason
ROOT 34 of 60
Source: Mr B’s Emporium of Bookish Delights, Bath, England
Rating: 3.5/5
Review: https://www.librarything.com/review/121627771

This took me about 6 years to pull off the shelf, and now it's making me want to pull The Odyssey off the shelf!

July recap: 5 ROOTS pulled (YTD: 34)

The Naming of the Dead, by Ian Rankin (re-read)
The English Way of Death, by Gareth Roberts
Murder in the Museum, by John Rowland
The Witch Elm, by Tana French
The Lost Books of the Odyssey, by Zachary Mason

ROOT of the Month: The Witch Elm

Books from the Pool:

Completed this month: 1
In progress: 1
On deck: 5 (I really want to read more from the Pool in August!)

Attack of the Video Villains, by Franklin W. Dixon
ROOT 35 of 60
Source: Rockcliffe Park book sale
Rating: 2.5/5
Review: https://www.librarything.com/review/135780527

I needed a quick book for a sense of accomplishment, and this book delivered. It is laughably dated, but that's part of its charm.

I didn't realize that The Hardy Boys had survived into the gaming era!

Hi RP!

It's been way too long since I visited. I'm glad you're back on the reading train.

>119 rabbitprincess: I read all of the Nero Wolfe books from last April to June of this year, and it was comfort reading at its finest.

>140 mstrust: And they're still being written today! I've also learned there's a new streaming series on Hulu that was shot in southern Ontario. Woo hoo!

>141 karenmarie: Hi Karen! Thanks for stopping by. I'm glad to be back on the reading train, too. Nero Wolfe seems like a good comfort series!

****

Henry VI, Part 2, by William Shakespeare
ROOT 36 of 60
Source: Chaptigo
Rating: 2.5/5
Review: https://www.librarything.com/review/123863531

This took me 5 months to finish, and I think I need to watch The Hollow Crown again to refresh my memory of characters before finishing off the trilogy.

The Seven-Percent Solution, by Nicholas Meyer
ROOT 37 of 60
Source: BMV
Rating: 4/5
Review: https://www.librarything.com/review/112440910

This has been on my shelves since September 2014, so it took me nearly 7 years to read. And now I want to re-read my Sherlock Holmes collections! I also need to collect a couple more -- back when Sherlock was on the air, the BBC was printing TV tie-in editions of the books with Benedict Cumberbatch and Martin Freeman on the cover, but of course they never got around to printing The Valley of Fear or The Case-Book of Sherlock Holmes, so I won't have a full set :(
(and yes, I was deliberately seeking out the TV tie-in edition, which I know is heresy)

>143 rabbitprincess: I think this is acceptable heresy in the case of Sherlock!

>143 rabbitprincess: I listened to a Holmes pastiche read by Benedryl Bandersnatch, and it was delightful (Benedict Cumberbatch Reads Sherlock Holmes' Rediscovered Railway Mysteries by John Taylor, from BBC Digital Audio).

>144 curioussquared: I am glad that someone else agrees with this thought :D

>145 Charon07: Oh yes, that was a fun collection! I wish he would do more!

I still hope they continue with the Cumberbatch Sherlock series. Never say never, they revived The X-Files after 15 years.

>147 mstrust: I'm happy with whatever the creators are happy with, so if they decide to keep the series at the place it's at, that's fine with me. In the meantime, I get to geek out over Benedict as Doctor Strange :D

****

Nonsense Novels, by Stephen Leacock
ROOT 38 of 60
Source: library book sale (April 2016)
Rating: 4/5
Review: https://www.librarything.com/review/129465685

This is easily my second-favourite Leacock, if not my most favourite. This collection consists of 10 stories, and I snorted out loud at least once at each of them. One of them, the sea story I think, had me laughing so loud that my other half, who was in another room, asked me later what I had been laughing about.

I've noted Leacock as I'd never heard of him. Thanks!

Hi RP. waving at you again!

>149 mstrust: Excellent, hope you like him!

>150 connie53: Hi Connie! Waving back :)

****

The Unexpected Mrs. Pollifax, by Dorothy Gilman
ROOT 39 of 60
Going Through the Stacks #104
Source: probably a gift (I’ve had it forever)
Rating: 4/5
Review: https://www.librarything.com/review/70476194

I think my Going Through the Stacks count is actually off, because I was looking at my list of reviews and one book was on the list twice. Ugh. I'll have to go back and clean all the posts up. Another time though.

