World of Penguins: charl08 travels the shelves #13

Well, it's the end of the year, and penguins are all over the shops...



I'm not sure about this dancing one though...

(Paperchase)

Books read
This month: 36
Last month: 27
Total: 300

December 36
Eat, Sweat, Play (F, UK, Sport / health/ feminism)
Red Love (M, Germany, Memoir)
New Kid (M, US, Middle school / GN)
Truth or Beard (F, US, fiction)
Nickel Boys (M, US, fiction) Netgalley
Little Siberia (M, Finland, fiction)
The Ministry of Truth (M, UK, Lit crit / biography/ politics)
Studmuffin Santa (F, US, fiction)
The truth About Cowboys (F, US, fiction)
The Infinite blacktop (F, US, fiction)

Why you should read children's books even though you are so old and wise (F, UK, fiction)
Joe Country (M, UK, fiction)
Not Just for Christmas (F, UK, fiction)
Dawn (M, Turkey, short stories)
Akin (F, Ireland/ Canada, fiction)
Red Birds (M, UK/Pakistan, fiction)
Falling for Trouble (F, US, fiction)
This Heart of Mine (F, US, fiction)
A Revolution of Feeling (F, UK, history)
Inland (F, US, fiction)

The Long Call (F, UK, fiction)
A Long Night in Paris (M, Israel, fiction)
Frost Fair (F, UK, poetry)
Maigret and the madwoman (M, Belgium, fiction)
Frazzled #2 (F, US, comic)
The First Snowdrop (F, Canada, fiction)
At the Pond: swimming at the Hampstead Ladies' Pond (Multiple, non-fiction)
The Godmother (F, France, fiction)
Spiritlands (F, UK, poetry)
The Tower of the Antilles (F, US, short stories)

How the Dukes Stole Christmas (Multiple, anthology fiction)
Amok (M, Austria, fiction)
His Bride... (F, US, fiction)
10 Minutes 38 Seconds in this strange world (F, Turkey, fiction)
Ode to a Banker (F, UK, fiction) Audible
Sweet Home (F, UK, short stories)

Dec totals

Gender M 11 F 23 Multiple 2
Region UK 11 Europe 7 US & Canada 14 Africa 0 Latin America 0 Asia 2 Austalasia 0 Multiple 2
Type Fiction 28 Poetry 2 Non-fiction 6
Origin Library 16 Other (incl mine) 20

Netgalley 3

Running totals
Gender F 219 M 72 Multiple 17
Country/ Region UK 93 Europe 54 US & Canada 132 Africa 7 Latin America 4 Asia 6 Austalasia 1 Multiple 14
Type Fiction 246 Poetry 7 Non-fiction 55
Origin Library 121 Other (incl mine) 188

Netgalley 31

African writers

(this is going to be loosely interpreted, with inclusion rather than exclusion being the focus)

Hiding in Plain Sight (Somalia/ South Africa/ US) Published by Oneworld
My Sister the Serial Killer (Nigeria) Published by Atlantic (UK)
Zeina (Egypt/ US) Published by SAQI (UK)
Travellers (Nigeria/ US) Published by Hamish Hamilton (UK)
The Wife's Tale (Canada/Ethiopia/UK) Fourth Estate (UK)
A Stranger's Pose (Nigeria) Cassava Press (Nigeria / UK)
Taduno's Song (Nigeria) Canongate (UK)
Goodbye Lucille (Nigeria/ UK) Vintage (UK

Europe (b#$%* Brexit) and beyond- authors in translation

Chester zoo penguins

See previous thread but one for longer list: some favourites

Columbia: The book of Emma Reyes Translator Daniel Alarcón (Spanish)
Egypt: Zeina Translator Amira Nowaira (Arabic)
France: Cry mother Spain Translator Ben Faccini
The Years Translator Alison Strayer
Tell them of battles, kings and elephants translator Charlotte Mandell
Germany: Dreamers when the writers took power, Germany 1918 Translator Ruth Martin
You Would have missed me Translator Jamie Bulloch
Latvia: Soviet Milk Translator Margita Gailitis
Sweden: The Wolf and the Watchman Translator Ebba Segerberg
Turkey: Dawn Translators Amy Marie Spangler and Kate Ferguson

Joe Country
This was just brilliant. The set up for the series (and you need to read from the start, Herron has a bad habit of knocking off characters without warning) is that MI5 has an office where it sends people who it can't fire, but doesn't want to hold on to. So they do pointless jobs for a horrible boss until they quit. This one opens with two "bad actors" leaving Wales with two bodies in a barn burning behind them. Clues are laid about what the bodies look like, but it's not clear who they are: and then the book tracks back to how everyone ended up in Wales. The humour in this is barbed and dark but very funny, and there are plenty of digs at Whitehall and politicians. At one point someone says he's seen bigger lies on the side of a bus...

Am I too early to jump in and say happy new thread? And I have also noticed an increase in Christmas penguins. Not sure why, but they sure are cute!

Sorry to hear about the election results. The whole world is turning crazy, it seems....

Wonderful penguin pictures! Happy new thread.

Happy new one!

Happy new thread, Charlotte!

Happy new thread and many, many penguins :)

Happy new thread!

Happy new thread, Charlotte.

Happy new thread, Charlotte! >5 charl08: You had me looking at where I was in the Slow Horses series, not very far along. The next one would be number 3 or 4.

>6 jessibud2: Not too early! Thanks for the wishes. In an endeavour to stay positive am crossing my fingers for one of those early scandals that forces a rethink (of course without hurting anyone).

>7 mdoris: Thank you - they help cheer me up.

>8 figsfromthistle: Thanks - hopefully this one will tide me over until 2020. Which seems odd to say.

>9 katiekrug: Thanks Katie. You recommended a book on your thread but it turns out to have another title here - Not Just for Christmas.

>10 RebaRelishesReading: Thanks Reba. Hope you're enjoying being home.

>11 drneutron: Thank you!

>12 PaulCranswick: Thanks Paul. Hope you've got some relaxing lined up for the holidays.

>13 Familyhistorian: They are all pretty good, I think! I hope he keeps writing. To be honest, I didn't realise that he had written so many other books.

Not Just for Christmas
A BB from Katie's thread, but for some reason they gave it a different title in the UK. As Katie says, a fun light romance with lots of dogs.

