Kath, Tim, Annpan. It is only because I was told by the brother of Max Mallowen, sometime during the mid-60's, about the Mousetrap royalties going to Giles Playfair that I mentioned it here. I'm pretty sure I remember what he said accurately and I don't think I would have mixed up the name Matthew Pritchard (of whom I had never heard) with G P. At the time (early '50's) The Mousetrap was a play of little significance and never expected to run for so long. ***
As you say Ann, there are several mentions of Pritchard getting the money (although I presume he would have received the bulk of AC's estate anyway) and far fewer saying the 'godson' got it.
It does bring up a wider question as to the accuracy of various websites.
A couple of years ago when we had the discussion on Brideshead Revisited which I 'led', I felt I had better spend some time checking on background facts and general info. Apart from reading the book about 3 times I trawled through endless articles on the web and eventually found that many of them were no-more than rehashings of older sites. This became glaringly obvious when a couple of blatant mistakes kept appearing . . . especially from TV/journalist pundits who had probably never read the book but relied on the easy-way-out. They even spouted these inaccuracies on arty TV shows that are still available on youtube.

***Now had I been given the above information last week I would very likely have got it wrong/misheard it/fallen asleep while writing this . . z z z

Picked up a YA recommended by a friend of mine: The Evolution of Calpurnia Tate by Jacqueline Kelly. Really enjoying it so far as it has a smart feisty 11-year old protagonist and hoping to get it approved for my book review column. (However, unsure as to how the editor feels about Darwin et al. I know, in this time and age, but there you go. It's the same group as who believe that Harry Potter is Satan.)

Also did some more reading of The Assassin's Cloak and really enjoying it. It was rather poignant last night as I read Capt Robert Falcot Scott's entries in his diaries as his exhibition to the Antartic (?) gets more and more in trouble. His colleague knows he is holding them back as he is so ill, so he goes out into a blizzard saying "I am going out now. I may be some time" and he was never heard of again.

I have lent The Killer Angels to my DH who said rather forlornly that he had read all his library books and now "had nothing to read". That went straight to my heart so I passed it along to him. Meanwhile I am immersed in books of sewing technique and 20th century couture. It is no punishment to do some studying for a while on one of my favorite topics.

I read Lemonhead's comments on Scott with interest. On our recent visit to NZ we went to a exhibit of Antarctic expedition photographs at the Christchurch Museum. These detailed both Scott's and Shackleton's expeditions. It was a powerful experience. I'd never been particularly interested in these explorations before this. Afterwards we emerged into the sunshine and saw the large statue of Scott in the square outside, sculpted by his widow. Later on the trip we were in Auckland. There we went to Kelly Tarleton's and walked through a reproduction of Scott's cabin, details down to the food packages and tools. The combination of experiences in such close proximity made everything seem real and immediate. The courage of these men can not be exaggerated. I do not share this courage, but I can admire it.

Rosefolly

Vee: yes, misleading info can be a curse of the net. Just look at the many websites that give inaccurate stories about the poem miscalled "Grumpy Old Woman"! The family of the true writer of "Come Closer Nurse" must feel like they are fighting a losing battle to get the truth 'out there'.
I recall seeing the film "Scott of the Antarctic" as a school treat and we all admired the bravery of Oates leaving the tent to go to a lonely death, hoping to save his comrades. Cook made up a special batch of meringue pies for the meal after in honour of the snowy theme of the film! As Vee says, things that far back are remembered. I could not say what I had for a pudding or dessert last week!

I have just finished Kate Morton's The Forgotten Garden. I've now read all three of her novels, and I liked this one the best. It starts with a little four-year-old girl being left by herself on a ship from England to Australia and skips back and forth through three generations to find out who she was and why she was sent.

Donnamira,

I finished re-reading A Conspiracy of Kings by Megan Whalen Turner a couple of days ago and I still feel the same way about it.

The character Sophos just didn't appeal to me as I had hoped he would which leads me to question what the author thought about him. Did she not really like his character or was she having problems with what she had to with him in order to make everything work out for future books? I thought the writing wasn't as smooth as in the other books although this may be because of the format, using the main character to tell his story as if he was writing it for another person to read.

