Finished up "Netherland" by Joseph O'Neil about an Irish immigrant who moves to the UK, marries a British woman and then they move to NYC only to be deeply affected by the 9/11 incident. Cricket and other immigrants also play an important role - it was a good read, but I felt I missed a lot of cricket-related references since the only cricket I ever played was French cricket.

Now reading "White Tiger" by Aravind Adiga, a novel about a poor Indian man who ends up being a chauffeur for some very rich people. It's different from the usual Rohinton Mistry books as this book is full of anger and other negative feelings, as one would probably feel being treated as he was. It's good reading, but not necessarily a "feel-good" book.

Also finished up "Sixpence House" by Paul Collins which was an enjoyable lightweight bedtime read. Did make me miss England though so I managed to make a trip to World Market and buy some English food there!

I finished What I Loved this morning at 5 AM! I couldn't put it down. What an intriguing novel - restrained, sentimental but never cloying, mysterious. So much to discuss, but it is a difficult book with very adult subject matter.

The author, Siri Hustvedt, is married to Paul Auster, who I have also read. I'm not sure I have ever read and enjoyed books by two halves of a couple before.

I have several books calling to me, but I shall now continue with Mistress of the Art of Death which was also recommended here and recently sent to me by my mother.

I also have Thomas Perry's latest Jane Whitefield novel, which is a 14-day loan no renewal from the library. What a dilemna! The obvious thing is to read the library book first as I own the other book - but I have a feeling that if I do this, Mistress won't get read. Besides, I have already started it and am enjoying it greatly. I simply must read fast!

I finished Per Petterson's "Out Stealing Horses" and liked it as much as I did his "To Siberia." His writing style and subject matter reminds me a lot of the late W.G. Sebald ("Austerlitz"). Now I am trying to read his "In the Wake" and am not liking it at all, so I may not finish. This is not a writer for everyone, but he has a wonderful sense of pacing and descriptions of the Scandinavian landscape, which is so spectacular.

Now I am going to completely change pace and read ex-President Jimmy Carter's autobiography: "One Hour Before Daylight." This is set in the small town of Plains, Georgia, in the days before Integration.

Siobhan, I could not put "What I Loved" down either. Would you like to discuss it? I have at least one question about the death of Bill. By the way, I have read 2 novels by Auster and disliked both.

That would be fun, email me or start a thread if you want -

Thomas Perry's Runner won out - it should be a quick read.

annpan, by Tory sensibilities I meant Heyer's conservative view of the world, at least that is what I get from what I've read of her books. She seems very much in support of the aristocracy and tradition, as well as the proper place of a woman being in the domestic sphere, or at the least, needing the guidance of a strong man. What do you think?

Oh dear, I returned a bunch of books to the library without noting the titles. Here's what I remember:
Coventry by Helen Humphreys
Two Mary Balogh romances - First Comes Marriage & Then Comes Seduction
Arianna Franklin - The Serpent's Tale & Grave Goods
The Pretender's Crown by C.E.Murphy
Darkborn by Alison Sinclair
The first 4 books in Rick Riordan's Olympians YA series. My daughter made em read the first one and got me hooked. I have always loved Greek mythology and I like Riordan's use of it.

Started a collection of short stories by Alice Elliott Dark called "In the Gloaming". I had never heard of this author, but decided to pick something from the Book Lust book and on page one, there was this recommendation.

I am really enjoying the collection even though I am not really a short story affionado. They are all linked together through various characters and place, but each is sufficiently different so as not to be confusing. Recommend it.

Yesterday I finished a Michael Innes mystery-thriller, Appleby on Ararat, which begins as a desert island mystery and turns into a war thriller, and today I read Winter in Castille, a travelogue by Honor Tracy.

Looking for information about Tracy, I discovered that she was, in her time, considered to be on par with Evelyn Waugh as a satirical writer. I wonder if any of you are familiar with her novels?