Mop up update (Trying to clear these from the physical and digital shelves before the 31st)

Nickel Boys Finished
The New Jim Crow (53%)
Dawn: Stories
Familiar Stranger: A Life between Two Islands
Red Birds 31%
A Revolution of Feeling: The Decade that Forged the Modern Mind
These Truths: A History of the United States
The Ministry of Truth: A Biography of George Orwell's 1984 Finished
An Orchestra of Minorities
Inland

Happy Saturday, Charlotte. Happy New Thread! Love the penguin toppers. Good luck clearing the reading docket. You have 2 weeks. I am glad I only have 2 or 3 going at one time.

Thanks Mark. I have 5 days left at work so then I get to sit and read (and maybe some other stuff but the weather is horrible) until January.
Woo!

Mop up update (Trying to clear these from the physical and digital shelves before the 31st)
Finished
The Ministry of Truth: A Biography of George Orwell's 1984
Nickel Boys
Dawn: Stories

Still to finish:
The New Jim Crow (53%)
Familiar Stranger: A Life between Two Islands
Red Birds 31%
A Revolution of Feeling: The Decade that Forged the Modern Mind
These Truths: A History of the United States
An Orchestra of Minorities
Inland

Happy new thread, Charlotte!

>17 charl08: Thank you for the UK name of that book - I looked it up with the US name and it was only a paperback. That should have been a clue! I've just bought the Kindle version :-)

I think Katie's review was a good one, Susan. I couldn't sleep last night and it was good company.

>5 charl08: OK, that tears it. I need to get back to this series. Off to the library website I go ...

Oh, happy new thread, Charlotte! Love the Paperchase dancing penguin up top. Adorable.

Thanks Julia! It's a fun read I think.

Another prize announcement, this one close to home.

The shortlist for The Portico Prize for Literature – the UK’s only award for outstanding literature that best evokes the spirit of the North – is announced today, Monday 9 December.

The six books on the shortlist for the £10,000 prize, once described as ‘the Booker of the North’, span both fiction and non-fiction.

The 2019 shortlist, in alphabetical order by author, is:

Saltwater by Jessica Andrews (Sceptre) Fiction.
Ironopolis by Glen James Brown (Parthian) Fiction
The Boy with the Perpetual Nervousness by Graham Caveney (Picador) Non-Fiction
Under the Rock: The Poetry of a Place by Benjamin Myers (Elliott and Thompson) Non-Fiction
The Mating Habit of Stags by Ray Robinson (Lightning Books) Fiction
Black Teeth and a Brilliant Smile by Adelle Stripe (Fleet) Fiction

https://aboutmanchester.co.uk/shortlist-for-the-10000-portico-prize-for-literatu...

Happy new thread, Charlotte, and glad you are staying positive about the election results. (One of the reasons I'm reading less this year is so many great UK politics podcasts and there was only so much listening I could do yesterday!!)

I have the first in the Joe Country series (Slow Horses) ready to go on my Kindle and might bump it up.

>25 charl08: I have Under the Rock Charlotte, and plan to read it soon.

>26 cushlareads: I'm trying to stay positive. One of the charities I follow on Twitter posted a quote about keeping on working, regardless of who won, and I admired their style. I have not been listening to British politics podcasts, although I've enjoyed some ones about politics and world affairs more generally. One I listened to about the reality behind Alexa HTC's monitoring programmes had me walking home making shocked faces, which must have been rather entertaining if anyone else noticed.

And yes, I would bump up Slow Horses. Although I would also easily be distracted by Shiny New Books, so that's not exactly good advice!

>27 Caroline_McElwee: I don't think I've come across it before - will have a look to see if the library can help.

Now reading Akin and am wondering why I haven't read more (any!? ) Emma Donoghue. I think this library loan is Kay's fault, so thanks to her.

(And yes, I've got distracted from >21 charl08:! )

Happy New Thread, Charlotte, and I love ALL the penguins in >1 charl08:!

>25 charl08: Love that one, Charlotte. We Northerners should celebrate our contribution to the written word more often and loudly.
The Tories under Cameron forgot the North and insisted upon that silly referendum
The Corbynistas forgot the North that always gave them unfailing support and lost the country. Hemsworth which is my constituency and used to be the safest Labour seat in the UK was almost lost, Yvette Cooper came close to losing in Pontefract and we did lose two great MPs in Wakefield and the Don Valley where we never lost before. Really we need to return to our base.

I reckon I will come back to the North within the next two years to help that process!

>31 ronincats: Thanks Roni, they're very cheery, aren't they. Have you got any fabric with them on?

>32 PaulCranswick: There were some real NE surprises, Paul. I think around Merseyside BJ's comments about Hillsborough acted as a protective factor for many Labour MPs. We are one of the pockets of red. My own MP is very good and I hope she is able to see things through until another government. But her majority was much smaller than before, so who know what will happen.

Akin
I thought this was a lovely read, and sat down and read it straight though. Quiet and unassuming in style, not much happens, but relationships and family matter.

He watched Michael sleep, that reassuring rise and fall of the ribs. Not cute at all; powerful. A tiny sound, as if he was sucking his tongue. The extraordinary thing about children was that they changed all the time, Noah thought, but not by attrition the way adults did. Kids were always growing, moving up, away from their always only temporary carers.

Noah was born in Nice but evacuated o the US before the invasion (as a small boy). As an elderly man he wants to return for a holiday for the first time to see the places he remembers. Packing up his sister's effects before the trip, he finds a mysterious collection of photographs taken by his mother. Noah is the last man standing of his side of the family, so when his nephew's son needs someone to care for him, there is no one else to protect the boy (even temporarily) from the care system. So his solo trip becomes a visit for two, accompanied by many different demands than the ones he had expected.

I've said not much happens, but that's in the novel itself. Much has happened: a downward slide of a much loved nephew, the incarceration of his partner and the estrangement of their families. In France during the war, there were clearly secrets being kept: the novel uses a true story of a brave network who protected over 500 Jewish children by hiding them with families during WW2. I think there's a powerful undercurrent around not knowing (not caring to know) about the suffering of others in the book (or maybe that's just me reflecting my own predispositions). Noah and his wife have had a comfortable life, but Michael's grandmother relied on food banks. Walking in his neighbourhood Noah and Michael see balloons: Michael assumes a memorial, Noah tells him it's for a birthday party.

I've picked up A Revolution of Feeling again.

The question of whether to make hope conform to what was likely in a progressively more conservative climate, or to cling on to improbable but important radical hopes and face the pain resulting from repeated disappointment, proved to be a highly personal negotiation.