I think this is a transition book that is needed to set up the next one (and I definitely believe there will be a next one, the hints in all three of the prior books back me up in this belief) but I just don't like it as much as I did the others. And, I have found myself considering that I may not want to read the next one when it comes out, which bothers me as I have really enjoyed everything I've read by this author over the past several years.

I have always had a great interest in Polar expeditions, would I love to see that Scott exhibit!

A friend recently went to Antarctica, and showed me his voyage and desperate retreat with maps and her own photographs - I was even more in awe of his spirit than ever before.

I'm reading The Home Creamery, a wonderful easy book about making cheese, butter, yogurt, and like products at home. Really wonderful! (I already said that...) Very timely as I live on the end of a not-very-populous peninsula with a basic grocery that doesn't offer creme fraiche, fresh ricotta, etc., except in the summer when we have a fabulous farmers market, where I can not only purchase virtually any dairy product, I can meet the cows and goats that made the milk, and the farmer who turned it into nirvana. But I digress. The book is great and the process is simple for non-aged cheeses. But I digress. The book is by Kathy Farrell-Kingsley.

astrokath-so glad to hear that the new G. Brookes book is worth reading. I have loved all her books to date.
rosefolly-I think you'll like Gettysburg, we have been there innumerable times, in fact we are past due for another visit now that we have no "grumblers" left at home to ride in the back seat!
carolyn ky-I have Loved all Kate Morgan's books. I'm glad to hear you have enjoyed them too.
I am currently reading a book which is strictly fun-Trapped by Brooke Morgan. It's a good quick read. She also wrote Tainted which I liked also.
I loved the book Lady Macbeth by Susan Fraser King. Yesterday I bought her new book Queen Hereafter.

I'm re-reading Cynthia Voigt's four novels about the Kingdom -- Jackaroo, On Fortune's Wheel, The Wings of the Falcon, and finally Elske. This is my third reading. I find her to be a spare and subtle writer. These books are marketed as YA, but they stand up very favorably when compared to adult books. I heartily recommend them.

Rosefolly

Hi, everyone. I'm new here. I've just started reading Anita Diamant's newest book, "The Last Days of Dogtown." It's the selection for my book club this month.

Welcome Kathy7450....! Glad you found us here!

I read a book from Senegal yesterday: written originally in French and then translated and then also in an epistolary format (which I really enjoy): So Long a Letter by Mariama Ba. It details a look back at the female protagonist's life and how she tried to deal with the polygamy that was common in her area... Quick read, but good and enjoyed it.

At the same time (almost), I am reading a book which would make anyone who knows me laugh: The Gentle Art of Domesticity by Jane Brockett. An English author, but published in the US, it takes "the domestic arts" as its theme, and then just goes off on related tangents about various aspects: bread making, vintage fabrics, looking at nature, embroidery etc... I am probably one of the least domestic people out there, but this has been fun, and she is so enthusiastic that I am even contemplating making my own bread next weekend. (No bread machine either.) I am loving this book, and will probably end up buying my own copy to look at every now and then as it's such a gorgeous volume. Beautiful photography as well (and wicked sense of humor)... It got rather mixed reviews on amazon, but if you take it as it is (a meditation on doing home crafts etc.) it's lovely.

Welcome, Kathy! Nice to have you!

I finished The Imperfectionists and really enjoyed it, thanks for the recommendation Lemonhead and Sheri.

I also read Just Kids by Patti Smith. It's amazing to read about the creative process. It sounds like she and Robert Mapplethorpe just thought in a whole different way than I do. It was so fun to read about them hanging out at Max's in New York waiting for Andy Warhol to show up. Or staying at the Chelsea Hotel and meeting all the artists and songwriters. A whole other world.

Now I am reading Cutting for Stone by Abraham Verghese. We can't seem to keep it on the shelf here at the library, so a friend finally loaned it to me. So far so good, but I'm only two chapters into it.

My latest is another of the wonderful Irish author Jennifer Johnston, I have just finished "The Gates" next up is "The Gingerbread Woman". I would strongly urge one and all to read Jennifer's books, just one and you will see what I mean!!!

Kathy7450,
I just loved "Last Days of Dogtown" it should make for good discussion, lots of interesting characters.

