FamilyHistorian's ROOT Challenge for 2016 - page 2

Time for a new thread as we head into April.

My acquisitions for March are way, way down. There is hope, either that or I was just very busy. I added 4 new books to the stacks.

Circle of Shadows by Imogen Robertson
Seven for a Secret by Lyndsay Faye
Mrs Jeffries Wins the Prize by Emily Brightwell
The Happiness Equation by Neil Pasricha

18. Shadowed Ground: America's Landscapes of Violence and Tragedy by Kenneth E. Foote

My main reason for reading Shadowed Ground: America's Landscapes of Violence and Tragedy was to see what it said about Civil War sites. They are in there but so is a lot more. A very interesting read.

Happy new thread! :)

Happy New Thread, Meg!

Love the topper! I get a very springlike feeling looking at those beautiful Magnolia flowers

>5 avanders: Thanks Ava.
>6 connie53: Thanks, Connie. Not sure if those are Magnolias. As this is BC, I think they are Dogwoods (much less romantic sounding, but then we are less fanciful here in La La Land.)

It looks like magnolia to me (one of my favourite trees). I think there are a number of different varieties, all lovely.

Happy spring, Jackie!

>9 Tess_W: thank you very much, although this is Meg's thread! :D

>8 Jackie_K: I googled it and there are a whole lot of entries for dogwood vs magnolia. I think that it is a magnolia.

>9 Tess_W: Do I get a happy spring too, Tess?

>11 Familyhistorian: in any event, they sure are pretty! :)

>9 Tess_W: >10 Jackie_K: >11 Familyhistorian: lol ;)

>1 Familyhistorian: Looking at the thread topper with envy... we're getting a last blast of winter here today! Happy new thread :)

>9 Tess_W: >10 Jackie_K: So sorry, reading through all the threads, I'm sometimes forget "where" I am!

>12 avanders: I love this time of year when all the blossoms are out.

>13 rabbitprincess: I hope your winter will be over soon. Do you live in a place where it is winter one day and then does an abrupt switch into summer? We seem to have months and months of spring.

>14 Tess_W: No problem, Tess. I have done the same thing a time or three myself.

>16 Familyhistorian: I'm in Ottawa, so we've been getting a bit of everything! Maybe next week spring will return.

>18 rabbitprincess: My brother is just in visiting from London, Ontario and he is very happy to have left the cold weather behind. He keeps checking the forecast hoping that the cold will be gone by the time he gets back - no such luck.

19. The Limehouse Text by Will Thomas

I have never read any Barker and Llewelyn mysteries before. Of course I started this series somewhere near the middle. The Limehouse Text is a good Victorian mystery so I will have to look for the rest of the series.

>20 Familyhistorian: fun - I really like that cover.. it manages to convey a lot, even though in a lot of ways it's simple :)

>21 avanders: It looks like many of the covers in the series are similar, Ava. I like it when I can pick out a series I am reading by the covers.

I have been working on a project that has been taking quite a bit of my posting time. I have long wanted to start up a blog about history which is inspired by my further research into events that affected the families I am researching. My latest course on medical history gave me the incentive to start up my blog as I get a few extra marks for publishing my work (every little bit helps.)

Here is my profile shot and the link to my blog follows.

http://genihistorypath.blogspot.ca/

>23 Familyhistorian: Oh wow, I'm so excited! Can't wait to read your blog(s)!

>22 Familyhistorian: I agree! :)

>23 Familyhistorian: very cool! Looks like a great blog so far! :)

>24 Tess_W: I hope you like it Tess.

>25 avanders: Thanks Ava. I have wanted to do a blog for a while but it wasn't until I was looking for pictures that I realized I should see what I could do myself. I got to indulge my inner artist picking out the pens for the graphic. Art supply stores are almost as tempting for me as book stores.

>26 Familyhistorian: Oh, I LOVE it!

>27 Familyhistorian: oh yes, art supply stores and craft stores! :)

I'm almost as bad with crafts supplies as I am with books - I tend to buy stuff that looks all nice and shiny and new and then don't use it so it sits here lingering in a box. Maybe I should start a UOOCS (Use Our Own Craft Supplies) challenge next to the ROOT challenge :)

And I really like your blog - and you should post more because now I want to know the rest of the story!

>30 Britt84: that would be fun! w/ pics from people of how they've actually used their own supplies.... :)

>23 Familyhistorian: It's fascinating to read your family history story in this way - what a brilliant idea!

>28 Tess_W: Glad you like it, Tess.

>29 avanders: Craft stores and fabric stores - I manage to stay out of them these days.

>30 Britt84: Hmm, and we could take photos of the crafts that we make and post them on our threads.

The next posts are written but I still have to do the art work (and think what I will write about next.) Stay tuned!

>32 Jackie_K: I wanted to make the blog about the history and tie it in with my family story. I am glad you like it, Jackie.

I love it, Meg!!

I don't find fabric shops a temptation at all (I have precisely zero talent for sewing, embroidery or anything like that), but I love art shops. I very occasionally draw with pastels (haven't done it for ages, and have no idea what I'm doing, but enjoy it), but not enough to justify buying lots of new supplies. Generally I find I can just go in and look at all the lovely paper and paints and pencils etc - I wish I could be like that in bookshops!

>37 connie53: Thanks, Connie.

>38 Jackie_K: I was drooling over the pastels when I was at the art shop, Jackie. I picked up some oil pastels but there was this really big set of chalk pastels - very expensive! I was good that time but don't usually show the same restraint that you do.