>34 charl08: - I've been wanting to read this one, Charlotte, and am just waiting for it to come out in paperback. I've only read one other by Donoghue, The Sealed Letter and thought it was very good. I am not sure why I haven't read more of her work. I do own Landing though I have not yet read it.

Happy New thread, Charlotte! It's penguining to look a lot like Christmas, as they say.
I admire your effort to clear the decks, I have set myself the same task and suspect that my eyes are bigger than my ability to read *all* the books.... for a change! I will do better next year.

Happy new thread, Charlotte. I must start the Herron series. It sounds like one I'd like. I also loved Akin - the relationship between Michael and Noah was so well written.

>36 jessibud2: I was lucky enough that my library system had copies. I've heard her books are very different from each other, which sounds intriguing. Her bio certainly makes me feel lazy.

>37 Helenliz: Boom Boom!
I am thinking about a challenge which might get some of my existing books off the shelf. Still thinking.

>38 BLBera: Definitely worth trying out, Beth. Jackson Lamb is one of those antihero characters you don't forget.

And in terms of Akin - I agree, the relationship between them was well done: Michael's ability to reflect Noah's words made me smile.

Thinking of requesting this ARC

Happy new thread! I have Akin out from the library, sounds like I should try to get to it before it's due back.

That's a yes vote from me, Rhonda :-)

Thinking about a challenge thing for next year to get me reading fiction by African authors. I can't decide whether it would be more helpful to have an alphabetical one or an individual tick list.

Thinking of something along the lines of

A book by a new to me author
A book by an author outside of Nigeria/South Africa
A book translated from French
A book by a first time author
A book also written in an African language
A book by "the new Chinua Achebe" (!)
A book with LGBT themes

(At least three more categories needed)

>43 charl08: - What about a couple of categories based on covers, e.g. A book with a (mostly) red cover. I always like cover challenges :)

I am toying with the idea of doing the Goodreads 52 books challenge again, limiting myself to ones I own, to help clear some off the shelves. It has a good variety of prompts.

ETA: I don't participate in the discussion over there, I just steal the list. Maybe you could borrow a few.

1. A book with a title that doesn't contain the letters A, T or Y
2. A book by an author whose last name is one syllable
3. A book that you are prompted to read because of something you read in 2019
4. A book set in a place or time that you wouldn't want to live
5. The first book in a series that you have not started

6. A book with a mode of transportation on the cover
7. A book set in the southern hemisphere
8. A book with a two-word title where the first word is "The"
9. A book that can be read in a day

10. A book that is between 400-600 pages
11. A book originally published in a year that is a prime number
12. A book that is a collaboration between 2 or more people
13. A prompt from a previous Around the Year in 52 Books challenge (Link)
14. A book by an author on the Abe List of 100 Essential Female Writers (link)

15. A book set in a global city
16. A book set in a rural or sparsely populated area
17. A book with a neurodiverse character
18. A book by an author you've only read once before

19. A fantasy book
20. The 20th book on your TBR, in a series, by an author, on a list, etc.
21. A book related to Maximilian Hell, the noted astronomer and Jesuit Priest who was born in 1720
22. A book with the major theme of survival

23. A book featuring an LGBTQIA+ character or by an LGBTQIA+ author
24. A book with an emotion in the title
25. A book related to the arts
26. A book from the 2019 Goodreads Choice Awards
27. A history or historical fiction

28. A book by an Australian, Canadian or New Zealand author
29. An underrated book, a hidden gem or a lesser known book
30. A book from the New York Times '100 Notable Books' list for any year
31. A book inspired by a leading news story

32. A book related to the 2020 Olympic Summer Games in Japan
33. A book about a non-traditional family
34. A book from a genre or sub genre that starts with a letter in your name
35. A book with a geometric pattern or element on the cover

36. A book from your TBR/wishlist that you don't recognize, recall putting there, or put there on a whim
37. Two books that are related to each other as a pair of binary opposites: Book #1
38. Two books that are related to each other as a pair of binary opposites: Book #2
39. A book by an author whose real name(s) you're not quite sure how to pronounce

40. A book with a place name in the title
41. A mystery
42. A book that was nominated for one of the ‘10 Most Coveted Literary Prizes in the World’ (link)
43. A book related to one of the four horsemen of the apocalypse
44. A book related to witches

45. A book by the same author who wrote one of your best reads in 2019 or 2018
46. A book about an event or era in history taken from the Billy Joel song "We Didn't Start the Fire"
47. A classic book you've always meant to read
48. A book published in 2020

49. A book that fits a prompt from the list of suggestions that didn't win (link)
50. A book with a silhouette on the cover
51. A book with an "-ing" word in the title
52. A book related to time

Hi Charlotte.

Back on your prior thread, I appreciated the link to the Guardian piece on best graphic books of the year. I've added Grass to my wish list. I read fewer GNs this year and I want to return to them in 2020.

I was going to participate in the BingoDOG challenge again (I even helped with developing the list of prompts) but have largely decided against it. The list ended up having too many outside my interest. >44 katiekrug: That is a more interesting list of prompts for the new year.

I'm enjoying your mop up. :-)

>44 katiekrug: - Wow. that's some list! There are some items on it that don't call to me at all but I wonder how many books from my own shelves (my main focus for 2020) I could find to fit many of them. I'm gonna grab it and print it and see what happens. Thanks, Katie!

>44 katiekrug: Wow, lots of ideas there Katie. The prize winner and the book prompted by a previous book sounds good.

>45 EBT1002: There were some really interesting GNs on that list, Ellen. My library has ordered Maggy Garrisson for me. I have really loved some of the feminist/ historical GNs I've read (Red Rosa, Fruit of Knowledge and One Hundred Years of Hero spring to mind). Of course, not all work as well as others (for me as a reader) but a fascinating genre to explore I think.
ETA found this list of women's graphic biography - interesting!
https://www.librarything.com/list/18872/all/Graphic-Biographies-of-Women

>46 jessibud2: Good luck with your planning!

I think I missed a review of Selahattin Demirtas' collection of short stories Dawn: stories. He's imprisoned in Turkey as part of Erdogan's attempts to control all opposition. From his introduction:

Let us not forget that as long as we continue to breathe life into words, these words will not abandon us. We must restore to literature its transformative role. We have the capability to create a new language around the concepts of peace, democracy and human rights, and the values inherent in each. But to do so political activism alone is not enough: We must also engage intellectually and artistically. And so it is by discovering a new way of speaking that we can combat the rise of populism...