This was a delightful diversion for a lazy weekend. I've liked this series for a long time and hadn't read this particular book in the series for ages. I didn't know it was originally published in 1966!

August recap: 5 ROOTS pulled (YTD: 39)

Attack of the Video Villains, by Franklin W. Dixon
Henry VI, Part 2, by William Shakespeare
The Seven-Percent-Solution, by Nicholas Meyer
Nonsense Novels, by Stephen Leacock
The Unexpected Mrs. Pollifax, by Dorothy Gilman (reread)

ROOT of the Month: Nonsense Novels

Books from the Pool:

Completed this month: 3
In progress: 3
On deck: 3

First ROOT of September has been on the go since June. I found a new knitting project to occupy my time, so that helped me finish this audiobook off :)

Harvest of Time, by Alastair Reynolds (audio, read by Geoffrey Beevers)
ROOT 40 of 60
Source: ripped from CDs
Rating: 3/5
Review: https://www.librarything.com/review/103374983

I liked this book well enough but wasn't really engaged until the last third or so of it. Also, after listening to so many excellent full-cast audio dramas, I found it a bit tiring to listen to one person read the whole book, especially when said person is an older English man doing the voice of a younger Scottish woman. Perhaps a two-handed narration with a woman to handle the female roles (of which there weren't many) would have made this more engaging for me.

>153 rabbitprincess: I love a full cast audio drama! I definitely find myself more engaged listening to those compared to a single person reading a book. I just finished up listening to the Illuminae Files series and have started listening to the audio drama version of Just One Damned Thing After Another (about time-traveling tea-soaked disaster magnets) :).

>154 Caramellunacy: I'm going to have to add that one to my list! The series sounds like a lot of fun.

Hi RP!

>143 rabbitprincess: Tie-ins are perfectly acceptable. I don’t always look to have the same editions in a series, but admit that when it happens it pleases me.

>153 rabbitprincess: You're right on target with your ROOTs goal 40 of 60 by the end of August...

>156 karenmarie: Hi Karen! I've usually met my goal by now, so I feel a lot slower than before. Probably because I'm not commuting, and in the before times I would read ROOTS on the bus.

****

Of course, I say I feel slow and then log two ROOTS...

The Thirteenth Doctor, Vol. 0: The Many Lives of Doctor Who, by Richard Dinnick et al.
ROOT 41 of 60
Source: Humble Bundle
Rating: 4/5
Review: https://www.librarything.com/review/179425577

I wanted a quick ROOT, so picked up a comic. This was a good one :)

Safety Differently: Human Factors for a New Era, by Sidney Dekker
ROOT 42 of 60
Source: bought new from the publisher
Rating: 4/5
Review: https://www.librarything.com/review/183784868

I started reading this last year, put it back on the shelf in January, and was inspired to finish it off last week. It's pretty heavy going if you're not a hardcore safety nerd (and even for the hardcore safety nerd, you have to be in the right frame of mind). Still, glad to have read this, because I have more books in this field to read!

I can't read while traveling; in the car, I'd get travel sick, on the train, I'd fall asleep, on the bus I'd be too distracted by people getting on and off (do they need this seat?), how long until my stop? ... ooh, look, that's an interesting tree over there ...

I've only listened to two or three audiobooks, though. They're not my go-to preference, though I did just finish one from the library (because the e-book I was in the middle of expired and wouldn't come back around for a while) which I thought was read well.

>158 humouress: I've had to give up car reading for exactly that reason. Trains and buses and planes I'm more OK with as long as I'm not too warm (so sometimes the bus doesn't work for me in the summer).

Full-cast audio dramas helped me finally crack audiobooks, although I do still sometimes have to be in exactly the right mood to want to read them. So I have to buy them, because library ones would expire long before I'd finished.

Last ROOT of September.

The Rez Sisters, by Tomson Highway
ROOT 43 of 60
Source: Pickwick Books, Waterdown, ON
Rating: 3.5/5
Review: https://www.librarything.com/review/188404006

A neglected classic of Canadian drama, this play has a grain of Les Belles-soeurs in it but is very much its own story. I felt the characters in The Rez Sisters were more supportive of each other than the characters in Les Belles-soeurs -- sure, they all wanted to win THE BIGGEST BINGO IN THE WORLD, but they all went together to try to win rather than stealing from each other.

