Cecilturtle trying New Things

Diskutera2021 ROOT CHALLENGE

Bara medlemmar i LibraryThing kan skriva.

Cecilturtle trying New Things

1Cecilturtle
Redigerat: jan 6, 2021, 1:14 pm

Hello! It's been a while since I've participated in a book challenge and seeing that I'm running out of shelf space, this one seems like a great fit!
It's lovely to reconnect with the LibraryThing community as well so I'm looking forward to chatting and sharing.
Happy 2021 everyone!



2Jackie_K
jan 1, 2021, 1:32 pm

Welcome to the group! I hope this helps to clear some shelf space!

3connie53
jan 1, 2021, 1:33 pm

Hi Cecilturtle. Welcome to the group. I hope you like it here and I'm sure you will be encouraged to read those old(er) books on/off the shelves. Happy ROOTing.

4Cecilturtle
jan 1, 2021, 1:34 pm

>2 Jackie_K: Thank you :)

5Cecilturtle
Redigerat: dec 31, 2021, 11:55 am

DUSTY TOMES

1. Heat and Dust by Ruth Prawer Jhabvala
2. Under the Tuscan Sun by Frances Mayes
3. God's Spies edited by Alberto Manguel
4. Thirteen at Dinner by Agatha Christie
5. Half-Blood Blues by Esi Edugyan
6. Katiba by Jean-Christophe Rufin
7. In the Company of Secrets by Judith Miller
9. Going Wrong by Ruth Rendell
10. Le pays des autres by Leïla Slimani
11. Eating Animals by Jonathan Safran Foer
12. N'oublier jamais by Michel Bussi
13. Les oiseaux vont au Pérou pour mourir by Romain Gary
14. Un peu de soleil dans l'eau froide by Françoise Sagan
15. F Bomb by Lauren McKeon
16. One Summer by David Baldacci
17. The Stud by Jackie Collins
18. The Bones of the Lost by Kathy Reichs
19. Ottawa Rewind 2 by Andrew King
20. The Rough Guide to Classic Novels by Simon Mason
21. I, the Jury by Mickey Spillane
22. The Comforters by Muriel Spark
23. The Orenda by Joseph Boyden
24. On Her Majesty's Frightfully Secret Service by Rhys Bowen
25. Untouchable by Mulk Raj Anad
26. La mélancolie du dimanche by Christine Orban
27. Invisible Women by Caroline Criado Perez
28. Contes à faire rougir les petits chaperons by Jean-Pierre Énard
29. Le Château des destins croisés by Italo Calvino
30. Looptail by Bruce Poon Tip
31. Mademoiselle Else by Arthur Schnitzler
32. The Tablets of Light by Danielle Ram Hoffman
33. 4 3 2 1 by Paul Auster
34. Unnatural Death by Dorothy L. Sayers
35. Things Fall Apart by Chinua Achebe
36. Something I've Been Meaning to Tell You by Alice Munro
37. Mag or Min Which Are You by Thomas Schur
38. Man's Search For Meaning by Viktor E. Frankl
39. The Hotel New Hampshire by John Irving
40. A Caribbean Mystery by Agatha Christie

7Cecilturtle
Redigerat: dec 27, 2021, 10:22 am

BOOK CLUB

1. Normal People by Sally Rooney
2. Sweetland by Michael Crummey
3. Help Me! by Marianne Power
4. The Year of Living Biblically by AJ Jacobs

8Cecilturtle
Redigerat: dec 23, 2021, 5:13 pm

RECENT PURCHASES (aka guilty pleasures)

1. The Ballad of the sad café by Carson McCullers
2. Notes from a Young Black Chef by Kwame Onwuachi
3. Grown Ups by Marian Keyes
4. Nous les dieux by Bernard Werber
5. Surrender Experiment by Michael A Singer
6. Le mystère des dieux by Bernard Werber
7. Ottawa Road Trips by Laura Byrne Paquet
8. Untangling my chopsticks by Victoria Abbott Riccadi
9. Le Bal des folles by Victoria Mas
10. Notre agent à la Havane by Graham Greene
11. The Madness of Crowds by Louise Penny
12. The Midnight Library by Matt Haig

9rabbitprincess
jan 1, 2021, 1:47 pm

Oh hey, there's a familiar handle! Great to see you here! :D

10Cecilturtle
Redigerat: jan 1, 2021, 2:52 pm

>9 rabbitprincess: Hi rabbitprincess! It has been a minute! Glad to be back :)

11beach85
jan 1, 2021, 3:09 pm

Happy New Year, and good luck with your Roots in 2021!