I finished Mark Billingham's upcoming Tom Thorne novel Blood Line and thought it was very good. Thorne is a good character, well delineated, and the others are all well rounded and believable. The murder part was well done too.

Sandford's newest novel, in which Davenport is only peripherally involved...Heat Lightning. A light book, good for a holiday weekend.

Finished up the "In the Gloaming" short story collection (good) and then picked up a nature sort of book called "The Outermost House" by Henry Beston. I thought it was going to be more of a history of the house but instead of that, it was a serious meditation on nature on Cape Cod (sort of Thoreau-y) and I wasn't in the mood for that so off to the library it went.

Now on to an Indian author called R K Narayan and his book called "The Vendor of Sweets". An Indian friend lent it to me saying this guy is very famous in India and since I am into this right now, I thought I would give it a try. Will let you know.

I did a lot of reading this past week since the temps reached early highs & were 100F for several days-I of course stayed inside!

I read The Last Child by John Hart & it was very good.
The Serpent's Tale by Ariana Franklin, enjoyable but not quite up to her first one IMO.
Face of Betrayal by Lis Wiehl and was not impressed.
I re-read To Kill a MockingBird & enjoyed it very much, it has been years since I read it.
I am currently reading Murder is Binding by Lorna Barrett for a bookclub discussion.

I have heard good things about a book called The Hotel on the Corner of Bitter & Sweet by James Ford, has anyone heard of it - or read it?

Pat

I am reading Louise Penny's new book, A Rule Against Murder. I really enjoy her books. Her detective has a good marriage and is sensitive and good at his job. Too bad this book has a dysfunctional family he has to deal with, but I suppose if someone gets murdered, dysfunctional must follow.

Have the new Nevada Barr waiting in the wings.

Here is another of those stupid renaming situations - that Louise Penny book is called The Murder Stone here. Why do they do that? Neither of those titles is culturally or geographically based, so why can't the publisher decide on one and stick with it?
But I enjoyed the book Carolyn.

Astrokath, I agree that the renaming of books is often stupid. The only excuse I can see is when there is already a newly published book with the original title and the publishers want to avoid confusion.

The last time I was in the US, my brother asked me to buy some fantasy books for him. The series was called "The Wardstone Chronicles", and the books all had titles beginning with The Spook's.... I had the writer's name, and began looking, but found only a series by him called "The Last Apprentice", with titles like Curse of the Bane and Attack of the Fiend. I knew what the books were about, and reading the blurbs on the back of the books I discovered that it was indeed the same series, but with all the titles changed for the American market and the name of the series as well. According to Wikipedia:

Following the lead of the Harry Potter series, these novels are published concurrently for both the UK and American markets. This allows each published series to be tailored to meet the expectations and colloquialisms of specific geographical regions. These may manifest in a variety of ways: phrasing, illustrations, covers, typefaces and layout, among others.

Astrokath, we have a book by Charles Todd, copyrighted 2003, titled The Murder Stone. Do you have that one by a different name? I agree; it's very odd.

Carolyn, I found a listing for the Charles Todd book on the Australian publishers' site, listed as an indent title, meaning they bring it in from overseas if we order it. But it is from 2004, so I wouldn't really think that would be an impediment to another book having the same title five years later.

I have been doing less reading since it has become so nice outside. Lots of garden things to do. But I must say, there is nothing more pleasant than reading outdoors!

I have had a pretty good run of books lately. I read O Pioneers! by Willa Cather a few weeks ago. I had studiously avoided Cather's works, thinking I would not enjoy them. But I really liked this book, and was able to polish it off in only a couple of days. I plan to read more by Cather in the near future.
Then I read The Color Purple (first time reading it). It was an easy reading book, which was a nice change of pace for me. I enjoyed reading it, but forgot about it soon afterwards.