Amazing that someone can write a collection like this sat in prison, and not lose hope.

Mop up update (Trying to clear these from the physical and digital shelves before the 31st)
Finished
The Ministry of Truth: A Biography of George Orwell's 1984
Nickel Boys
Dawn: Stories

Still to finish:
The New Jim Crow (53%)
Familiar Stranger: A Life between Two Islands
Red Birds 34%
A Revolution of Feeling: The Decade that Forged the Modern Mind Chapter 4
These Truths: A History of the United States
An Orchestra of Minorities
Inland

>47 charl08: - Great list of graphic bios. I have already read 3 of them, but will definitely be looking at more from this list.

Happy new thread, Charlotte!

>1 charl08: I'm not sure about this dancing one though
I thought that one to be the cutest, although a bit not-very-penguin-like.

>50 jessibud2: I am most intrigued by the ones of women I've never heard of!

>51 FAMeulstee: Thanks Anita. I am not a fan of dancing things generally. A bit freaky!

>52 charl08: - Me, too, Charlotte. Interestingly and coincidentally, I just came home from the library to pick up a book that came in for me, requested awhile ago, a graphic novel of Ruth Bader Ginsburg, Becoming RBG by Debbie Levy. I requested it before I saw this list and this one isn't even on the list.

I think someone referred to this picture on your previous thread--precious!

happy new thread

>54 ronincats: nice pictures but poor penguins

>53 jessibud2: That sounds good!

>54 ronincats: Very cute: and beautiful work.

>55 paulstalder: I think only cuddly toy penguins had their dignity affected for this picture (I think the originals were knitted for penguins recovering from some kind of environmental disaster, but I might be mosremembering that).

(Aiming to clear physical and digital shelves before the 31st)
Finished
The Ministry of Truth: A Biography of George Orwell's 1984
Nickel Boys
Dawn: Stories

Still to finish:
The New Jim Crow (53%)
Familiar Stranger: A Life between Two Islands
Red Birds 72%
A Revolution of Feeling: The Decade that Forged the Modern Mind Chapter 6
These Truths: A History of the United States
An Orchestra of Minorities
ETA and Inland

Happy new thread, Charlotte! Lucky you! To have rec'd Nickel Boys from NetGalley is quite a feat! I hope you'll enjoy it.
Have you dropped Inland from your "Still to finish" list? I rather liked it and hope you read it at some point.
Love all the penquins hobbling around your thread.

>49 charl08: Loved The Nickel Boys and, as the Group Read Leader, I authorize you to let These Truths go if it no longer calls to you. Good luck with the end of the year cleanup. ; )

>58 Carmenere: It would have been even better if I had read it earlier - I do find the sometimes haphazard formatting of ARCs a bit of a turn off.
In contrast I have a lovely copy of Inland from the library but have been distracted. Too many books...

>59 Berly: Ha! Thanks Kim. I love Jill Lepore, but I wish they could have put it out as multiple volumes in slim easy to hold publications!

I read more of Red Birds last night. There are some great quotes.

One of the characters is a downed pilot

I have had enough of that stupid cockpit– womb analogy. Don’t tell me the cockpit is like a slick womb, paid for by taxpayers, where you can go and hide and feel safe from this world because you refuse to engage with it.
Don’t tell me I take things too literally when I remind you that no womb comes fitted with Sidewinder missiles.

From the email sent to me by the organisers of National Poetry Day

friends hold hands; littlies
shuffle in their spacesuits
hanging on to penguins;

parents loosely dance behind.
this jolly light world
of flying and seeing;

the jolly bright world

From 'Ice Rink' by Phoebe Power, published in the Forward Prize winning collection Shrines of Upper Austria (Carcanet Press)

>16 charl08: I read Herron's This is What Happened which was good but lacked the humour of the Slow Horses series which I missed.

Best wishes for clearing your shelves. I was thinking of doing that but the library holds keep coming.

>63 Familyhistorian: I think I've picked up the last books foe this year: the library is open one day after Xmas but that's unlikely to involve transporting books (I think).

Interesting re the Herron. I do love the humour.

Major dilemma re which books to bring with me on weekend away. Finally decided to being just the two I am supposed to be reading.
Resenting this already.

Progress:
A Revolution of Feeling
Chapter 7 (Woolstonecraft has just had her first baby and revised her theories re French revolution)

The Orchestra of Minorities p71. Lots of chickens.

(Aiming to clear physical and digital shelves before the 31st)
Finished
The Ministry of Truth: A Biography of George Orwell's 1984
Nickel Boys
Dawn: Stories
Red Birds

Still to finish:
The New Jim Crow (53%)
Familiar Stranger: A Life between Two Islands
A Revolution of Feeling: The Decade that Forged the Modern Mind Chapter 7
These Truths: A History of the United States
An Orchestra of Minorities
ETA and Inland

Good for you for cleaning up your 'almost reads'. I had the same plan, but like Meg, library holds have intervened. Now, I'm trying to at least get caught up on my reviews before the new year.

>66 charl08: Hmmm, I wonder where I put These Truths...

Good luck with your reading sprint Charlotte.

Red Birds
Netgalley ARC (but published in the UK, October 2018)

I am not sure that I would have kept reading this if it wasn't for being an ARC. Lots of smart comments about aid, international relations and foreign colonial wars, but the story didn't grab me. One downed pilot, one dog and one fifteen year old refugee who has lost his brother. Although initially it read to me as if it was something that felt all too real, it was as though the author lost faith in telling that story and instead diverted into magical realism territory.

Falling for Trouble
I like this romance series set in a fictional small town. In this one the outsider rock musician returning home finds she had underestimated her neighbours after all. I think I most liked the epilogue though in which the heroine neither got married or had buccolic scenes with babies. Nice touch.

>67 streamsong: Well, if it works. Am easily distracted.

>68 Caroline_McElwee: I should have bought the kindle version!

Exhausted. Took small people to see Frozen. I must be the only person who finds the big eyed heroines a bit creepy. The snowman got big laughs in our showing.

>71 charl08: Ah, you are brave, Charlotte.

Like you. I sometimes take books I am supposed to be finishing when I go away. The resentment often leads to book buying.

>71 charl08: Charlotte, that was a very kind thing you did :-) Their parents probably had "peace and quiet" at the top of their Christmas list, and you delivered!

>72 Familyhistorian: I've stayed strong (but bought book vouchers for someone else!)