12Cecilturtle
jan 2, 2021, 9:38 am

>11 beach85: thank-you! Already on it ;)

13Cecilturtle
jan 2, 2021, 9:40 am

Technically not a ROOT since I bought it last November, but I thoroughly enjoyed The Ballad of the sad café by Carson McCulers. She has a dry, precise style that conveys complex emotions in a most gripping way.

14cyderry
jan 4, 2021, 11:21 am

Glad you're with us! Good luck clearing your shelves!

15Cecilturtle
jan 4, 2021, 11:35 am

>14 cyderry: thanks! the lockdown is a good motivation :)

16MissWatson
jan 5, 2021, 9:10 am

Welcome and happy ROOTing!

17Cecilturtle
jan 5, 2021, 11:00 am

>16 MissWatson: thank-you MissWatson! Looking forward to rediscovering old friends!

18Cecilturtle
jan 5, 2021, 11:03 am

For a long time I dated my books when I received them, and this one bares the date April 24, 2012. I can hardly believe it's been that long, but admittedly I don't remember where it's from!
Heat and Dust by Ruth Prawer Jhabvala is a little jewel of emotions both repressed and expansive. I loved the contrasts and beauty of India.

19Cecilturtle
jan 13, 2021, 6:31 pm

I finished Nuit sombre et sacrée, a gift from my Dad when he was visiting over Christmas. We have a little tradition of reading Connelly when we travel; this time he was the lucky one!

20connie53
jan 14, 2021, 8:11 am

I love getting and giving books as a gift. There is this lovely children's bookshop nearby and (before Covid) loved to take my granddaughters there a let them choose books. They sometimes ended up with a stuffed animal like piglet or pooh rather than with the book about them.

21Cecilturtle
jan 14, 2021, 11:41 am

>20 connie53: I love it when my books travel too. I've been using Bookcrossing.com for over 10 years, sending my books all around town and sometimes the world! Nothing like a book to create community!

22Cecilturtle
jan 19, 2021, 8:39 pm

I've finished two books Under the Tuscan Sun by Frances Mayes which has been on my shelves since 2007 and God's Spies edited by Alberto Manguel which I bought probably in 2018. This last one is a collection of stories from around the world on war, unrest, revolution - al the multiple ways humans find themselves in conflict. It is a most pertinent read for all that has happened in these last months, to remind us to turn to the past for lessons.

23Cecilturtle
jan 23, 2021, 4:28 pm

I'm reading an Agatha Christie Thirteen for Dinner which I mysteriously found in my library. I suspect it's from my late mother-in-law; the books was printed in the early 60s with a price tag of 45c. Can one buy anything for 45c today? Regardless, I was delighted because I adore Christie and have read almost all her novels. It's a real treat.

24connie53
jan 24, 2021, 2:32 am

>23 Cecilturtle: That's a great find!

25Cecilturtle
jan 27, 2021, 8:57 pm

I finished The Girl Who Made Them Pay by Tikiri Herath, a novel based on some shocking statistics of human trafficking around the world.

26Cecilturtle
feb 6, 2021, 11:59 am

Whoo hoo two more! Half-Blood Blues by Esi Edugyan, a story set in the Jazz Age - I LOVED it and Notes from a Young Black Chef by Kwame Onwuachi. Both are part of my efforts to read more Black authors during Black History Month.

27Cecilturtle
feb 15, 2021, 4:54 pm

I've finished Sad Cypress by Agatha Christie. This was one of the two mystery finds in my library. Alas, it was a bit disappointing: all of the Christie charm but not her cleverness.

28connie53
feb 16, 2021, 3:25 am

>27 Cecilturtle: Ahh, that's a pity. I hope your next book is better.

29rabbitprincess
feb 16, 2021, 5:13 pm

>27 Cecilturtle: I wasn't wild about that one either. I listened to the audio version and apparently the excessive use of adverbs drove me up the wall.

30Cecilturtle
feb 16, 2021, 8:55 pm

>29 rabbitprincess: haha! funny how stylistic ticks can be annoying!