Siobhan (and others), thanks for mentioning Gone to Soldiers. I haven't got very far into it yet, but I can tell it is going to be great.

Do not read Mr Briggs' Hat by Kate Colquoun. It might have made an interesting article, but it was too verbose and overwritten for a book, and even the ending wasn't interesting.

I am enjoying another novel by one of my top five contemporary authors, Richard Russo. Somehow, I had missed Risk Pool. It's additionally fun to read, as it is of my era, my childhood and an area in which I lived for several years. When he mentions the Mohawk River, I have many visuals to add to his rich language and descriptions.

Hello,

I'm somewhat new here, as I don't usually post, just lurk. I'm reading John Truby story structure book this month although I'm here looking for good vacation reads as I'm off to Florida for 10 days soon.

Re The Killer Angels: I went to school at Gettysburg College in PA, right near the battlefields. We used to wander around them all the time. When I attended, The Killer Angels was required reading for History majors. I wasn't a history major, but had friends who were, and I read it just for fun. I enjoyed it very much, it is well written, and does get you into the heads of the generals. I understood the battle much better after reading it. Touring the battlefields was never the same afterwards. I remember standing in the pile of rocks that make up "devil's den" and just feeling a niggle of the cold and fear those boys must have felt. A great book.

Michael Shaara's son Jeff, has written others in a similar style, these are supposed to be excellent as well. Gods and Generals, comes to mind.

Lenvt

Thanks for posting, Lenvt... Always nice to hear fresh voices.

My editor (she who believes Harry Potter = Satan) has *approved* The Evolution of Calpurnia Tate which rather blew my socks off, as I was quite sure she would not approve (with respect to Darwin/evolution etc). Hmm. Interesting, but very glad especially as I am halfway through the story. :-)

Finished off The Gentle Art of Domesticity which I just loved, although I am not sure how long this influence of domesticity will last. I did vaccuum the house at lunchtime - does that count?

And then, since I was reminded that it was Black History Month in the US right now, I picked up a book I have had for a while: In Search of Black America by David J. Dent, a journalism prof in NY who drives across America interviewing Af-Am people in a similar vein of oral history as Studs Terkel with his books, I think. (Haven't got past the intro just yet.)

Anyhoos, looks good and will be my NF pick for right now...

Here is a link that might be useful: Studs Turkel

Finished Little Bee -- didn't really want to but I didn't want to miss book club discussion. I ended up skimming much of the book. The story is just much too depressing for me. But I did think it was fairly well written.

I also finished Terry Pratchett's Night Watch - much more fun. I'm now reading Mansfield Park, which I've never read before. I downloaded several Austens on my Kindle, for free.

The Book Thief.

Just for fun I read Peyton Place by Grace Metalious, probably the most famous potboiler of all-time. The book's notorious dirtiness obviously is very dated compared to today's standard of smut. There are surprisingly violent, even macabre, elements to the story.

SPOILER ALERT

As much as I enjoyed reading it, I found the novel had two major weaknesses. The book's main character, Allison MacKenzie, starts off as a self-absorbed loner and grows into a sharp-tongued, judgmental and selfish young woman. She grows up to be a real pill, in my opinion. Another weakness is how little Metalious makes of a lurid murder trial, which clearly should be the climax of the story. Instead the book ends weakly with a rather boring love affair doomed to failure.

I've just finished "Nectar from a Stone" by Jane Guill. This is a fast-paced historical novel, set in Wales of the 1300's. I was quite turned off by the characters using modern-day expressions throughout the book, e.g. I don't think in the Middle Ages a man would have said "easy-peasy."

Ladyrose, I have checked out "The Book Thief", but for some reason am having problems getting interested in it. Many here have recommended it. How did it enthrall you?

I finished The Imperfectionists and enjoyed it, though I think I appreciated the author's skill and imagination more than I actually liked or connected with any of the characters.

I've just started a first novel (written by one of my neighbors!), A Watershed Year, by Susan Shoenberger. A 38 year-old, single professor loses her best friend to cancer, but he continues to send her email messages after he's gone -- quite an interesting set up, and so far, so good. I can't wait to talk to her about it.

I just received A Discovery of Witches by Deborah Harkness which has gotten a lot of very good press lately. I'm hoping it will be as good as advertised and I'm looking forward to starting it.