>73 susanj67: I hope so! They are so full on (and very different). I don't know why this surprises me given my siblings are nothing like me.

Still reading Revolution of Feeling - read chapter 7 about Coleridge and his youthful aspiration to establish a utopian colony in Pennsylvania, a "pantsocracy". (!!)

Hi Charlotte - you seem to be doing well, mopping up.

For your African challenge, could you focus on a country? Or maybe continue reading from an author you have previously read?
Just a couple of ideas.

(ED. To explain that I went to see the pantomime Cinderella) I may be accused of being Ms Grumpy pants but thinking about writing letter to the theatre, the show was great, with particularly impressive use of animation on the staging (so the carriage turned into a pumpkin on the screen and then a pumpkin appeared on then stage) but their sound levels were ridiculous. Kids had their hands over their ears (and it's aimed at them, after all).

I also can't quite believe they had Cinderella and the Prince singing a pop song that includes the line "Shut up and dance with me" but that really is showing my age.

>75 BLBera: I do usually read more Nigeria and South Africa (in common with publishing trends I think), but have books by authors from Kenya, Madagascar and Ghana to read too. I'd like to map novels onto Nigeria (but that would raise more questions as ethnicity and/or first language doesn't map onto places necessarily and even if going on place of birth people move of course!)

The amazing Their finest hour and a half (now renamed because of the film Their Finest) is 99p on UK kindle.

Happy Sunday, Charlotte! Are you getting close, to clearing the deck? Just over a week left. Just sayin'...

Thanks Mark. About halfway through, don't think I'll finish but at least there will be some ticked off my list!

Finishing up list

Aiming to clear physical and digital shelves before the 31st)
Finished
The Ministry of Truth: A Biography of George Orwell's 1984
Nickel Boys
Dawn: Stories
Red Birds

Still to finish:
The New Jim Crow (53%)
Familiar Stranger: A Life between Two Islands
A Revolution of Feeling: The Decade that Forged the Modern Mind Chapter 9
These Truths: A History of the United States
An Orchestra of Minorities
ETA and Inland

>76 charl08: I have books on the shelves or available to me to cover almost all African countries and that has to be a challenge for one year.

I am not as well balanced across the continent as that, Paul. I would certainly be keen to see your reviews of any you do pick up. Hope you get a break over the holidays.

Revolution of Feeling chapters 8-9 Pantisocrats prove to be pants about women's rights, despite supposedly utopian radical principles.

Or in other words, Happy Christmas! And have a great New Year as well.

Wishing you a Merry Christmas with some Christmas penguins

>84 SandDune: >85 Helenliz: Thank you!

Relaxing after getting caught up in a "suspect package" incident on the way home. On the plus side, I think I'll get some of my ticket money back!

Hope you have a wonderful Christmas!

Thanks Chelle. Wishing all a lovely break.

Jane Austen house is fundraising to repair the roof. £15 buys you a tile.
https://www.justgiving.com/campaign/roof-tiles

Happy Christmas, Charlotte!

Boo to the suspect package - no doubt someone's forgotten Christmas shopping.

Have a great holiday, Charlotte! Hope you get a few bookish gifts!

>89 susanj67: Thanks Susan. I was impressed at how calm people were being.

>90 msf59: Thanks Mark! Hope you get some time to relax.

Opened my secret santa package - Travelers in the Third Reich and An African in Greenland. Very pleased. Thank you Santa!

Merry Christmas Charlotte. I know you have exciting South African adventures ahead of you in the New Year, I look forward to hearing all about them.

Swinging by to wish you



from stormy Kauai where they are predicting flash floods and possible power outages. Thank goodness for books! (and a well-charged kindle)

Wishing you a Merry Christmas, Charlotte. May it be filled with Penguin books and love.

>91 charl08: Your secret Santa books are both excellent! Well done, Santa. Were there any other booky gifts?

>92 Caroline_McElwee: Thinking 2020 might be the year of lots of new things!

>93 EBT1002: Hope the kindle charge lasts, Ellen.

>94 Helenliz: Thanks Helen. I think I may have enough books to last me a while ...

>95 susanj67: We're being very patient this year. I fear no more book gifts as my siblings have just informed me they have gone "off list ". Argh.

All the best Charlotte for 2020. Have a wonderful Christmas!

Thank you! Love the tree.

Finishing up list -update

Aiming to clear physical and digital shelves before the 31st)
Finished
The Ministry of Truth: A Biography of George Orwell's 1984
Nickel Boys
Dawn: Stories
Red Birds
A Revolution of Feeling: The Decade that Forged the Modern Mind (finally!)

Still to finish:
The New Jim Crow (53%)
Familiar Stranger: A Life between Two Islands
These Truths: A History of the United States
An Orchestra of Minorities
Inland (about 80 pages to go)

Whether you celebrate Christmas, Hanukkah, Solstice, some other tradition or none at all, this is what I wish for you! And thank you for being my secret Santa.

Thank you for keeping me company in 2019.......onward to 2020.

Merry Christmas to you and your family!

>99 ronincats: Thanks Roni - hope you enjoy the books.

>100 PaulCranswick: >101 AMQS: Thanks Paul and Anne. Lots of good wishes to you both.

calm and I could use some friends over here in this new joint...

The 2020 Group is up!

Hope you're having a great holiday season Charlotte. Excited to see you in 2020!

>103 drneutron: It might take me a while to get going, Jim, but I've put my head round the door.

>104 The_Hibernator: Thanks Rachel. It's been a stressful few days but hoping to relax now. I foresee some days in my pjs.

Inland
I picked this up again after getting half way through and stalling (I couldn't work out how the two strands linked, or would link, or if there was something I was missing). One storyline follows a young migrant who accidentally becomes a cameleer as he travels across the US desert, part of a new attempt to use camels rather than horses. The second follows a mother in a desperately dry new settlement. Her husband has left, her sons have disappeared, and she's facing threats from the well-financed supporter of the rival town. Both strands are highly atmospheric - almost to the point of feeling dry and dusty as a reader and wanting to go get a large glass of water. The big reveal was worth it.

I told him you had seen corners of these deserts few eyes had ever beheld, for no creature had ever needed water less nor yearned for wandering more.I told him about that time a flood caught us up in a painted canyon and the waters arose around us while you walked, kicking slowly, until, you floated up, up past the petroglyphs and the shining, swooping walls of the canyon, and swam on a new river of rain with me on your back....