>38 Jackie_K: I was drooling over the pastels when I was at the art shop, Jackie. I picked up some oil pastels but there was this really big set of chalk pastels - very expensive! I was good that time but don't usually show the same restraint that you do.

20. The Women's Land Army by V. Sackville-West

This book has been around since the 1940's. I inherited it more recently than that but it has been waiting for me to read it for a few years. I now know a bit more about The Women's Land Army. Great photos.

21. Tess of the D'Urbervilles by Thomas Hardy

I had Tess of the D'Urbervilles on the shelf for a few years. I picked it up because I knew that Hardy wrote about Dorset and I wanted to get some background on the county. I thought that Hardy would be good for historic background and he was. I am glad that I finally read this classic but it is not a cheerful tale.

>43 Familyhistorian: None of Hardy's works are easy reads and most of them are dark; but he is one of my favorite authors. If you liked Tess, you may also like Far From the Madding Crowd and The Mayor of Casterbridge.

>44 Tess_W: I think that I might have read Far From the Madding Crowd or maybe I just know more about the story because of seeing a movie based on the book. But then I thought that I had read Tess at one point and as I read my way through I didn't know the story at all.

My interest in Thomas Hardy's novels is that they are set in Dorset, a county where some of my forebears came from. Do you know which Hardy book has some of the action set in Evershed, Tess?

>45 Familyhistorian: Oh my, Meg....I really don't pay attention to foreign counties when I read, but I could tell you the stories took place in England! I'm bad. This link may or may not help you: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Thomas_Hardy's_Wessex

>46 Tess_W: I know, Tess. I don't really pay attention to the setting unless it is a place I want to know more about. Thanks for the link.

It never seems like my TBR piles are diminishing. Maybe that is because those new and shiny books still beckon. Here are April's acquisitions.

Last Night in Montreal by Emily St. John Mandel
Speaking from Among the Bones by Alan Bradley
The Victoria Vanishes by Christopher Fowler
White Corridor by Christopher Fowler
love in lower-case by fancesc miralles
Because of Miss Bridgerton by Julia Quinn
Garden of Lies by Amanda Quick
The Counterfeit Heiress by Tasha Alexander
Mayhem: Post-War Crime and Violence in Britain, 1748-53by Nicholas Rogers
Better than Before by Gretchen Rubin
A Woman Unknown by Frances Brody
Braking for Bodies by Duffy Brown

>48 Familyhistorian: not too bad! & Looks like a fun list :)

>48 Familyhistorian: some interesting acquisitions there! No genealogy this month though? :)

Yay, Christopher Fowler!

>50 avanders: They grabbed my attention when I was in the bookstore. I hope they are as good when I crack the covers, Ava.

>51 Jackie_K: I am having problems fitting more genealogy books in to that section of my library, Jackie. I really should start reading some of the ones that I own - most of them are ROOTs.

>52 rabbitprincess: I have heard good things about the Bryant and May books. I have just started my first but it is a library book.

>53 Familyhistorian: ah yes, that is always the hope... :)

>56 avanders: Mostly they just hang around looking full of potential until they become ROOTs, Ava. I always think I will have more reading time later but later never seems to come!

22. I am Half-Sick of Shadows by Alan Bradley

I am slowly reading my way through the Flavia de Luce mysteries. I am Half-Sick of Shadows was another entertaining mystery with my favourite 11 year old sleuth.

>57 Familyhistorian: lol I agree whole-heartedly on both counts!

>58 Familyhistorian: I really want to read that series too... I have 2-3 of the books from the series .. I LOVE the covers too :)
I have this cover for the one you just finished:

>59 avanders: I only saw the top of the cover when I first saw your post, Ava. That part of the cover looks the same funny how the graphic part is different - yours fits better into the Christmas theme.

>60 Familyhistorian: yeah I hadn't noticed that before.. I wonder why they decided on a different cover, and which one was first? The cover of this one was actually what got me to purchase the book, even though I hadn't started the series yet ;)

>61 avanders: It is eye catching with that red colour. Did you read this book first or did you start at the beginning of the series?

>62 Familyhistorian: neither :D
I have the 1st and this Christmas one, but I haven't read any of them yet. I will start with the first. Soon. Really. I mean it.. soon....

>63 avanders: You are in for a treat, Ava.

23. Life as We Have Known It: The Voices of Working-Class Women edited by Margaret Llewelyn Davies

I indulged my interest in social history by reading Life as We Have Known It: The Voices of Working-Class Women which is a compilation of the writing by the women themselves. These are very interesting accounts of working-class women's lives around the turn of the 20th century.

24. The Group of Seven and Tom Thomson by Anne Newlands

A section of my personal library is for books about Tom Thomson, the Canadian artist. The latest book that I read from this selection was The Group of Seven and Tom Thomson. It was a good introduction to the group and full of photos of their paintings.

25. Storm of the Century: The Regina Tornado of 1912 by Sandra Bingaman

This book has been waiting on the shelf for be for a few years. Both of my maternal grandparents were living in Regina at the time of this devasting tornado and I couldn't wait to get my hands on this book as part of my family history research. I am not sure why it took me so long to read it. But I am glad I did. It was very interesting.

The tornado is the latest story on my blog at http://genihistorypath.blogspot.ca/.

>67 Familyhistorian: So very interesting! Meg, you always delight me with your reads and your blog. Doesn't take much to excite a history teacher!