I bought a collection of W. Somerset Maugham's books (some of them anyway) a few months ago. I plan to read one in-between other books. I started by re-reading The Painted Veil, which I enjoyed.
Now I am reading the second half of Little Dorrit, which I set aside in boredom a few weeks ago. I have to say, that I am liking this second half (though I don't know how well I will enjoy the end). I think the first few pages of the second half, about the Alps, to be one of the prettiest things I have ever read describing place and scenery. I am ashamed to admit it, but I find all of the 'villians' and 'dark characters' in this book to be both interesting and delightful.
CMK

Just finished Apricots on the Nile by Colette Rossant, a nostalgic food memoir of Egypt in the time during and just after World War 2. Enjoyed it very much, and will be on the lookout for some of the Egyptian dishes she mentions once I finally manage to go on my long-planned holiday in Egypt.

Yikes... having difficulty with Beverley Nichols. I am still reading Down the Garden Path and am on page 245, about 75% finished. But here's the problem: I read a chapter, and feel the need to rush out to garden. This is naturally impacting my reading time, but the gardens are looking lovely. I am enjoying Nichols. If only it would just RAIN for a while.

Also read Rex Stout's first Nero Wolfe book, Fer-de-Lance. Sorry to say that it just didn't grab me. I know he has quite a following, but the fact that Wolfe just never left his house and yet solved crimes just bugged me. Maybe someday I'll try a second, but for now, there are too many other books to explore.

Also reading Mistress in the Art of Death. Not yet completely hooked although I am interested enough to keep going. I'm only on about page 50 so not too far into it yet.

The "what are you reading" threads have always been among my favorites. This month, I want to send out an extra thank you as there are MANY MANY books here going on my TBR lists.

PAM

I finished another Isabel Dalhousie book, The Careful Use of Compliments, which was delightful. My only complaint is that I wish Jamie were more assertive!

I'm now reading Michael Perry's Coop and enjoying it thoroughly.

PAM, I never cared for Nero Wolfe, either, or Perry Mason or Agatha Christie, for that matter. Dreadful confession for a confirmed mystery lover, but I want to care about the characters and not just solve a puzzle.

I am reading Molokai by Alan Brennert, having just found out about him from someone mentioning his new book, Honolulu. M. is about the leper colony and begins in the late 1800s. I like anything set in Hawaii, but this is a terrific book. I can hardly wait to finish it, but I'm way down on the library waiting list for the new one.

I've finished Gargantua, the first of the 5 novels collected together as The Life of Gargantua and of Pantagruel. This is a funny satirical novel about the deeds of the great epynomous giant. It's scatological, violent and full of great deeds that remind one of the tales of Baron Münchausen. I recommend it to anyone who enjoys tall tales, adventure, fantasy or satire. Get an annotated version if you can - some of the names of people and places are drawn from the ancient Greek and can't be enjoyed unless you know what they mean.

I've almost finished Elizabeth Robard's "With Violets." This is a fictionalized version of French artist Berthe Morrisot and her relationship with Impressionist Edouard Manet. There are a lot of other famous Impressionists in the novel, e.g. Degas, Monet, etc. It begins in Paris in the 1860's and takes the reader up through the Franco-Prussian war. Good reading, but not nearly as good as the earlier novel about Renoir's creation of "The Boating Party."

Next on the TBR pile is "Mistress Shakespeare."

P.S. Sheri,I agree that Jamie is unassertive, but I suppose that is part of his artistic, sensitive nature. Isabel definitely takes the lead in their relationship, but remember she is older than he. I love that series!

Finished up R K Narayan's The Vendor of Sweets which was very simply written but a really good story. Will definitely read more of his work if I can find it. I wiki'd him and found out that he was a prolific writer so should be able to find his work somewhere.

Then moved on to VS Naipaul, a first generation Trinidadian author whose roots are in India and who wrote "A House for Mr. Biswas" which is lengthy, but interesting.