Here is a link that might be useful: A Watershed Year

Woodnymph,
I put the Book Thief aside a few times, I found the first part a little strange, however after hearing good reports from friends I took it up again and once past the first few chapters I could not put it down. It grabbed me from the time our main character meets her foster parents.

I have just started The Leopard by Jo Nesbo. I have read all his books and enjoyed them immensely.

It is quite a cool and breezy 75deg. today after I have sweltered through the 90s. I finally felt like starting "The Assassin's Cloak" this (Sunday) morning. I have written a daily diary for many years. Not much to interest anyone else, being mainly a short record of very humdrum doings but useful as an aid to memory on occasions! Especially of what I did on rushed holiday trips!
Siobhan, did you think that it would have been better set out with the diarist's name at the head of the entry? I need to link the writer with the date and visualise better.
I was surprised with the aptness of some of the entries eg Lord Byron "out of high passions comes a people"... Egypt!
Also that in 1941, Christopher Isherwood mentions a fictional Miss Jones, the fashionable woman's baby carrier!
I am pleased to see that there is a Biography section, I know who some of the diarists are but not everyone in this interesting book. Not my usual reading matter but very interesting. Thanks to RPers for the recommendation.

I'm currently listening to Brill Bryson's At Home: a short History of Private Life. It's narrated by the author which I usually try to avoid but he's doing a good job so far. I am finding it fascinating to listen to.

Veronicae, off track a little, but I live in the Mohawk Valley Region (I moved here in late 2002). I'm going to take a look at that author's books to see if they might appeal to me as well. :)

rouan, I noticed that when we did the book mark exchange, but right now can't find the list to look at where you live. Nor can I remember. I hope you enjoy the books. The one about the Cape Cod house is probably best not read until later in your reading. It is good, but I think one almost needs to "understand" Russo to "get" it.

I do agree ann, and I find myself looking at the end of the entry to see the name before I read it. I wonder why the name is placed at the end? Although I mean for this book to last for some time, only being read a page or two a day, I find myself picking it up all of the time and it will be over much too soon.

I am reading old New Yorkers and also Constantine's Sword by James Carroll. Very dense but fascinating.

Funny that you both mention this, as I do the very same thing when I am reading that book.... (I also do it as I am not familiar with a lot of these people, and so it helps me to make more sense of what they are writing about if I know at least a bit about who they are...)

Spent a lot of this weekend forcing myself to read a book of short stories by Katherine Mansfield, a writer from early twentieth century. The stories were just not my cup of tea at all, and although I gave it a good try, I ended up flinging the book into the donation pile. I just don't really like short stories, and these were very 'modernist'. I should have paid attention when the reviewer on the back cover likened Mansfield to Virgina Woolf (who I also find difficult to appreciate). Bah. I wish I could get those hours back, but live and learn.

To recover from this, I picked up a modern day novel called "State of Happiness" by Stella Duffy (pub 2004) which I am thoroughly enjoying (although there is a patina of sadness throughout the novel so far)... I think this book will do the trick to rebalance the equation and slight annoyance I feel at having forced myself to read that Mansfield book....

Oh, and read Raymond Briggs' Ethel and Ernest, his paen to his "very ordinary, thoroughly decent" parents... Lovely and poignant...

I rushed through Constantine's Sword, not an easy book to rush through, and gave in to the siren song of The Assassin's Cloak, carrying it around with me and reading it whenever I can. At least it doesn't have any calories. I see from the back cover the pair of authors has produced another diary anthology called The Secret Annexe - An Anthology of War Diaries. I wonder if it is anywhere nearly as good as this one?

I gave Gone to Soldiers to a woman at my book group this morning - she just called and said she has neglected all of her chores today, luckily she is retired!

Carolyn, I have also read Kate Morton's The House at Riverton and The Forgotten Garden and loved them both. Am now reading The Distant Hours and enjoying it very much.
Have also recently finished Bryson's At Home. I always enjoy just learning new "stuff."
The "What are You Reading" thread is a big help in deciding what to read next. Thanks to all.

I'm still reading Gone to Soldiers and enjoying it very much, but it is a new paperback (from the library) and so fat that it is hard to hold open.