>68 Tess_W: It's wonderful that you find it interesting, Tess. I am never sure if non-history buffs are being polite or if they are really interested.

I can't stop reading and writing about history. I think I have always been addicted to it but I come by it naturally. My mother used to tell us stories about her family. I think I was always intrigued because her family was so much a part of Canadian history and then there was my Dad whose family was from the east end of London. Then there were their experiences in the war etc. etc.

>69 Familyhistorian: Meg, I don't know when/how I became interested in history, but I have always been. It was always my favorite subject in school, although I did have a bad string of history teachers! I started reading historical fiction as a teenager--probably the trashy ones! But as I matured I got into the "hard stuff". I am pretty picky about the historical fiction that I read--I really want no romances; but sometimes, such as in Lorna Doone, which is also a classic, one has to take the "bad" (?!) with the good. I was also heavily involved in music in school-playing in dance band, concert band, and marching band as well as concert choir. As a college freshman I started out in the music education program but was easily dissuaded by myself that my "talent" was not competitive as I had come from a small rural school and was now at the largest university in the U.S. and I was near the bottom of that pond! I knew that I wanted to be a teacher so switched to Social Studies Education-and I knew from the minute that I took my first college history course that I was in the right place! My sons got me a T-shirt which says "History is My Life." The pretty much sums it up! I raised my children before I went back to get my master's degree--about age 50. It was a huge struggle--it is true that the older you get the harder it is to memorize, etc. But I did it! My area of study was WWII with a focus on the Holocaust. I also managed to get in some courses on Russian & Balkan history-which I loved.

All that being said, I also pick the brain of living family members for my family's history. I would appear that my paternal family are Mayflower descendants--being from the James Chilton family--specifically his daughter Isabella. There is scant information about Isabella except that in Governor Bradford's journal he noted that she died and left infant children behind--no names. The line picks up again with some infant baptisms with the last name Chilton.

I am/was also fortunate that my paternal and maternal genetics is such that even now at age 61 my mother and 4 great aunts are still living. My grandparents died when I was in my 50's, so I had a lot of brains to pick. I have talked with them incessantly (they probably think) about WWII and the Great Depression. My father served during the Korean War.

Anyway, I'm a history nut by anybody's definition. I teach 4 history courses both at the high school level and college level: Western Civilization (creation-Medieval Ages), The Holocaust (I wrote the curriculum myself), World History (Enlightenment-Modern Day), and American History (1877-Modern Day). I am constantly revising my courses as I read and discover new material.

So as you can tell, I love your blog!

>70 Tess_W: You really are into history, Tess!

My first memories of school are story time - I always loved stories and the love the stories in history just naturally follow from that. Much of my early history reading was the trashy stories as well, I still enjoy them. I also read some less trashy stuff as well. I remember reading my way through real life stories of escapes from WWII prison camps in the later years of grade school. Exciting stuff and back then it was really recent history - a time that my family had lived through as they were all in England during WWII and both my father and mother were involved in the war effort.

A masters degree at 50 - that takes some doing! I was a bit behind you in going back to school in my 50s. I was 54 when I started taking community college courses - later and easier! While my interest is in history I want to write about it so at first I took creative writing courses and then ended up in the professional writing program at the same college. It was sometimes difficult to get the program courses I wanted so I slipped a few history courses in there as well.

You are lucky to have living relatives around so that you can pick their brains. The older generation of my family is now gone - my aunt just died last year but my Dad was the oldest when he died in 2012 at the age of 95.

I have been actively researching my family history for about 30 years. And I do mean actively, there is nothing I like better than going off on a research jaunt into far off dusty archives which also involve getting an idea of the lay of the land.

I am very fortunate in having a family that didn't stay put so have many, many places and topics to write about. I have just realized that I can introduce some of my own past into my blog posts because I am one of those family members whose past will trigger stories of historic interest.

26. The Murder of Tutankhamen by Bob Brier, Ph.D.

For my last ROOT of May I read a non-fiction book, The Murder of Tutankhamen. It was very interesting and I now know much more about Egypt in the time of the pharoahs.

So interesting to read your blog, Meg and read how both you and Tess got interested in history.

>73 connie53: I'm glad you found it interesting, Connie. It was interesting to find out all that information with a family connection. There is much more to come!

I was very good today. After work I walked over to the Little Free Library in the park and put 4 books in. My reward - someone had left Brotherhood in Death, the latest J.D. Robb so I scooped it! So a net loss of 3 books - yay!

I think I am trending in the right direction, slightly fewer acquisitions for May and they are:

Moonlight over Paris by Jennifer Robson
In the Wake of the Plague by Norman F. Cantor
the Devil's Acre by Matthew Plampin
A Question of Honor by Charles Todd
The Soul of Discretion by Susan Hill
The Ghost Fields by Elly Griffiths
Sleeping Murder by Agatha Christie
Presence: Bringing your Boldest Self to your Biggest Challenges by Amy Cuddy
Murder Between the Covers by Elaine Viets
Something New: Tales from a Makeshift Bride by Lucy Kingsley
The Civil War: Fort Sumter to Perryville by Shelby Foote

>75 Familyhistorian: Love it & thanks for the pic! I want to put one of those near my house... :)
>76 Familyhistorian: & congrats on trending in the right direction ;) Looks like some good acquisitions! I don't know any of them, specifically, but I recognize some authors :)

>77 avanders: The Little Free Library is new in the park this year and easy walking distance. Being so close is good and bad because I also pick up books. So far I have left more than I picked up and I want to keep it that way! Have a great day, Ava!