31Cecilturtle
feb 16, 2021, 8:59 pm

I finished two other books:
Normal People by Sally Rooney which I found dull and flat. I think it might be a combination of both generational and cultural gap. I've outgrown the blase yet neurotic twenties and even then wasn't much of either.

The Language of Flowers edited by Jane Holloway by a lovely collection of poems given to me by my daughter for my birthday last year.

32Cecilturtle
feb 22, 2021, 7:22 pm

I finished Katiba, an espionage novel set during the War against terrorism. I loved it! Can't believe it's been on my shelf since 2011!

33cyderry
Redigerat: feb 23, 2021, 10:14 am

>32 Cecilturtle: This is why ROOTs is so great because of all the forgotten treasures that we find sitting on our shelves!

34connie53
feb 24, 2021, 2:54 am

>33 cyderry: I completely agree with Chèli. I found some real gems since I started ROOTing.

35Cecilturtle
mar 6, 2021, 7:40 pm

I've finished my first for March: Les roses fauves by Carole Martinez, a gorgeous novel in the magic realism style. It was recommended to me by my daughter - it's fun that she's old enough now to lead me to great reads!

36Cecilturtle
mar 7, 2021, 7:12 pm

Plays are so satisfying to read: a few hours and you're done! Les élucubrations d'un homme soudain frappé par la grâce by Édouard Baer is hardly a ROOT since it was published in February 2021 but I had to read by birthday gift :)

37Cecilturtle
mar 16, 2021, 5:16 pm

I've finished In the Company of Secrets by Judith Miller. This is a book I had found in our old independant movie theatre, three years ago. It looked like a good spy story... it was not. Oh well.

38connie53
Redigerat: mar 18, 2021, 3:52 am

>37 Cecilturtle: Well it was a free book when you found it there. Maybe the person 'forgot' to take it with him/her because of that same disappointment.

39Cecilturtle
mar 17, 2021, 7:35 pm

>38 connie53: hahaha - I hadn't thought of that!

40Cecilturtle
mar 25, 2021, 5:26 pm

I finished Going Wrong by Ruth Rendell. It took me a while to remember that it was a book I picked up at a cute little used book store called Barely Bruised Bookstore, probably in 2018.

I'm onto Le pays des autres by Leïla Slimani which I bought in Montreal likely last summer, delighted to finally be in another city!

41Cecilturtle
apr 3, 2021, 7:37 pm

I'm finished with Le pays des autres which I loved as well as Eating Animals by Jonathan Safran Foer.
This last book has been on my shelves since February 2012, and I'm not sure what it's taken me so long to read it since it is a subject that interests me very much. Anyway, I wasn't disappointed and glad I hung onto it for all these years.

42connie53
apr 4, 2021, 5:27 am

Just popping in to wish you and yours a Happy Easter.

43Cecilturtle
maj 8, 2021, 5:28 pm

>42 connie53: thanks Connie!

I've been quietly reading in my corner:
Grown Ups by Marian Keyes which I ended up enjoying after finding it rather stereotypical
Sweetland by Canadian Michael Crummely, an excellent piece of fiction but much too glum for pandemic life
N'oublier jamais by Michel Bussi an over-the-top but enjoyable thriller

44Cecilturtle
maj 16, 2021, 10:30 am

Finished I Owe You One by Sophie Kinsella which was a Christmas present.
On to by Les oiseaux vont au Pérou pour mourir by Romain Gary which comes from a box of books a friend gave to me back in 2017.

45connie53
maj 16, 2021, 1:52 pm

Let's try my French: The birds go to Peru to die ?

46Cecilturtle
jun 10, 2021, 5:25 pm

>45 connie53: exactly!

I've been traveling (right?!) and am now in quarantine which has afforded with reading time.
I've finished: Les oiseaux vont au Pérou pour mourir by Roman Gary
Un peu de soleil dans l'eau froide by Françoise Sagan from that same box in 2017
F-bomb: dispatches from the war against feminism by Lauren McKeon which I picked up when it was first published in 2017
Nous les dieux by Bernard Werber, a guilty pleasure bought a couple of months ago - so far one of two books I've bought for myself this year.

47MissWatson
jun 11, 2021, 6:51 am

Here's to quarantine passing quickly!