Also reading another book about British war brides (WWII) called "Goodbye Picadilly: British War Brides in America" by Jenel Virden. Apparently, 70,000 British women fell in love (maybe) and married US Servicemen and moved to the US during the WWII, interestingly only three percent to officers. I found that interesting that most of them hooked up to enlisted folk but maybe it was just the pure numbers - there were more of them than officers? Anyway, interesting to read this book about British immigrants after reading about the hardships of the Middle European immigrants between 1830-1940.... (another book). The Brits had it easy in comparison....

carolyn ky, thanks for the comment about Nero Wolfe. Like you, I am a mystery lover and felt odd about not liking this book since the author and the character are such classics in the genre. I read the whole thing, tried to appreciate it, but alas, I just didn't like it. I am glad to hear that you felt the same way.

PAM

ajpa: Sorry, I had a problem accessing this thread so could not read your query to me sooner. It has to be remembered that some authors who wrote books dated before WW2 had a background which was rooted in the class system. One has to make allowances! It sets my teeth on edge sometimes reading these old books, being one of "the educated poor" as I was classified when I asked where I fitted in the social strata! That was quite correct too.
Then I moved to Australia which is sort of classless, based more on ability, similar to the USA, with a top-ranking group who have lotsa money and/or are well-established. This seems to be true of most societies. Don't let it spoil your reading enjoyment, though :-)

Now reading The Seven-per-cent Solution by Nicholas Meyer, a sequel to the Sherlock Holmes stories by Doyle. Am enjoying it so far. Coincidentally, the day I started reading it, I received in the mail another Holmes sequel, A Monstrous Regiment of Women by Laurie R. King, which I am very much looking forward to read.

Finished up the book "Goodbye Picadilly" which was really quite interesting. The author has divided assimilation (into a different culture) into two parts:

* Cultural assimilation - where you adopt the new culture's way of life, dress, some mores etc... on the outside, you look like a person of the new culture but on the inside you feel "other".

* Conceptual assimilation - where the person in question has completely adopted every facet of the new culture and considers him/herself to be the same in every way as a native.

What the book said was even though some of these brides had been in the US for more than fify years, they still considered themselves "culturally assimilated" (i.e. on the outside they look like everyone but they feel "other") and relate most strongly to the hyphenated American title of "British-American" as opposed to being "American" even though some have been naturalized.

Interesting to read about as I think about where I am, assimilation-wise.

Once again I'm happily "suffering" from too many good books to read. I'm listening to Gone Tomorrow by Lee Child (Reacher irritated me through the first hour or so but is behaving better now after five hours). On my Kindle I'm reading The Brother Gardeners: Botany, Empire and the Birth of an Obsession by Andrea Wulf, another fascinating account of gardening history. The persistence of gardeners in acquiring plants from all over the world at a time when transportation was rare and so slow is difficult to comprehend but we should be grateful to them. I interrupted The House at Riverton to read this one but will go back to it.

In physical book form I just got Stone's Fall by Iain Pears and Scarecrow by Michael Connelly will come via UPS in a few minutes. I think Stone's Fall will be read first. Usually I read Michael Connelly's books in the first couple of days after they come out and then I have to wait and wait for the next one. I may save this one for a little while.

I am currently reading Outliers: the Story of Success and finding it quite a good read. This is the first book of Malcolm Gladwell's that I've read and am now inspired to read The Tipping Point and Blink. I don't typically read much non-fiction but am really enjoying this one. wig

I loved Molokai, so much that I bought it in paperback today as well as a hardback copy of Honolulu because I can't wait for my name to come up on the library request list.

In the meantime, I've begun Very Valentine by Adriana Trigiani of Big Stone Gap fame.

I finished up two long-lingering books today, Book Lust by Nancy Pearl (by employing GREAT restraint, I only added 25 more books to my wish list) and Your Inner Fish a book on evolutionary biology by Neil Shubin. Fish was slow in places, but covered such interesting territory I kept coming back to it.

I've just started the latest Isabel Dalhousie, The Comforts of a Muddy Saturday and since it's a 7-day loaner, I've set aside Michael Perry's Coop for the next couple of days. I was delighted to see there's another Isabel book coming in September entitled, The Lost Art of Gratitude. I've already sent my library a request to buy!