>78 Familyhistorian: well as long as you're leaving more than you take (... and event if you weren't!), it's all good ;) Hey, at least they're free!
You have a great day too!

>79 avanders: If you saw my book shelves you would know that I desperately need to leave more than I take! Free is always good especially when they books I would normally read anyway.

>80 Familyhistorian: lol I can relate ;)

>75 Familyhistorian: That is such a brilliant idea! I love it!

>81 avanders: That is probably why we are all members of the ROOTs group!

>82 Jackie_K: I think they are springing up all over the place, Jackie. I have seen different ones posted on LT. Looks like there are Little Free Libraries in the UK as well. http://www.littlefreelibraryproject.org.uk/

>83 Familyhistorian: absolutely :)

I have been a bit preoccupied lately as one of the people that I did a lot of volunteer work with died recently. She had been suffering from cancer for awhile so it was not unexpected. Her daughter was keeping our society up-to-date on what was happening. Lois died at the end of May and we were waiting to hear about the funeral but it was taking a long time. Turns out that her daughter, the one who was arranging everything, died of a stroke the week after my friend. Today was their double funeral.

Oh my, Meg, so sorry for your loss and the family's loss.

>87 Tess_W: Thanks, Tess. I can't imagine what that family is going through - rough.

>86 Familyhistorian: oh that's so sad, I'm sorry for your loss :(

>89 avanders: Thanks Ava.

>86 Familyhistorian: I'm so sorry :(

>91 Jackie_K: Thanks Jackie.

>86 Familyhistorian: That's so horrible! I'm so sorry to hear that.

>93 connie53: Thanks, Connie. I was expecting to hear about my friend but the daughter threw everyone for a loop.

27. Tartan Tragedy by Antonia Fraser

I picked up Tartan Tragedy last year when I was in Scotland. It was my first Jemima Shore mystery. I liked the book and it was a great reminder of the hours that I spent browsing the shelves of books in the shop in Bowmore.

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>95 Familyhistorian: a great experience -- both enjoying the book and the memories it brings. I love that cover!

>97 avanders: It is a nice cover, isn't it. I like books that have a good memory to go with them, not so sure of the books that are connected to difficult memories.

>98 Familyhistorian: oh very true... I would have probably gotten rid of those ;p

>99 avanders: Well, some memories are difficult but the books are left as a legacy of a sort so it would be hard to get rid of them.

>100 Familyhistorian: I can understand that :)

>101 avanders: Really books can have a lot of emotions invested in them both inside and outside of the covers.

>102 Familyhistorian: quite true!

>103 avanders: Have a great weekend, Ava!

>104 Familyhistorian: you too, Meg!

28. A Crack in the Edge of the World: America and the Great California Earthquake of 1906 by Simon Winchester

A Crack in the Edge of the World was my first comprehensive history by Simon Winchester. It was very interesting. Probably a good thing as I have another Winchester growing ROOTs on the shelves.

>28 Tess_W: Sounds like a wonderful read, a BB for me!

>107 Tess_W: It's a good one, Tess. Winchester explains the forces behind earthquakes so that the average person can understand.

My book acquisitions were up in July. In part that is because of the Little Free Library that is close to me. I took 5 books out of that library but I left about 20 so it works out well. The books are:

Brotherhood in Death by J.D. Robb
Wicked by Gregory Maguire
Latte Trouble by Cleo Coyle
Death Du Jour by Kathy Reichs
Monday Mourning by Kathy Reiches

The rest of my July haul came from the bookstore and there are much more than 5.

The Mystery at Stowe by Vernon Loder
The War that Saved my Life by Kimberly Brubaker Bradley
Not my Father's Son by Alan Cumming
Full Dark House by Christopher Fowler
Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austin
Strange Images of Death by Barbara Cleverly
Welcome to my World by Miranda Dickinson
Isaac's Storm by Erik Larson
The Perfect Crime by Israel Zangwill
The Other New York: The American Revolution beyond New York City, 1763-1787 by Joseph S. Tiedemann and Eugene R. Fingerhut
Only Beloved by Mary Balogh
The Zig Zag Girl by Elly Griffiths
A Turn for the Bad by Sheila Connolly
The Mystery of the Skeleton Key by Bernard Capes

29. Bookmarked to Die by Jo Dereske

I pulled my first Helma Zukas mystery from my ROOTs shelves. It was my first but the ninth in the series. Bookmarked to Die was pretty good. I should hunt done more of these mysteries.

What a haul!

>112 Tess_W: I don't have your self restraint, Tess.

>113 Familyhistorian: I don't think most of us do...if so, we probably would not be in this group!

>114 Tess_W: But two years without buying books - how did you do that? Do you think you can keep it up even after your latest splurge?

It's super-impressive, isn't it? I don't think I quite aspire to not buying any books at all - I will be over the moon if I can get to the point where I'm buying no more than I'm reading, but I've still a long way to go to get there!

>115 Familyhistorian:
>116 Jackie_K:

Don't be impressed...I've had 2 major surgeries, been down for weeks, a lot of that time I can't read--too woozy. And on top of that, I "get" to pay large amounts of $ for the stuff my insurance doesn't cover....so $ was also a factor. Usually, once I set my mind on something, I'm pretty stubborn, I will accomplish it--except dieting, lmao.

>116 Jackie_K: So impressive that I don't know how it can be done, Jackie. Maybe if they no longer sold books or if I lost every penny?