A Revolution of Feeling
This book is a fascinating look at the impact of the Feemch revolution on would be radicals, and how they reacted to the British government's crackdown on all political activity. Including Woolstonecraft, Coleridge and Wordsworth, as well as figures like Thomas Wedgewood who I had not come across before, this was a fascinating glimpse into ideas about emotion, pain and education in the 1780s - 1810s. I particularly found her emphasis on the challenges of giving up hope really powerful.

Finishing up list -update

Aiming to clear physical and digital shelves before the 31st)
Finished
The Ministry of Truth: A Biography of George Orwell's 1984
Nickel Boys
Dawn: Stories
Red Birds
A Revolution of Feeling: The Decade that Forged the Modern Mind
Inland

Still to finish:
The New Jim Crow (53%)
Familiar Stranger: A Life between Two Islands
These Truths: A History of the United States
An Orchestra of Minorities

One guest has left and the other one is happily self-entertaining so I have finished one book ⬆️ and am now reading The Long Call with a blanket and trying to resist the chocolate peanuts.

Ooo, chocolate peanuts, hard to resist Charlotte...

>108 charl08: It has proved futile, Caroline. Must Walk Tomorrow....

I hope you are enjoying some relaxing time with the books, Charlotte.

Hi Charlotte,
Happy Christmas 2 days late - the chocolate peanuts sound good!

Just wanted to let you know that I did bump Slow Horses up my pile of unread books and loved it. I finished it this morning and discovered that the 2nd one (Dead Lions) was at our brand new lovely branch library, so jumped in the car and have got it already. And they also had A Revolution of Feeling so I grabbed that too. Thanks for the recommendations!

Best wishes this holiday season!! See you in 2020!

Charlotte, I loved Inland, and I agree with you about feeling thirsty! She's a fabulous writer. A Revolution of Feeling sounds excellent.

And The Long Call appears to be, um, the first in a series :-) Enjoy!

#MyWorkHereIsDone
#OMG

>111 Familyhistorian: I am looking forward to my week off with just the reading!

>112 cushlareads: Sounds good, Cushla. It's a good series. Thanks for letting me know.

>113 Berly: That's a lovely map Kim, wishing you the same.

>114 susanj67: Yeah, I'm definitely converted, following the correct order.

(No one mention the second book hasn't been published yet!)

The Long Call
This is, as endorsed by Susan, the first in a new series by the author of the Vera and Shetland series(es?). This time set in the South West of England, the book is full of beaches and bleak coastal towns in the "off season".

A body is found on the beach with its throat cut. Matthew and his team must work out what the links are to the local community centre where the victim volunteered, and most of the small town have some kind of link.

I really liked this and will continue to follow the series. Especially given the LGBT lead hopefully someone is already optioning this for tv.

Now reading At the Pond: swimming at the Hampstead Ladies' Pond.
Much prefer reading about the lovely benefits of winter swimming to actually doing it.

>117 charl08: That one does sound good. I looked it up in the library app when I was up at Whitechapel and it came up as "Available". Excited, I scrolled further but it turns out that it is "Being acquired by the library". So "Available" now covers things that aren't *quite* available.

>119 susanj67: Oh, that's disappointing. It's a very small book, maybe one you could slip into the amazon basket?

>120 charl08: The elibrary has it, so I'm #38 on 3 copies :-) I'm sure lots of hard copies will show up eventually (or maybe even quite soon) so I'll wait and maybe clear some stuff from the Kindle while I do :-)

>121 susanj67: Maybe it will persuade you to join the winter swimmers?!

Now reading part of the Christmas haul (parents did follow the list) A Long Night in Paris. Translated from the Hebrew, Israeli security forces are a bit more complex than in some other fictional depictions. Gripping so far.

>120 charl08: I meant the Cleeves rather than the swimming one, but that also sounds like a good read :-)

>123 charl08: Yay for the list!

>124 susanj67: Ah, that makes more sense. I should have realised that was a lot of interest in a book about Hampstead ponds.

>77 charl08: I love that book. I must pick up her new one soon. My 2020 list is getting long.

>123 charl08: This sounds interesting. Off to check to see if the library has it.

>106 charl08: Good to know about Inland, that the reveal is worth it...I'm waiting to get a copy from the library. I think I'm 5 or 6 on the list.

>126 BLBera: You have reminded me I still haven't read Lissa Evans' one about the rabbit!

Hope the library check was successful. I really did like Inland - really atmospheric.

I'm on chapter 92 of A Long Night in Paris- diverted by family dinner and a too-much-food snooze.
(Chapters are very short)

Nope, not in the library yet. I wish listed it so I can check later.

>129 BLBera: Hope they can find a copy, Beth.

I've just been pressuring my brother to read Berlin by Jason Lutes and he's told me he's going to ask the library to order a copy. I'm sure we had a conversation last year where he didn't have a library card. I'm going to take all the credit and ignore the fact mum took us all to the library as small people...

A Long Night in Paris
This was really good crime fiction, gripping and darkly cynical about international politicians, French life (especially labour laws) and army intelligence. I don't think I'd have realised it was in translation had I not been told.

Abadi, a previously disgraced member of intelligence in the Israeli military, arrives in Charles de Gaulle airport to find an Israeli passenger has been kidnapped. At the same time Oriana is asked to deputise for her boss, the head of the mysterious unit 8200 in Israeli military intelligence who has been abruptly retired. She discovers that some of the other officials are seriously annoyed that the deposed man has disappeared, plunging her into a rivalry with forces attempting to cover up corruption, whilst Abadi in Paris is forced to work with the Fench police to deal with the Chinese commando forces who are leaving a trail of destruction seemingly somehow connected to it all.

I think if you like Mick Herron's crime writing you might like this. There's a nice nod to Boris Akunin too.

Looks like your time of relaxing and reading is going well, Charlotte and you got me with a BB for The Long Call.

We spent some of yesterday doing some clearing out: board games that have been sadly ignored are being donated elsewhere and the elderly record player is (finally) being abandoned (it does not work). So not as much reading as I'd hoped, and maybe some more clearing up in my future. I am still unsure about what to do with my "academic" books. It looks increasingly unlikely I'll use them again but...

>132 Familyhistorian: Hope you enjoy it when you get to it! I suspect the tourist board is delighted, and it does look like there will be a tv series too.