48Cecilturtle
jun 11, 2021, 6:46 pm

>47 MissWatson: thanks! sure am reading a lot which is great!

49Cecilturtle
jun 13, 2021, 9:44 am

I just finished reading a tedious read One Summer by David Baldacci. I was hoping for light but it was so boring I became brain dead instead. Oh well. On to a good thriller to revive those brain cells.
I'd found this book in my building's free library - nor sure how long I've had it; probably a couple of years.

50Cecilturtle
jun 20, 2021, 8:28 am

I've finished The Stud by Jackie Collins which I surprisingly really liked; and The Bones of the Lost by Kathy Reichs which was a great thriller. I found both of these books in my building's Little Free Library two years ago (if memory serves)

Ottawa Rewind 2 by Andrew King which was a great way to learn more about the city I live in. I bought this copy last year while on a mystery trip in Almonte, Ontario.

51Cecilturtle
Redigerat: jul 2, 2021, 8:39 pm

I've finished reading The Rough Guide to Classic Novels, a good little resource which I've had since December 2010,
Crapoussin et Niguedouille, which could have been fun but was a little pretentious; this was a 2020 Christmas gift
I, the Jury by Mickey Spillane - which has aged poorly in content but well in form. I have this since at least 2015; it's part of an anthology I've yet to finish.

52connie53
jul 5, 2021, 6:19 am

Hi Cécil! I try to visit all ROOTers on this rather rainy day in The Netherlands just to see what everyone is reading.

You have almost reached your goal I noticed. Keep it up!

53Cecilturtle
aug 10, 2021, 8:32 am

>52 connie53: Thanks, Connie! I haven't been on this platform for a while, but plugging away!

54Cecilturtle
Redigerat: aug 10, 2021, 8:38 am

I've finished a couple of ROOTS:
The Comforters by Muriel Spark
The Orenda by Joseph Boyden both of which I loved

I also finished The Surrender Experiment by Michael A. Singer, at a friend's recommendation

55connie53
aug 19, 2021, 4:07 am

2 More down Cécil. You are getting there.

56Cecilturtle
sep 11, 2021, 7:56 pm

I've been away for a bit, which means I've caught up in my reading!

Rien ne s'oppose à la nuit by Delphine de Vigan, an almost stream of consciousness memoir about her bipolar mother.

Help Me! by Marianne Power, a memoir into the world of self-help which brings out the author's vulnerabilities in an almost painful way

Love your Life by Sophie Kinsella, a novel that has all the Kinsella charm and humour

Le mystère des dieux by Bernard Werber, the final of a trilogy about Greek mythology, which disappointed me: it finishes with an unsatisfying slight-of-hand

Olive Kitteridge by Elizabeth Strout, a collection of short stories, each of which is an absolute gem

57Cecilturtle
sep 20, 2021, 5:44 pm

I finished On Her Majesty's Frightfully Secret Service by Rhys Bowen, a fun light read which I've had for about 3 years on my shelf and

Ottawa Road Trips by Laura Byrne Paquet; this will be staying with me in car for impromptu drives and ideas! I special ordered this book to get me through the pandemic by going on local trips.

58connie53
okt 1, 2021, 3:51 am

Good to see you back again. Cécil. Only five more books to go.

59Cecilturtle
okt 1, 2021, 5:21 pm

>58 connie53: Almost there!

I have three more to add:
I've finished Untangling my chopsticks by Victoria Abbott Riccadi about the Japanese kaiseki tea ceremony
Untouchable by Mulk Raj Anad, a day in the life of a young Untouchable, which I've had since 2011
La mélancolie du dimanche by Christine Orban, a very lengthy book about an unopened letter, which I've had since 2010!

60connie53
okt 3, 2021, 12:19 pm

Very good job, Cécil!

61Cecilturtle
okt 4, 2021, 5:42 pm

And I've reached my 50!
Le Bal des folles by Victoria Mas and
Notre agent à la Havane by Graham Greene...
these are two books I recently picked up but I still have a few months to keep decluttering my shelves!

62MissWatson
okt 5, 2021, 7:05 am

Congratulations on reaching your goal!

63Jackie_K
okt 5, 2021, 12:01 pm

Hooray, well done from me too!

64Cecilturtle
okt 5, 2021, 4:43 pm

thank-you!!

65Charon07
okt 7, 2021, 9:28 pm

>61 Cecilturtle: Congratulations!