>117 Tess_W: Ah, I knew it was something - I keep forgetting that you have to pay for medical stuff. Glad we don't have to do that and I can spend my money on good stuff, like books!

>119 Familyhistorian: Well, we get (at least me) it back in the end, it's deductible on our income taxes. It's not that I could not have purchased some books, if I'd wanted to......again it's a stubborness that usually works against me, but in this instance has worked for me! I'm not going to run out of books to read--434 in my TBR pile and almost 200 on my wishlist-something I've never had before. Instead of clicking on "buy with 1 click" at Amazon I've clicked "place it on wish list"!

>120 Tess_W: The wish list strategy seems to be working for you, Tess. It probably is a good thing to do given the amount of books I have on the shelf that I wonder what I could have been thinking when I bought them,

>120 Tess_W: >121 Familyhistorian: I agree it's a great strategy. My wishlist is up to just over 150 now - it's been vastly inflated this year by BBs (of which I've bought 6), but at least my bookshelves and credit card haven't been vastly inflated to the same degree!

>122 Jackie_K: Maybe its a strategy I should adopt to help me with my book buying habit. This month's pile includes a lot picked up from the LFL though, so at least that cuts down on the cost.

30. Every Trick in the Book by Lucy Arlington

The novel idea mysteries seem to be getting more interesting as they go along. Every Trick in the Book is the second book in the series and the characters now seem like old friends.

31. In Love with a Wicked Man by Liz Carlyle

I dove in to In Love with a Wicked Man and read it straight through. Now if only I could do that with all the other ROOTs on my shelves!

Hi Meg, just popping in to see what you are reading.

>126 connie53: Hi Connie, hope you are doing well and enjoying your grandchild.

>127 Familyhistorian: O yes! I'm enjoying her very much. She is such a sweet baby!

>128 connie53: She looks like it from her pictures and you look like a proud grandma!

I acquired new books in July at the bookstore and online as usual but also at the Little Free Library near me. These are my LFL acquisitions:

No Nest for the Wicket by Donna Andrews
Lady Maggie's Secret Scandal by Grace Burrowes
The Russia House by John le Carre
Murder on Embassy Row by Margaret Truman
Main Street by Sinclair Lewis
A Knife to Remember by Jill Churchill
From Here to Paternity by Jill Churchill
Remember When by Judith McNaught
Decisions: Making the Right Ones, Righting the Wrong Ones by Jim Treliving

Hi, Meg! Looks like a good haul!

>131 Tess_W: That's only the LFL part, Tess. I still have to enter the books I actually bought.

>132 Familyhistorian:

>133 Tess_W: LOL!

>133 Tess_W: So cute!

Things keep getting away from me. I am finally getting back here to post the rest of my acquisitions for July. These are books that somehow came home with me from the bookstore or showed up in my mailbox.

The Little Paris Bookshop by Nina George
The Britannica Guide to Genetics
Radio Girls by Sarah-Jane Stratford
Frog Music by Emma Donoghue
A Curious Beginning by Deanna Raybourn
Agatha: The Real Life of Agatha Christie by Anne Martinetti
Deeds of Darkness by Edward Marston
The Girl from the Savoy by Hazel Gaynor

32. Down on the Farm: Childhood Memories of Farming in Canada by Jean Cochrane

I pulled one of my non-fiction history books from the shelf. My latest ROOT was Down on the Farm: Childhood Memories of Farming in Canada. It was interesting and contained lots of photos and quotes from people who were children brought up on farms in the “old days”.

33. Royal Escape by Georgette Heyer

My latest ROOT was Royal Escape, Georgette Heyer's historical novel about Charles II's escape from the clutches of Cromwell after he was defeated at the Battle of Worcester in 1651.

34. Strong Female Protagonist book one by Brennan Lee Mulligan and Molly Ostertag

Another ROOT, yay. Maybe I will be able to keep my star this month. Strong Female Protagonist is an interesting GN full of action and angst. However, I felt like I entered the middle of a story which could be true as it appears that this female protagonist has an ongoing online presence.

35. Forbidden by Jo Beverley

And another ROOT! Nothing like a fast reading romance to get those ROOTs off my shelf. Forbidden was one of Jo Beverley's Company of Rogues series.

Hello! I couldn't possibly catch up on the threads after my crazy-long absence, but I just wanted to say hi :)

Ava, you're back! Good to see you here!

>143 Familyhistorian: yeah! Good to be back !! :)

>144 Christiealex: I assume this is spam?

>145 avanders: Good to have you back, Ava. That was a long absence but understandable.

Yeah, #144 is spam and I can see it has been flagged so I hope that means that it will disappear.

I hate spammers! Go get a live!

>147 connie53: Me too, Connie. Who has time to do that kind of stuff?

>146 Familyhistorian: blech -- yeah, I flagged it too :P
>147 connie53: and >148 Familyhistorian: agreed! and ... I mean, it's so hard for me to understand why?!

>149 avanders: I don't get it either. I can't fathom using my time to send stuff to people who don't want it but then maybe they want us to click on the link so they can steal our identities or something.

>150 Familyhistorian: yeah, I suppose there's that. Stealing identities, money, etc. And actually, that tends to be the most likely scenario with those kinds of links. Boo.

Btw - looking back a bit, >140 Familyhistorian:, you say "Strong Female Protagonist is an interesting GN full of action and angst"...
What's a "GN"? Did you enjoy the book? Sounds interesting, but the cover seems... dated?