September recap: 4 ROOTS pulled (YTD: 43)

Harvest of Time, by Alastair Reynolds (audio, read by Geoffrey Beevers)
The Thirteenth Doctor, Vol. 0: The Many Lives of Doctor Who, by Richard Dinnick et al. (ebook)
Safety Differently: Human Factors for a New Era, by Sidney Dekker
The Rez Sisters, by Tomson Highway

ROOT of the Month: Safety Differently

Books from the Pool:

Completed this month: 2
In progress: 2
On deck: 3

And holy smokes, it's time for a Q3 Pool update! I'm not doing very well on the Pool this year, and I might take a break from making Pools next year.

First ROOT of October is a Pool book! Yay!

Ride with Me, by Thomas B. Costain
ROOT 44 of 60
Source: pilfered from EVM
Rating: 3/5
Review: https://www.librarything.com/review/92648974

Historical fiction set during the Napoleonic Wars. It was good, but I kept pushing it aside for library books.

Hi RP, Nice to see you have been reading along nicely and are on route to reach your goal.

>163 connie53: Yep, still ticking along, although I'm probably going to have to pad my goal with some shorter books!

***

Doctor Who and the Power of Kroll, by Terrance Dicks
ROOT 45 of 60
Source: bought on a trip to Wales in 2017
Rating: 3.5/5
Review: https://www.librarything.com/review/145800021

I'd forgotten that this came from Wales. Must have been part of my epic Hay-on-Wye haul. Anyway, this was a good Target Doctor Who book, perfect for a weekend morning. I'll probably watch the TV story it was adapted from this weekend.

>164 rabbitprincess: Same here, RP. I even lowered my goal. I can't concentrate very well on my ROOTing or reading in general.

>165 connie53: Understandable -- you've had a lot going on in recent weeks! I hope that whatever books you pick up, they're exactly what you're looking for.

****

Finally managed to squeeze in a ROOT in the endless parade of library books.

The Blue Hammer, by Ross Macdonald
ROOT 46 of 60
Source: Wigtown, Scotland
Rating: 3/5
Review: https://www.librarything.com/review/109072277

After watching Linwood Barclay and Stephen King at Bloody Scotland, I had to pick this book off the shelf. I'm slowly working my way through the Lew Archer series. This wasn't my favourite, but it was OK.

Also, with this book, I've FINALLY finished "paying off" the books I bought in 2018! Now my 2-for-1 TBR is entering 2019 :D

The Hobbit, by J. R. R. Tolkien
ROOT 47 of 60
Source: bought for myself as part of the 75th anniversary LOTR box set
Rating: 4.5/5
Review: https://www.librarything.com/review/93042766

Felt like a re-read of this book for some reason. Definitely more manageable for me than one of the main LOTR trilogy (although of course now I want to read that too, and I don't have the brain space for it).

October recap: 4 ROOTS pulled (YTD: 47)

Ride with Me, by Thomas B. Costain
Doctor Who and the Power of Kroll, by Terrance Dicks
The Blue Hammer, by Ross Macdonald
The Hobbit, by J. R. R. Tolkien (reread)

ROOT of the Month: Doctor Who and the Power of Kroll

Books from the Pool:

Completed this month: 1
In progress: 2
On deck: 2

It's always a good time for a Hobbit reread!

>161 rabbitprincess: You have green X-ed a lot of your Pool books. I can't plan my reading; somehow, I have to find something that appeals to my mood at the time that I'm choosing what to read now. Sometimes (very occasionally) I even have to let e-library books go.

>169 curioussquared: It's definitely the most manageable of the books in the series!

>170 humouress: I don't consider it planning so much as helping me narrow down my options, because I have a few hundred books to choose from on my TBR shelves :D The Pool lasts all year, but I think next year I'll stick to a monthly bundle of possibilities.

First ROOT of November down.

The Terrorists, by Maj Sjöwall and Per Wahlöö (translated by Joan Tate)
ROOT 48 of 60
Source: Friends of Library and Archives Canada book sale
Rating: 3.5/5
Review: https://www.librarything.com/review/70475011

I started reading this series in 2005, so it took me 16 years to read 10 books. That first book I read, The Laughing Policeman, is still my favourite, but this is a good ending to the series.

Second ROOT of November down, and out the door.

The Athenian Murders, by José Carlos Somoza
ROOT 49 of 60
Source: Phoenix Books, Owen Sound
Rating: 1/5
Review: https://www.librarything.com/review/119422363

There are two storylines in this book, and the one in the footnotes overshadowed the one in the main text. I found the protagonist of the footnote storyline so irritating that I had to bail. Oh well, at least there's more space on my shelf now :)

>173 rabbitprincess: What a shame! I find the *idea* of a secondary storyline in footnotes pretty fun, but it sounds like the protagonist was too insufferable to be borne. Hope your next book is better!