Here is a link that might be useful: The Lost Art of Gratitude

I meant to ask (slighty OT) if any of you had immigrant parents or grandparents... I know that America is a nation of immigrants and I have seen mentioned some of you having other national roots, but I was just curious. And then if you did, where do you think your parents fit on the cultural/conceptual assimilation scale?

Feel free to ignore if you think it's too much off topic. I was just curious.

liz/lemonhead just so you don't think that everyone took the advice "Go West Young Man" (who did say that?) My maternal Grandfather went East from VA and settled and married in England. Had circumstances not intervened, especially WWII, I think he would have stayed over here. As it was he went back to VA taking my less than enthusiastic grandmother. She settled OK, but middle age plus is not the best time to start a new life and travel back to the UK to visit her family was so much more expensive than it is now.
What about you? Do you feel more American than English? Have you picked up a Texas twang? Do you miss the damp weather and the greenery, the NHS and the warm beer?
BTW I think the folk who used to complain if we went 'off topic' have left RP. ;-)

netla --

I don't know if you're aware of this but they made a movie out of that book.

The movie had Alan Arkin, Vanessa Redgrave, Robert Duvall, and Laurence Olivier in it. (Sir Laurence played Moriarty!)

Anyway, I enjoyed that book as well. After some digging, it turns out Nicholas Meyer followed up that book with two more Holmes books -- The Canary Trainer and The West End Horror, both taken from allusions by Watson in other canon stories.

Now that I know these books exist and now that I'm almost done Frederick Forsyth's short story/novella collection The Veteran (and a fun read THAT was!), methinks it's time to hunt them down. The game's afoot! ;-)

I got almost halfway through The Piano Teacher when I realized I was not enjoying it, though it is quite good. I'm just not in the mood for this type of book right now.

I am browsing The Omnivore's Dilemma by Michael Pollan. For some reason, summer seems to shout "Nonfiction!" to me.

I have finished, for the second time, a lovely book called An Owl Came to Stay by Claire Rome. It was published in 1979 and might well be out of print (I didn't check). I picked it up at a delightful used book store somewhere in New Hampshire. So enjoyable, and blessedly free of the wrenching death scenes so common in books about animals. Ms. Rome rescued baby owls and released them into the wild, so their fate is their own and not recounted in excruciating detail. In fact the book ends with an uplifting scene that I like to picture in my mind. The author had been brought a magnificent,full-grown barn owl, white and gold and perfect. It quickly became obvious the bird had merely been stunned and would recover soon, and completely. When she was rested, the author took her to a field and held her up. After calmly surverying her surroundings, she easily took to the air and flew away over the fields, into the woods. As the author says, words cannot describe the feeling at such a sight. I am so glad I found this book!

I am also deep into Haruki Murakami's What I Talk About When I Talk About Running, a wonderful memoir that is more about the philosophy of life than about running. This one is a keeper. My copy is a library book, but perhaps someone will get it for me for my birthday, which is rapidly approaching.

We went on vacation and I got to read several books ... very fun. Here's what I think I read this month, although I may have read Nation last month. The stars are my rating of each book (1 lowest to 5 highest).
The Middle Place  Kelly Corrigan **** (memoir)
Nation - Terry Pratchett ****
Skylight Confessions - Alice Hoffman ***
The Sugar Queen  Sarah Addison Allen-- ***
Undead and Unemployed - MaryJanice Davidson *** (humorous vampire book)
Undead and Unwed  MaryJanice Davidson ***
UR Â Stephen King ****(Written specifically for the Kindle.)

I finished Lady Chatterly and our book club had a riotous discussion of it. It was at my house and I shudder to think what my children overheard. At least she didn't commit suicide like Emma Bovary or Anna Karenina. It's definitely a between the wars book but some of the commentary on greed is eerily relevant.

Hope to finish up The Thief of Time by Terry Pratchet next.

Vee -

Thanks for asking. I feel as though I should live on the Mid-Atlantic Ridge in the middle of the Atlantic Ocean because there are some days when I feel I am not part of the tribe and some days when I do.