Froniga, glad you are liking Kate Morton.

I read The School of Essential Ingredients by Erica Bauermeister for my book club. Nice use of description, light but pleasant, the kind of book I read once and never pick up again. It's a give-away, not a keeper.

Now I'm halfway through reading Cutting for Stone by Abraham Veghese. I almost returned it to the library unread but then it caught my interest. I'm very intrigued.

Rosefolly

Rosefolly -

I have been waiting rather impatiently for someone at the library to return the copy of Cutting for Stone as I have been wanting to read it since the beginning of the year... I really like his other NF books and have read only good things about this one. You'll have to let me know how it goes and if it's worth my impatience in your opinion...!

My latest is "Brooklyn" by Colm Toibin, for me another Irish writer!!!

Coming to the end of Cut to the Quick by Kate Ross -- the first in a series. I think someone here must have mentioned/recommended this book. Thank you to whoever that was; I'm enjoying the story and the characters.

I need to do a reread of Major Pettigrew's Last Stand for my book group. That will be fun.

I have finished 12 books this month. The last was A Month in the Country by J.L Carr, a lovely short novel about an art restorer who spends an idyllic summer restoring a medieval mural in a country church in Yorkshire and recovering from his experiences in World War I. Highly recommended.

I read a new Scandinavian crime novel, The Hypnotist by Lars Keplar, a pseudonym for a husband and wife team. It was quite good, and I would probably try another.

I have now nearly finished Starter for Ten by David Nicholls, which I know a lot of you here have read and recommended. It's very funny.

You are all reading a slew of really good books right now: Starter for Ten, Major Pettigrew, Month in the Country, Brooklyn.... I envy you if you are coming to these for the first time...

Finished up the rather sad book State of Happiness. The author had really done her homework on how it feels to be a patient with a cancer Dx (at least from my personal experience), and so I was impressed with that.

So, since my postal book club read needs to be read so I can post it, on to that one. Oleander, Jacaranda by Penelope Lively about her childhood in Eqypt during the 1930's/40's. It is not a traditional childhood memoir, but one much based in perception rather than reality. We will see how that works out. :-)

Got really stuck in the P Lively book last night about her childhood in Egypt during the 1930's and 1940's and although it is written in an unconventional style for memoir, it really works and I am really enjoying it.

It's written as she remembers the memories (from a child's perspective), and then she moves on to what she thinks about it as an adult, and adds her adult eye to the whole thing. It is actually a really interesting combination going back and forth from childhood to adulthood. It also helps that she is an excellent writer, and had an unusual childhood. Something traumatic happens later on (mentioned on the book flap) which completely rocks her to her foundations, but haven't come to that bit yet.

I have read that a sociologist (more than one?) has called these ex-pat kids the "Third Culture" kids, because they are felt left out of their "home" country's world, and then also left out of the culture of the country they live in, so they sort of have a 3rd culture situation. Interesting, I thought, as I sometimes feel like I belong on the Atlantic Ridge, having been in the US so long and out of UK for so long, but missing chunks of cultural history in both (childhood US culture and adult UK culture).

So it's been a while since I've posted, but life has given me time to read more and have the time to relax a bit. Last weekend I got through two novels. The first The Flying Troutmans by Miriam Toews was good in general, but not quite what I was expecting. Not as strong as her more popular novel A Complicated Kindness.

The second novel I read was intense and incredible. The book Room by Emma Donoghue is entirely told by the perspective of a 5 year old by who has never lived outside of a 12'x12' room. The story covers some sensitive topics, which is so much more engaging due to the perspective of the boy telling it. I haven't read anything else by Donoghue and I hear this one is a break away from her typical style, but this one's really good.

I think Secret Daughter is the plan for this weekend.

Lemonhead: I, too, have a feeling of not quite being grounded. Moving between the UK and Australia, I have missed big chunks of current affairs and general knowledge of both countries. Going back to the UK was quite a shock to me to see the differences between 1960 and 1990. I felt so strange and then to go back to Australia in 2003! All the young children in my family were now adults. It took a while for me to reconnect.
You know how there was a desire for people to be frozen and re-born in the future? I would say, don't do it! Change is difficult enough to cope with in one's own lifetime.
After reading an anthology "Crimes by Moonlight," stories referred to by the editor Charlaine Harris as being about "woo-woo", I have selected Caroline Hart's ghost series to read. I can cope with ghosts and mediums but not vamps, zombies or werewolves. Too incredible!!