Thinking about using Obama's list for reading ideas in 2020. (There is another one too from earlier in 2019)
https://mobile.twitter.com/BarackObama/status/1211033245812441091

Ones I've read already
Normal People
The Lost Children Archive
Girl, Woman, Other
Say Nothing

>134 charl08: I don't know how he resisted adding Commander in Cheat to the sports books :-) I've read The Anarchy and part of the surveillance capitalism one. If the President managed to finish that one he has my deepest admiration :-)

>135 susanj67: Ha, Susan! I think I might pass on the sports ones.

Doing a bit of a short read fiesta in a bid to make 300 this year. I figure it balances out (looking particularly at Revolution of Feeling here.

These Truths is going to have to be a 2020 project!

>134 charl08: - The tweets were also priceless. Most of them, that is. There are always going to be the idiots, I suppose, but most lamented no longer having a president who reads. I am not even American and I miss that man so much. Thanks for posting this, Charlotte.

I really enjoyed The Long Call - now I just need to read the 4 Shetland books I haven't read and the whole Vera Stanhope series. I'm a bit shocked to realise that I read Blue Lightning in 2015 and that I still haven't got to the Vera books - and I must have bought the first of those a long time ago. I met her several times at various events, including a very small one in East Grinstead where she appeared with a group of other crime writers mostly based across the north of England. She was also reader in residence at the first few Crime Festivals in Harrogate, and had a big hand in bringing a lot of Scandi Noir writers over to that event - probably best known now from the first such event is Arnaldur Indridason.

Wow at even getting close to 300.

300!
>139 elkiedee: I know, I can't even begin to imagine reading that many books. What do I do with my time?!*And it's not like I can claim quality over quantity; Charlotte doesn't exactly read candfloss books!

*Best not to try and answer that one!

>134 charl08: Same here, Charlotte. From that list I've only read Girl, Woman, Other, but I own Furious Hours, Lost Children Archive, Normal People, and The Yellow House.

>134 charl08: Good list. I'm reading The Heartbeat of Wounded Knee right now, slowly. I should be inspired by you and try to finish it before the new year!

>134 charl08: I have Lost Children Archive, The Topeka School and The Orphan Master's Son and have to get The Yellow House for my RL bookclub in February. And I want to get my hands on Girl, Woman, Other. Great list!!

>137 jessibud2: It had comments on Litsy re the reading Prez too.

>138 elkiedee: My mum loves the Vera tv series so I feel like I'm a bit Vera'd out. (Similarly with rugby/football/cricket/sportsing in general - background noise now).

>139 elkiedee: >140 Helenliz: I do mix in quite a range of books, it has to be said. I found December busier than I really like, and that was with the bare minimum of socially acceptable participation level in social events.

>141 kidzdoc: Hope you find the time to read the books on the shelves Daeeyl. I have an annoying habit of treating purchase like reading will then be guaranteed. Will try and read more from the shelves in 2020.

>142 BLBera: That's one I'd really like to get to, Beth. On the list!

>143 Berly: I wasn't interested in Topeka but then the radio 4 book programme talked about it and I was tempted.

Girl Woman Other is definitely worth your time.

Update books read

Frost Fair

Gorgeous illustrated poem-book, set around the frozen Thames of London centuries ago. Fishermen push up prices, rules are forgotten, takes are told. Echoes of Orlando and The Frozen Thames but with Duffy's fresh, sharp gaze.

Maigret and the madwoman
These books' strength (the sense of catching a lost Paris with slow lunches and policemen catching the bus home) are also their greatest weakness (various, but here in a horrible attitude to "manly" female suspect).

Frazzled #2
Cute illustrated comic about the challenges of dealing with change when you are 11. Lovely message about working together, looking beyond the surface and learning.

The First Snowdrop
Reissued Mary Balogh that reminds me of why romance has a bad name. Horrendous failure to communicate solved by women with terrible memories.

At the Pond: swimming at the Hampstead Ladies' Pond
Varied collection of short essays on swimming, linked by the authors' visits to the famous pool for women. From a reflection on trans identity and the water to recollections of swimming in ice. Famous names include Esther Freud, Deborah Moggach and Margaret Drabble. I was disappointed that Leanne Shapton's contribution had already appeared elsewhere, so was not new to me. I loved the reflections of a lifeguard, with her particular perspective on the community of women. And the fish swimming in the water, which surprised me, rather.

As night falls, we slip into the water and swim out across the mirror. As the water turns black in the dimming light, we open our eyes beneath the surface and suddenly we're not swimmers anymore, but astronauts...

The Godmother
This French crime novel takes the unusual perspective of a legal translator who decides she's had enough of listening to police tapes of dodgy drug deals and that she can do things better. Although evidently to be read as blacker than black humour I found the narrator's blasé attitude to collaborators' demise hard to stomach.

Currently in production as a film.

ETA to fix touchstone (see below)

Catching up with my library's e poetry collections. This one by Sarah Wardle was a mixed bag for me. I'd be interested to read her other work, as she has been publishing for some time, and some of them were striking (as with this one).

Hi Charlotte! Just dropping in to check on progress with Challenge 300. Although someone did once tell me that it's not a competition. I can't remember who that was...:-)

The Godmother sounds like a good idea. The touchstone should be the one I have, though. I've checked the library for it but it seems to be an Amazon one for me.

>148 susanj67: It's definitely not a competition, Susan.

Except it is a competition matter of pride with past Charlotte, who foolishly claimed on a Netgalley profile last year (or the year before that) that "I read 300 books a year ".

Ruh Roh.

Went to pick up library books, and thought I'd just check out Waterstones' sale.

Came home with (half price!):
Invisible Women
Dreyer's English
How to be an anti-racist

New year's resolutions re buying books start the day after tomorrow, clearly...

>150 charl08: I'm sitting with a Christmas gift card to a bookstore, going over which books I want. Dreyer's English is the one I'm definitely getting.

>151 RidgewayGirl: I'm going to try the exercise about not using very or so or ....
Anticipate this being very difficult, so not starting yet.

The jury is still out re meeting the 300 target. Now reading Sweet Home which is really rather good.

Possible I might make 300 as I forgot audible Falco I'm listening to.

The Tower of the Antilles
Collection of short stories by Cuban -American author. Range from two young women living in the shadow of a serial killer to divided relatives negotiating over "reasonable" demands on those who left before them (despite very different political attitudes). Although centred on Cuba, they clearly have much in common with other stories rooted in any migrant's experiences. At one point a couple who recently emigrated go to a party and the narrator comments that it was the early days of their time in the US - they had not yet decided on the reasons they left. And this matters because the party is a gathering of other Cuban migrants.