>151 avanders: A GN is a graphic novel. The book was good if you enjoy superhero type comics with hero's who are questioning what they are doing. I like it but probably won't read another one.

36. The Victorian Public House by Richard Tames

As part of my family history research and to find out more info about living without modern conveniences which is my current blog theme, I read The Victorian Public House. It is a short shire publication and contains lots of interesting info. It has also been on the shelves for ages and will go back there as it is part of my personal library.

>152 Familyhistorian: oh. of course it is. ;)

>154 avanders: Sometimes it takes me a while to figure out the LT abbreviations as well, Ava.

>153 Familyhistorian: that sounds interesting! I like to think that I live relatively low-tech and without some conveniences (I don't have to have the newest gadgets, I get by fine with what I already have, etc), but then here I am typing this on a laptop with electricity, so I don't really know who I'm trying to kid! :)

>156 Jackie_K: I'm like you Jackie, there are some things I don't have/use much in gadgetry land: I still use my grandmothers hand potato masher and I still buy unsifted flour and sift with her sifter, also. I have a dishwasher but for 2 people, it would take over a week to fill so I only use it on holidays. I also still use a real wooden pencil when I write, unless pen is required. That being said, I'm also like Meg, have a laptop, a desktop, flat screen TV's, and an Ipod etc. BTW, I still cook dinner 29/30 nights from scratch in my iron skillet(s).

>156 Jackie_K: I wouldn't want to live without my computer or electricity, Jackie. But when I first got married no one had a computer at home and I lived in a house with no central heating, just two oil stoves. The range in the kitchen heated the house and the hot water for the kitchen and bathroom. That is what I think of when living without modern conveniences.

>157 Tess_W: Ooh, you have an iron skillet, Tess. I mistakenly gave mine up when I separated from my husband. I thought I would have no problem getting a new one but I still don't have one even though that was 7 years ago. I do love my modern conveniences though especially my i-phone. I feel there is something missing if I don't have it with me.

I grew up on a farm way far away from anything (28 miles to nearest town) and we had no bathroom, used an outhouse during the day and a chamber pot at night. We did have running water (cold only) into the house. To take a bath my mother would heat water and fill up her two washtubs that she used to rinse clothes taken from her wringer washer. For all 3 of us kids it took 1-2 hours of work to get us bathed and hair washed. My sister and I shared the same bathwater. We only took a bath once a week, although we washed from a basin daily. We had electricity and a telephone, although 7 others shared our "party" line and it was often busy. We also did not have central heat, but coal burning "furnace" in the basement. The upstairs bedroom were naturally cold (for kids) and she put warmed bricks wrapped in towels at the foot of our bed under the covers. Now, though, 40-50 degree temps are what I like to sleep in with velvet blankets and a comforter! We left registers open so the heat would rise as there were no blowers, but there were ducts. I lived in this house with my mother, father, 2 siblings and grandma and grandpa until I was 13 years of age and my family moved to a "modern" house with a bathroom, shower, and hot water! I think maybe that's why a lot of "stuff" doesn't bother me such as no air conditioning (although I have it, I would prefer to live without it), a clothes dryer (have one but prefer to hang my clothes out), etc. etc. Have a cell phone that is turned off most of the time, but I do turn it on and answer all texts and return calls after dinner each day. Here are some pics of what I am talking about:

>160 Tess_W: That is a lot different from my upbringing, Tess. I am very glad that we had indoor plumbing. I can't imagine having to go to the outhouse in a Montreal winter!

I have lived in places with similar furnaces, but they were oil burning rather than coal burning. When a place has a furnace that is used to heat the whole house we would consider that central heating. In the house in Halifax there was no furnace, just the two oil stoves and it got very cold in the bedrooms upstairs. It was probably the only house on the block that didn't have a furnace as the people who owned it before us never modernized. It wasn't bad living with the stoves except that it took forever for things to cook. The hard part was having to do without hot water a lot of the time.

The pickings at the Little Free Library have been slim recently. So for August I only picked up a few books:

The Martian by Andy Weir
Night Whispers by Judith McNaught
On What Grounds by Cleo Coyle
Bell, Book and Scandal by Jill Churchill

But I more than made up for it when I went to the bookstore:

The Blackhouse by Peter May
The Illusionists by Rosie Thomas
Delusions of Gender: How our Minds, Society, and Neurosexism Create Difference by Cordelia Fine
The Brain that Changes Itself by Norman Doidge
The Widow Waltz by Sally Koslow
Church of Marvels by Leslie Parry
Artifact by Gigi Pandian
The Grell Street Mystery by Frank Froest
An Untimely Frost by Penny Richards

>163 Familyhistorian: Delusions of Gender is on my TBR list, I've heard lots of good things about it.

This conversation about conveniences is fascinating! I was born just late enough (1969) that we had indoor plumbing and heating, but my grandparents' house had an outside toilet and a rayburn for heating.

I think I'm similar to Tess now, in that I have a number of conveniences (eg drier) which I only use sparingly - I much prefer (weather permitting) to hang my washing outside. I'd be lost without my laptop though!

>164 Jackie_K: The only place that I remember living without central heating was the house in Halifax and that was in the '80s. I stayed at a boarding house in Charlottetown that had a range in the kitchen so probably didn't have central heating but it was summer so I didn't really notice. I do remember my grandparent's house which was close to London had a coal shed and coal was used in the fireplaces so I don't think it had central heating. I think it all depended on where you were and central heating was pretty prevalent in Montreal when I was growing up as it could be minus 25 for a week.