When I go home to England, I look like an American I think (clothes-wise) and do some American things (like smile at strangers on the street etc). I don't think my accent has changed that much but I would expect if I came to your house and sat down to a cuppa w you, you would hear some Texas in my voice. I do say "y'all" every now and then... (Big in Texas.)

I think I am culturally assimilated but not conceptually assimilated. I came over here when I was 20, so it's rather as though I have lived two lives: one in England (childhood/youth) and then one in America (adulthood). The only frustrating thing is that there are very few people I can reminisce about childhood things around here - not a lot of people grew up with Ladybird books and Bill and Ben!

But overall I like it here (once I got used to it). However, sometimes Americans can really confuse me in how they act (or maybe it's just Texans)....

I suppose I am British-American as opposed to American-British.

My sis is a lot more assimilated, but perhaps that is because she has kids and I don't. (She lives in CA.)

Interesting about your grandfather - why did he decide to move to England and what made him go back to the US?

Booktalk: I am just about to start reading a non-fiction called "Gang Leader for a Day: A Rogue Sociologist Takes to the Streets" by Sudhir Venkatesh. Supposedly he infiltrates a gang for a year and even takes it over for a day (as per the title).

But I wonder - did he get in trouble for doing this? How did he separate his involvement with the gang with his real life? Could he be charged with criminal activity? I guess I have to read the book to find out. I'll let you know.

After successfully navigating the riotous wedding weekend of DD (it was a fabulous three-day event) I sat myself down and sank into all the books I hadn't allowed myself to read before the wedding-due to all the OTHER STUFF I needed to do.
So, in a fit of complete irresponsibility, in the last 4 days, I have done nothing but read and thoroughly enjoy:
A Rule Against Murder by Louise Penny
Why Mermaids Sing and Where Serpents Sleep by C.S. Harris.
I also read Silent on the Moor by Deanna Raybourne. It is the third in a series, so I wanted to read it, but it did drag a little after my three winners.
Anyway, now I need to resurface and take up normal life again. The wedding leftovers are all gone so I need to cook, the flowers need to be recut and rewatered or tossed, the gown to the dry cleaners, the veil refolded (120 inches of tulle!) and thank you notes to vendors and friends who helped in many ways. but I feel refreshed.

Siobhan, I and my entire book club despised The Piano Teacher. The whole novel just seemed to be gratuitous. And at our age, scenes written to shock are more tiresome than shocking. This was one that no one found the need to say anything nice about. The member who selected it will be catching grief for the next decade.

I've been on a David Baldacci tear, listening to numbers 2, The Collectors and 3, Stone Cold of his Camel Club series. As soon as I finished the second, I downloaded the 3rd. I love the internet. I also listened to his Hour Game.

Two of Kate Wilhelm's Barbara Holloway series, Sleight of Hand and A Wrongful Death were good. I'm not sure I actually like them, but somehow I continue reading them.

I listened to Pat Murphy's The City, Not Long After about San Francisco after a plague wipes out 95% of the world's population. Magical and fun coming out of a very dark world.

I've finished Pan by Knut Hamsun. It's a wonderfully lyrical, and, by turns, humorous and sad story about an eccentric, capricious man and an immature, capricious young woman and what happens when the two meet. Apart from a few bits of melodrama I enjoyed it very much.

I'm glad I didn't waste any more time on The Piano Teacher. I felt I was heading down a road I had already been down, and didn't like it the first time.

But - I have just finished Ruth Reichl's Not Becoming My Mother, which was beautiful and terrible and very worthwhile. Nothing like her other books, be warned. Very short, can be read in one sitting.

Murakami's memoir was terrific, and will be read again. It got bad reviews, go figure.

Netla, so glad to hear you liked Hamsun's "Pan" as much as I did. I've taken to re-reading it every few years, and think Hamsun is greatly underrated. Not that many folk seem to have even heard of this fine writer. I think his romantic novel "Victoria" is less successful. "Hunger" is powerful and memorable and vivid IMHO.