How the Dukes Stole Christmas
Thanks to Katie for this recommendation.
NB: I've never heard a real Scottish person say "Och".

Amok
Yikes. I think the trigger warnings for this novella might be longer than the text. In Zweig's defence I think he might be criticising colonialism via corrupted characters, but still...

>164 katiekrug: Wow! This is awesome, Charlotte. My God, I miss this man!! I have read 6 of them and I have Girl, Woman, Other, lined up for later this week. Solitary was one of my Christmas Swap books and the Lerner and Washington collection, are high on my TBR along with the Wounded Knee book.

I will have to share this on my thread. Thanks!

>106 charl08: I have looked at Inland on the bookshop shelves so many times. I think I'll add it to the wish list now.

>134 charl08: I love Obama's list. I have read Girl, Woman, Other (five stars), Lost Children Archive (4.5 stars), and The Topeka School (4 stars but it has stuck with me more than that). I carried Normal People to Kauai and back so I should get to it soon, and I have had The Yellow House and Lot: Stories and Solitary and Say Nothing on my wish list for a while now. Oh, and I have The Orphan Master's Son on the shelves, maybe I'll finally get to it in 2020. In any case, I'm favoriting this post so I can refer back to it later.

I'm curious about your New Year's book buying resolutions, Charlotte. How many more reads before you hit 300?

>155 msf59: Sounds good Mark. I must remember to look again at the list he published earlier in the year.

>156 EBT1002: Looks like there will be a few of us reading in Obama's footsteps in 2020, Ellen.

I liked Inland a great deal. Hope you do too.

>157 Familyhistorian: Getting closer, Meg! (I'm updating here >2 charl08:)

Now reading 10 minutes 38 Seconds in this strange world

...human memory resembles a latenight reveller who has had a few too many drinks: hard as it tries, it just cannot follow a straight line. It staggers through a maze of inversions, often moving in dizzying zigzags, immune to reason and liable to collapse altogether.

Has anyone tried this before?

https://www.literature-map.com/

>2 charl08: You can do it!

Here's a cheerleader for moral support.



And the Waterstones at the Wharf has the Dreyer book - yippee! Thanks for the tip.

>160 charl08: That is fun!
Way to much fun, as I should be reading to finish my last 2019 book....
Well it might turn into my first 2020 book ;-)

Are you going to make it to 300?

>161 susanj67: Thanks Susan! Cheering much appreciated.

>162 FAMeulstee: It's intriguing. I'm wondering what it's based on, but not enough to actually google it (yet).

I think I will make 300 today, so long as nothing unexpected happens. I've got two stories left in >153 charl08: and am at 43% on >159 charl08: which is good because I really should have included it in my "clean up". I think the last book will be Jojo Moyes' new one: not least because it's due back at the library. So many holds on it!

>160 charl08: - I entered Penelope Lively, and the two nearest were William Trevor and Jane Gardam, both of whom I love. I could spend a whole day playing with that!

Good luck on hitting 300, Charlotte!

>164 katiekrug: I had fun trying different genres- Jane Harper turned up some writers I've not heard of at all.

Have been doing a little bit of cleaning out, recycling papers from courses studied many years ago. Was my writing really ever that tidy?

Also the garden, as the beech tree continues to give with great largesse. Underneath the leaves, found at least 5 bulb tips! Exciting times. Hoping they survive the wildlife, especially slugs. It's very damp around these parts and the evidence of slugs having a good time is pretty much right across my plants, although they don't seem to like lavender much.

Went for a walk and spotted this, a relatively recent addition.


One of the local lord types had his house and grounds requisitioned during WW1 for the central training and care of horses for the troops. This memorial commemorates this time. Not sure if the interest in this piece of local history is directly related to War Horse or not.

Thanks Barbara! Wishing you a lovely NY.

I'm calling it 300, although I slept through some of Ode to a Banker.

10 Minutes 38 Seconds in this strange world was really lovely and now I'm regretting not having bought it in Waterstones, where it may be on sale still (temptation). Shafak uses the time the brain (possibly) takes to totally shut down to flashback through Leila's memories, from her rural childhood with an increasingly conservative father to life in a brothel in Istanbul. The dramatic political changes in Turkey, as well as life on the outskirts, is beautifully told through Leila's diverse friendships with outsiders.

...hope is a hazardous chemical capable of triggering a chain reaction in the human soul.

Ode to a Banker Audible
More fun with Falco. I really like the narrator, but wish Helena got her own books.

Sweet Home
Brilliant collection of short stories set in Northern Ireland. Sad characters caught in small but effective traps of their own making. Violence damaged ones no less trapped. The pay off to 'Lady and Dog' was chilling.

300!!! Whoohoo!!!

Wishing you similar numbers in 2020 and...



Wishing you 12 months of success
52 weeks of laughter
366 days of fun (leap year!)
8,784 hours of joy
527,040 minutes of good luck
and 31,622,400 seconds of happiness!!

Thanks Kim! Wishing you the same, and a lot of healthy vibes.

I'll take those vibes!! ; )

Well I'll try and catch up with the 2020 folks tomorrow.

Congratulations on reaching 4 x 75, Charlotte!

>171 Berly: 👍

>173 FAMeulstee: Thanks Anita! Just squeaked in.

Congrats on reaching 300, Charlotte! Impressive. I will get to the Shafak next year. I've loved the books I've read by her, and this sounds like another amazing read.

Another resolution is to keep up in 2020 with all my friends on LT. Happy New Year!

300 books, Charlotte - well done!

Congrats on reading 300, Charlotte!

Congratulations, Charlotte!

Wow! What an accomplishment!

>176 BLBera: I really enjoyed it, Beth. Hope you can find a spot for it too.

>177 PaulCranswick: >178 PaulCranswick: Thanks Paul, those sound like very admirable aspirations to me.

>179 Familyhistorian: Thanks Meg!

>180 susanj67: Thanks Susan (and to you).

>181 jessibud2: Thanks Shelley.

Hey Charlotte! Happy New Year! I notice you haven't started a 2020 thread yet, but wanted to let you know that I went ahead and finished The New Jim Crow while on my flight to Oregon. My short review and some thoughts are on my new 2020 thread.

300 is simply incredible to me. Well done Charlotte!

Happy New Year and very happy reading in 2020. .

Happy new year, Charlotte!!

Thanks everyone! The new thread is up for 2020.