It would be nice to have a choice to hang my clothes outside but not practical where I live. I do remember one place we lived where I washed the clothes in the bathtub and hung them on the line to dry - had to watch for the right weather, though. I can remember bring in clothes that were frozen stiff so that it was hard to carry a lot of them at the same time.

It is interesting to remember how it used to be, Jackie.

>165 Familyhistorian: We too had -25 temps for a week. When I used to wake up in the mornings before the coal furnace had been fed, you could see your breath in my bedroom!

>166 Tess_W: We used to be able to draw lines in the frost on the windows. I don't miss that!

>167 Familyhistorian: Yes, and sometimes we had icicles on the inside of the windows!

>168 Tess_W: Ooh, well our furnace was on all night so the icicles stayed outside. Well, except for the time that there was an ice storm and we didn't have any power for a week. Our furnace had an electrical starter - not good when the power is out for that long!

37. The Invisible History of the Human Race: How DNA and History Shape Our Identities and Our Futures by Christine Kenneally

I have many non-fiction books on my shelves most are history and genealogy related. One area that I am very interested in is genetics and I recently read The Invisible History of the Human Race which I found interesting and comprehensive.

38. Caught in the Light by Robert Goddard

It was touch and go whether I was going to finish Caught in the Light as I started it then set it aside for a couple of months. I finally steamed through the last part of it and it is one more ROOT down and due to leave my shelves.

39. Vancouver Noir: 1930-1960 by Diane Purvey and John Belshaw

I have a lot of nonfiction on the shelves and I do love history and my adopted city of Vancouver. Vancouver Noir was an interesting read and is a definite keeper.

40. The Janus Stone by Elly Griffith

I finally got back to the Ruth Galloway series. The Janus Stone is the second book in this mystery series. Even though it was a year since I read the first one I remembered the characters and their on going story well and the mystery was good too.

41. Mrs. Jeffries Turns the Tide by Emily Brightwell

I follow many series, mostly mysteries. Mrs. Jeffries Turns the Tide is one of the later books in this series and has been on my shelves for a few years. It was a good, fun Victorian mystery.

Woo hoo! It appears as if you are a September reading roll!

>175 Tess_W: I am reading about the same as usual, Tess. It is just that finally a lot of the reads are also ROOTs. I am aiming to get my second star back!

Great stories about the conveniences. When I grew up we had indoor plumbing but just one coal heater downstairs. The bedrooms were always cold in the winter. Which helped me getting my schoolwork done real quickly so I could go down to read in front of the heater.

>177 connie53: We do have it a lot easier these days don't we Connie? But I do want to know why you didn't take your schoolwork down to where it was warmer.

Because I was in love with the son of people who lived in the house opposite us and he was studying in his bedroom. So we could see each other.

>179 connie53: LOL @ Connie!

>179 connie53: >180 Tess_W: I am surprised you could tear yourself away to go downstairs where it was warm, Connie. LOL

>155 Familyhistorian: sometimes I feel like I'm a few steps behind on these.... on the "pregnancy forums" they use a LOT of abbreviations. I understand a few, but most of them my eyes just sort of glaze over... ;p

>156 Jackie_K: >157 Tess_W: >158 Familyhistorian: hee hee.. I tend to use all the modern conveniences... and grew up with most of them.. BUT I do still like to do some things the "old fashioned way".. generally w/ cooking and baking (although a few years ago I learned the joy of a stand mixer and my whole Christmas-baking life changed...)

>160 Tess_W: wow! I suppose I had limited experiences like that growing up -- usually while camping or out at the g'parents' cabin ;)

>162 Familyhistorian: oh! The Martian - I look forward to your thoughts on that... I know it's probably been built up quite a bit by now, but it was quite an enjoyable read for me :)

>170 Familyhistorian: sounds very interesting!

>179 connie53: I love it! :)

>182 avanders: It seems like everything has its own secret language of abbreviations. At work they keep adding new ones and even the employees have a hard time figuring out what they mean.

It will probably take me a while to get to The Martian, Ava. I got involved with too many challenges this year and I got snagged by a book that someone warbled about, I found it in my library and put a hold on it and now I have to read it fast so it can go to the next person waiting. I am really enjoying A Murder in Time by Julie McElwain.

>183 Familyhistorian: I was in a hurry to get to The Martian and I was disappointed both in the book and the movie.

>184 Tess_W: I'll bear that in mind, Tess. I don't have much invested in The Martian as the book was free and I only picked it up because I heard about it but it isn't the kind of book that I usually read. I hope that because my expectations of the book are low maybe I will be pleasantly surprised.

42. The Uses and Abuses of History by Margaret MacMillan

History has always been fascinating to me. I love to read about times past. But The Uses and Abuses of History shows how careful the reader should be in accepting various interpretations of the past. It was an interesting and eye opening book.

43. Bloody Jack by L.A. Meyer

My next ROOT was a change of pace. Bloody Jack is a rollicking adventure of a girl who disguises herself as a boy and ends up on a British Navy ship. It is hard work being a ships boy but it beats starving to death on the mean streets of 18th century London – a fun read.

>186 Familyhistorian: I've put that on my wish list, BUT it doesn't come in ebook form, tsk tsk.

>188 Tess_W: No ebook but it is thin and doesn't take up much space, so there is that, Tess.

>188 Tess_W: Apparently it is available as an ebook. On the non-fiction thread Charlotte said that she has the MacMillan book on her Kindle.