>174 Caramellunacy: I think it was at least partly the fact that the translator character had to put "Translator's Note" or "T.'s N." in parentheses at the end of every. single. footnote. The abbreviation in particular was SO IRRITATING in a way that I can't really explain.

Third ROOT of November down. Might be able to get one more fast one in.

Safety-I and Safety-II: The Past and Future of Safety Management, by Erik Hollnagel
ROOT 50 of 60
Source: bought from the publisher
Rating: 3.5/5
Review: https://www.librarything.com/review/185696637

This book is of great interest to me and probably of limited interest to others ;) I liked it and took some notes, and will probably have to read it again another time.

Last ROOT of November. This was a pretty fast one.

A Noise Downstairs, by Linwood Barclay
ROOT 51 of 60
Source: bought new from Chaptigo
Rating: 3.5/5
Review: https://www.librarything.com/review/158797971

Now I'm only 2 books behind in my Barclay stockpile! I still have Elevator Pitch and Find You First to read.

Oops, forgot to post my November stats!

November recap: 4 ROOTS pulled (YTD: 51)

The Terrorists, by Maj Sjöwall and Per Wahlöö (translated by Joan Tate)
The Athenian Murders, by José Carlos Somoza (translated by Sonia Soto)
Safety-I and Safety-II: The Past and Future of Safety Management, by Erik Hollnagel
A Noise Downstairs, by Linwood Barclay

ROOT of the Month: Safety-I and Safety-II

Books from the Pool:

Completed this month: 2
In progress: 1
On deck: 0

I'm probably going to be padding my numbers with comics this month :D

The Thirteenth Doctor, Issue 1, by Jody Houser, Rachael Stott, and Enrica Eren Angiolini
ROOT 52 of 60
Source: Humble Bundle
Rating: 3.5/5
Review: https://www.librarything.com/review/179425658

This was just a single issue, which I didn't realize when I first got the Humble Bundle, but it is good for all that. I definitely wanted to read more!

The Chrysalids, by John Wyndham
ROOT 53 of 60
Source: Faded Page
Rating: 4/5
Review: https://www.librarything.com/review/209487187

I really liked this novel, not least because it was set in Labrador ;)

Hi RP!

>180 rabbitprincess: I've read The Day of the Triffids and have The Midwich Cuckoos on my shelves just waiting for the right time.



See you in the ROOTs group next year!

Hello RP!

Trying to catch up on threads again. I want to wish you

>181 karenmarie: Hi Karen! Merry Christmas! I have a feeling that The Midwich Cuckoos will be my next Wyndham.

>182 connie53: Thanks, Connie, and Merry Christmas to you as well! I hope you've all been having a cozy and relaxing day.

As a taster for my 2022 category challenge, here's a YouTube playlist of Christmas songs done in the style of Beatles songs. So clever! https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qn7qrEzni6s&list=PLr1onqArJGAFnz1G3ZlqSYLEdb...

Christmas haul was good this year:

Murder By the Book: Mysteries for Bibliophiles, ed. Martin Edwards
The Man Who Didn't Fly, by Margot Bennett
The Widow of Bath, by Margot Bennett
Hyde, by Craig Russell
The Case of the Baker Street Irregulars, by Anthony Boucher
The Widening Stain, by W. Bolingbroke Johnson
Operation Angus, by Terry Fallis

Of these books, the only book my mum *won't* borrow is Operation Angus, because she's already read it ;)

Hope you're all having cozy and relaxing days today!

Happy Christmas, RP! Looks like Santa was good to you!

I got 1 book from an online Jolabokaflod I took part in, members of a writing group. And my in-laws gave us some money, most of which we spent on a hand blender, but I did manage to eke 3 books out of it too :)

>185 Jackie_K: Immersion blenders are the BEST! BF makes soup fairly often, and I use it to make hummus :)

>186 rabbitprincess: We have an ancient one which is past its best, so Pete decided to go for a new shiny one. I have high hopes :)

I've never used an immersion blender; I'm obviously missing out :0) I'd put soup into a blender.

I would like to wish you and your family the very best of the season and good health and happiness for 2022.

>187 Jackie_K: My parents need a new one. Theirs is older than me, and I'm in my mid-30s :P I tried using it to make hummus last time I was home and it was like lifting a lead block. The modern ones are so much lighter.