66Cecilturtle
Redigerat: okt 13, 2021, 6:27 pm

I finished three more books which have been on my shelves for over a year:
Invisible Women by Caroline Criado Perez which I definitely recommend
Contes à faire rougir les petits chaperons by Jean-Pierre Énard given to me by a friend 3 years ago
Le Château des destins croisés by Italo Calvino, also given by a friend last year, and oh! so disappointing!

67Charon07
okt 16, 2021, 11:36 am

I’m so sorry to hear that the Calvino was a disappointment! It’s a ROOT of mine that I’d actually started reading a while back, then set it aside and didn’t finish. I guess it’s going to be hard to motivate myself to pick it back up again.

68Cecilturtle
okt 16, 2021, 12:17 pm

>67 Charon07: I'm a Tarot reader and I feel like he's totally missed the point of the cards. There's so much storytelling that can derive from them but he just sticks to a literal, often stilted, interpretation... there was a ton of potential but to me, it just fell flat.

69Cecilturtle
Redigerat: okt 17, 2021, 9:30 am

I have two more books to add, both which were lent to me this year:

L'Ardoise des songes by Jean-René Massaille, a delightful set of poems
The Naked Civil Servant Quentin Crisp's irreverent autobiography

70Cecilturtle
okt 27, 2021, 7:49 pm

I finished a leadership book given to me by a colleague a couple of years ago: Looptail by Canadian businessman Bruce Poon Tip, founder of G Adventures

71Cecilturtle
okt 29, 2021, 5:35 pm

And a last one for October, The Madness of Crowds by Louise Penny, which is not a ROOT but rather a guilty pleasure ;-)

72Cecilturtle
nov 13, 2021, 11:03 am

I've finished Mademoiselle Else which I've had on my shelves since 2008. It's a novela which I always put off til later because it was s short and well... 13 years later, here we are :)

73Cecilturtle
Redigerat: nov 15, 2021, 7:01 pm

I finished 2 ROOTS, both which I've had since about 2018:The Tablets of Light by Danielle Ram Hoffman and 4 3 2 1 by Paul Auster

74Cecilturtle
nov 24, 2021, 10:28 am

A last one for November: Unnatural Death by Dorothy Sayers. 4 this month!

75Cecilturtle
nov 28, 2021, 7:23 pm

I finished two more:
Things Fall Apart by Chinua Achebe which I've had since 2013 and
Something I've Been Meaning to Tell You by Alice Munro which I've had since 2014. It's an original paperback from the 70s with an advertisement for cigarettes... oh the good old days!

76rabbitprincess
nov 28, 2021, 7:25 pm

>75 Cecilturtle: That's one of the things that jumps out at me about the new Beatles documentary "Get Back" -- EVERYONE is smoking! And sometimes even smoking cigars, which just seems so over-the-top.

77Cecilturtle
nov 28, 2021, 7:26 pm

>76 rabbitprincess: lol - hard to believe it wasn't that long ago!

78connie53
dec 7, 2021, 6:21 am

Congrats on reaching your goal, Cécil!

79Cecilturtle
dec 13, 2021, 7:13 pm

>78 connie53: Thank-you, Connie!

I finished Mag or Min Which Are You by Thomas Schur, a simplified decision-making framework, which I had mostly read in... 2016 and finally finished!

80Cecilturtle
dec 15, 2021, 6:19 pm

I've finished Man's Search for Meaning by Viktor E. Frankl, a book I've had for about 3 years. A good reminder to connect with one's purpose.

81Cecilturtle
dec 23, 2021, 5:12 pm

I've finished two more: The Midnight Library by Matt Haig which I bought earlier this month and The Hotel New Hampshire by John Irving which has been on my shelves for at least 5 years since it's been chewed on by my bunny :)

82connie53
dec 25, 2021, 12:15 pm


Hello Cécil!

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

83Cecilturtle
dec 27, 2021, 10:21 am

>82 connie53: thank-you so much, Connie! I wish you all the best for 2022!

I finished what will probably be my last for 2022: The Year of Living Biblically by AJ Jacobs. It's for my book club but it's well-adapted to the season!

84Cecilturtle
dec 31, 2021, 11:55 am

One last one before I close off this year. A book I've had for 36 years!...

A Caribbean Mystery by Agatha Christie