Hmm....will have to search further, ...and I found it, renamed Dangerous Games: The Uses and Abuses of History! On my wish list now!

>191 Tess_W: My copy doesn't have "Dangerous Minds" in the title but I noticed that it came up when I entered the title on LT. I hope you enjoy it when you get to it, Tess.

Time to count the books that I acquired in September. The selection at the Little Free Library was pretty meagre so only picked up a few, a lot less than I dropped off!

Angela's Ashes by Frank McCourt
Witch Hunt by Shirley Damsgaard
Atonement by Ian McEwan
Consigned to Death by Jane K. Cleland

I more than made up for the slim pickings at the LFL with my other acquisitions for September.

Closed Casket by Sophie Hannah
The Muse by Jessie Burton
The Secrets of Flight by Maggie Leffler
Song of the Vikings: Snorri and the Making of Norse Myths by Nancy Marie Brown
Enter Pale Death by Barbara Cleverly
The Damascened Blade by Barbara Cleverly
London Rain by Nicola Upson
Trespassers in Time: Genealogists and Microhistorians by Anne Patterson Rodda
A People in Revolution: The American Revolution and Political Society in New York, 1760-1790 by Edward Countryman
The Dress by Kate Kerrigan
Whisperers: The Secret History of the Spirit World by J.H. Brennan
Sins of the Family by Felicity Davis
Tribe: On Homecoming and Belonging by Sebastian Junger

44. Mobbed by Carol Higgins Clark

I hope that October will also be a good month for my ROOTs. I finished Mobbed my latest book in the Regan Reilly Mysteries early in the month. This is one series that I am actually reading in order!

45. a complicated kindness by Miriam Toews

I picked up a complicated kindness after hearing Miriam Toews speak as part of a panel at the Vancouver Writers Festival a few years ago. She was publicizing another book at the time and I didn't remember that she was a Mennonite, but that community is front and centre in a complicated kindness which is both a coming of age story and one about the Mennonite community in the modern world.

Hi Meg, just passing by to see what you have been reading!

>197 connie53: Hi Connie, thanks for stopping by.

46. Behind the Scenes at the Museum by Kate Atkinson

It must have been someone warbling on LT that made me pick up a book by Kate Atkinson. Behind the Scenes at the Museum was sitting on my shelf when she came up as an author for the BAC so I not only had a book on hand for the challenge but it was a ROOT as well – bonus!

>199 Familyhistorian: That might have been me!

>199 Familyhistorian: On my TBR pile. Can't wait to read it!

>200 connie53: It could have been, Connie. I saw it mentioned by a few LTers. It was a good one.

>201 Tess_W: I am sure you will enjoy it, Tess.

47. And Only to Deceive by Tasha Alexander

As usual it is the end of the month and I am rushing to get my reading done to clear the decks for the coming month. And Only to Deceive was the first in a historical mystery series featuring Lady Emily Ashton. It was a good read.

>183 Familyhistorian: it happens! In any event, I'll be happy to hear your thoughts on The Martian :)

>184 Tess_W: :( That's a bummer.. I think it definitely can be disappointing when a book/movie is built up so much before you get a chance to read/see it yourself!

>199 Familyhistorian: Also looking forward to your thoughts on that... I've also mentioned it -- I think that was one of the books that Connie and I had talked about maybe reading as a group here on LT... back when I was still reading much more regularly ... :P

>204 avanders: Hi Ava, my post on the 75s was a lot more in depth for Behind the Scenes at the Museum, Ava. This is it here:

Behind the Scenes at the Museum is a story of family told from the point of view of one of the children. Atkinson conveys the child's-eye-view very well by telling the story that the child narrates in short episodes very much like a child sees things; living in the present, not knowing quite what is going on and having a sketchy memory of what has gone before.

There is also a back story about the family that the child's mother came from. It is interspersed throughout the child's story. Sometimes it was hard to remember which character was which in that story. But other than that it was an enlightening background for the mother character.

I enjoyed my first Atkinson read and will look for this author again in the future.

*****

I am behind on updating my ROOTs thread and have meetings the next two nights. I have lots to update and a pile of acquisitions for October, a huge pile but there are reasons for that.

>205 Familyhistorian: oh thanks for posting here! :)
Sounds right up my alley ... glad it's already on my shelves ;)

& looking forward to your titles & your reasons for your huge pile of acquisitions! ;p

>206 avanders: It is a good one, Ava. I should find time this weekend to post about that huge pile, maybe even start a new thread.

>138 Familyhistorian: Looks like a BB for me, Meg! I do teach about the English Civil War and Charles II as well as Cromwell's Protectorate.

>208 Tess_W: I think that was the first historical novel that I read by Heyer, Tess. I love her Regency romances and she brings her ability to portray characters to the story of Charles II.

I have a few books about the Civil War on my shelves as a lot of it was fought in Northampton where one part of my family hails from. One of these days I will get to read them.

>209 Familyhistorian: I'm from Northamptonshire originally too. It's not the most interesting place in terms of geography and location, but there is a lot of historical interest.

>210 Jackie_K: I got to explore a bit of Northamptonshire when I was there, Jackie. I enjoyed my time on the ancestor hunt and found the villages of Kilsby, Little Weldon and Yelvertoft picturesque and the town of Kettering had many interesting old buildings but their cemetery was a bit confusing when looking for particular stones. For part of the time I was at a conference at the University. We were there for genealogy but there were also reenactors on the grounds.