>188 humouress: I haven't used a blender since I broke our previous blender -- I was trying to make a smoothie and had obviously not put the parts back together properly last time it was used, because when I started up the blender it promptly released the contents into the part with the engine :-/

Thank you for the holiday wishes! I wish you and yours the best for the new year as well :)

Finally managed to finish this audiobook I've had on the go for a few months!

Because Internet: Understanding the New Rules of Language, by Gretchen McCulloch
ROOT 54 of 60
Source: Libro.fm
Rating: 4/5
Review: https://www.librarything.com/review/205381749

The only reason this took me as long to read as it did was my general reading slump. It was difficult to find anything that really grabbed me. Gretchen McCulloch reads this herself and does a great job, especially trying to render keyboard smash in audio form.

Also cramming in some audios to get as close to my goal as possible by the end of the year!

I, Davros: Innocence, by Gary Hopkins (Big Finish audio drama)
ROOT 55 of 60
Source: Humble Bundle
Rating: 4/5
Review: https://www.librarything.com/review/139865353

This is the first part of a four-part story about the early days of Davros, creator of the Daleks. Great sound design in this series. It has such good Classic Who vibes.

I, Davros: Purity, by James Parsons (Big Finish audio drama)
ROOT 56 of 60
Source: Humble Bundle
Rating: 4/5
Review: https://www.librarything.com/review/139865368

The story continues. Davros definitely gets his ruthless streak from his mother, Calcula (can't spell calculating without Calcula!).

Two more ROOTs. I'm pretty close to my goal now, but I need the rest of the day to write up my month-end and year-end recaps, haha.

I, Davros: Corruption, by Lance Parkin (Big Finish audio drama)
ROOT 57 of 60
Source: Humble Bundle
Rating: 4.5/5
Review: https://www.librarything.com/review/139865379

Here we see Davros become the Davros we know from Doctor Who.

I, Davros: Guilt, by Scott Alan Woodard (Big Finish)
ROOT 58 of 60
Source: Humble Bundle
Rating: 4/5
Review: https://www.librarything.com/review/139865407

And here we see the Daleks being born...

Hi RP!

>184 rabbitprincess: Clever songs, and congrats on the great Christmas haul.

>192 karenmarie: Thanks! I'm looking forward to digging into the haul.

****

December recap: 7 ROOTS pulled (YTD: 58)

The Thirteenth Doctor, Issue 1, by Jody Houser, Rachael Stott, and Enrica Eren Angiolini (ebook)
The Chrysalids, by John Wyndham (Faded Page)
Because Internet: Understanding the New Rules of Language, by Gretchen McCulloch (audio)
I, Davros: Innocence, by Gary Hopkins (Big Finish audio drama)
I, Davros: Purity, by James Parsons (Big Finish audio drama)
I, Davros: Corruption, by Lance Parkin (Big Finish audio drama)
I, Davros: Guilt, by Scott Alan Woodard (Big Finish audio drama)

ROOT of the Month: The Chrysalids

Books from the Pool:

Completed this month: 0
In progress: 0
On deck: 0

Here’s my last update on my Pool books. I didn’t do very well with the Pool this year, so I’m going to give this idea a rest for 2022.

ROOTs of the year:

The Story of a Hare, by J. C. Tregarthen
Falls the Shadow, by Sharon Kay Penman
The Adventures of Robin Hood, by Roger Lancelyn Green
Bicycle Diaries, by David Byrne
Lennox, by Craig Russell
The Deep Dark Sleep, by Craig Russell
The Witch Elm, by Tana French
Nonsense Novels, by Stephen Leacock
Safety Differently, by Sidney Dekker
Doctor Who and the Power of Kroll, by Terrance Dicks
Safety-I and Safety-II: The Past and Future of Safety Management, by Erik Hollnagel
The Chrysalids, by John Wyndham

Here we see how incredibly nerdy I’ve become, buying and reading books about safety management. But I balanced that with the crime novels of Craig Russell. And the first and last ROOTs of the month came to me via Faded Page, a website that produces ebooks of titles that are in the public domain in Canada. I find some good stuff there.

Nice Christmas haul, RP. Looks like the holiday season is treating you well. It was good here too except for the scarcity of turkeys (among other things) and being in the deep freeze which meant Christmas dinner was moved to December 26. Here's hoping the reads go down better in 2022. Happy New Year!

Nice stats, RP! See you in the 2022 thread.