I am reading and loving The Tortoise Shell by Fanny Frewen.

I was not all that impressed with Brooklyn by Colm Toibin, it was to me Mills and Boonish.

Anne, I have just acquired a thick old copy of Edgar Allan Poe's "Forty-Two Tales" the illustrations are quite macabre!!

I am reading The King's Speech and although it is quite different to the film, as it is more biography and less entertainment, it is interesting reading.

Lemonhead, I think you will enjoy Cutting for Stone when it finally gets to you. I was on the reserve list at my library for quite some time myself. It took me a couple of chapters to get into it. At first I thought it was just going to be odd in the manner of something like Middlesex, but weak in that quality of engagement that I require from books. I was wrong. It was occasionally odd, but I came to care for the characters deeply.

The month is almost over. I have moved on to books about clothing construction. I don't expect to post again until I am back in the world of fiction.

Rosefolly

I too am on the reserve list for Cutting for Stone. A friend got me all excited about it, then failed to find it on her bookshelves - her partner had given it away. Now I am enjoying the anticipation.

Yesterday I started to feel unwell and woke early this morning with a nasty cold. Since the world won't come to an end if I do so, I went back to bed with a cup of tea and my beloved The Assassin's Cloak. A very good book to have when one is not feeling good, as it is read by paragraph anyway. Definitely making my little virus much less onerous.

This morning I noticed monster icicles hanging outside my bedroom window, just before it started to rain. Some time later I heard a tremendous crash which sent the cats dashing off - I looked up and saw the icicles were gone. Now I see them in a pile on the deck. Just another strange noise in this big old house.

I have just finished Kate Morton's third, The Distant Hours. For page-turning, gotta-get-back-to-my-book kind of book, any of hers come recommended by me.

I finished Carolyn Hart's "Ghost at Work" a light funny mystery and wanted the next two. None of the three different council libraries I contacted had them, nor did the State library.
To explain, the State library orders books to send to the various council-run ones. They also have budgets to use for books of their choice. I have requested purchase of the books from the capital city library and hope they decide to do this. She is a popular author. It annoys me when only some of a series is available :-(

Welcome, Kathy7450 & Lenvt -- You've found a lively, intelligent place for talking about books -- light / deep; funny / poignant; fiction / non-f. -- all kinds!

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Have spent the past week reading (for the 2nd time in years) 2 of the James Herriot books. They're so warm to curl up with on long winter nights. Am also reading another book I read a long time ago -- "They Do It With Mirrors" - Agatha Christie.
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Hi Veer - Yes, I finished "The Birthday Present" (Barbara Vine). It held me all the way through -- But it wasn't killer-diller great like some of her books. And I *did* notice (as you did) that the "voice" of the two different 1st-person characters narrating the story were similar - even tho' they were sooooo different -- gender; social level; marital status; economic level; etc., etc.

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Sarah Canary -- Of all the Terry Pratchett books I've read, "Nightwatch" is my favourite. It's funny, dark, macabre, adventurous -- just a Delightful story!
"Mansfield Park" is the 1st or 2nd book that I read by Jane Austen. It has what many people think of as an irritating main heroine. . . . But I liked her in spite of her "grizzling" -- crying or tearing up easily. I thought she had very good qualities -- conscientious about the rights and sensibilities of others; a sweet disposition; wasn't catty; thoroughly appreciated her good luck in life (where other girls might have resented living in a tiny room) and was very grateful to the family who'd taken her in.
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Lemonhead101 -- That domesticity book sounds very cozy -- intrigues me! I've put it on my "To Be Bought List".
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TimA -- I read "Peyton Place" a long time after it came out (my mother wouldn't let me read it). Some years later, read it again. I liked it a lot. But for me, then, it was the mother who intrigued me, and her man friend...both such glamourous "grown-ups" w/ exciting lives, even tho' lived in a small town. And the town itself sounded so lovely! The daughter was drab, to me. Don't know what I'd think of "Peyton Place" if I read it now.