Blimey, it's too long since I've been on here....note to self - must visit more often!

Sheri - I read Your Inner Fish about six months ago and thoroughly enjoyed it. This month, I've read a couple of books which might interest you.

First, I decided that I'd see what the creationists have to say about everything (or, at least, one of them), and read Evolution - The Fossils Still Say No! by Duane Gish. He follows the story of life as written by evolutionists and just finds holes in the arguments; his main argument being that there are no real transitional fossils. It's a very frustrating book - it just picks holes in evolution and evolutionary theory over and over again without putting anything except "Goddiddit" as an alternative. To someone with a scientific bent, it's very tedious. I was able to spot a few of his flaws, but I'm not an expert on paeleontology, so the book does give the impression that evolution is dubious, to say the least.

Then I turned to Evolution - What the Fossils Say and Why it Matters by Donald R Prothero. Prothero is a professor of geology, & a fellow of the Paeleontology society. Basically, he knows what he's talking about - and boy, does it show! In the first part of the book (entitled Evolution and the Fossil Record), he discusses the scientific method and why creationists cannot be considered to be scientists (basically, it comes down to the fact that if the evidence leads you somewhere, that's where you have to go - even if the bible tells you something else). He also discussed the history of evolutionary and geological theory, and systematics - the way living things are related to each other and how they are sorted out. In the second part of the book (entitled Evolution - the Fossils say Yes!), he more-or-less follows Gish in discussing the evolution of life on earth from the beginning. The difference is that he demonstrates, with dozens of examples, that the fossil record is far more complete with literally hundreds of transitional fossils between "kinds". He also takes the time to bad-mouth creationist quote-mining and their misapprehensions about evolution - he goes as far as accusing them of downright dishonesty in a lot of their books. It's a magnificent book, and I frankly don't understand how anyone could read it and still believe in young-earth creationism and flood geology.

I'd thoroughly recommend Prothero - it's one of the best non-fiction books I've ever read on any subject. If you wanted to read just one book about evolution, to understand exactly what it's all about, and why the creationish arguments are so flawed, I can't think of a better one. It's worth reading Gish in parallel to see how dishonest a so-called scientist (he has a PhD in Biochemistry) can be - more-or-less HAS to be - when they are starting from a premise which they are not allowed to challenge.

(The only down-side to Prothero is the fact that it's a BIG book - it's not one you can slip in your...

I finished the last Isabel Dalhousie book, The Comforts of a Muddy Saturday. Though not much happens, I just so enjoy these characters and the setting. I'd love to see Edinburgh someday. Now I'm reading the new Kate Morton, The Forgotten Garden and so far, I like it very much.

Siobhan, thanks for the info on the new Ruth Reichl book, I'm on the library waiting list at the moment and I'm looking forward to it.

Martin, I'll have to check out the Prothero book at some point. I think I'll avoid the Gish book as I'd probably just be thoroughly irritated by it. Thanks for the recommendation.

Veer: I am pleased to hear that posters who complained about OTs aren't around now. Every time I write something OT I expect to get a blast but the charm of this forum is that we do go OT sometimes. Like any chat with friends, the original discussion can go off-course.
I was interested in your thoughts, Martin, about the claims of creationists, as I had seen a TV doco about that recently and was horrified that one creationist was proud that he had been involved in the burning of some Darwin-theory artwork. Now I don't want to start something but I don't think this Nazi type of action was something to brag about. Arguments are one thing but destruction of something (like burning books) is wrong. Also banning teaching books which apparently can be done too.
Due to the depressing weather, I have been borrowing books with 'smiley face' stickers on them as well as the 'Holmes deerstalker' ones. A mixed bag indeed and light enough to need anchors but I want something to cheer me up.

I've finished The Windsor Knot, a delightful little novel in the Elizabeth MacPherson series by Sharyn McCrumb. It's an enjoyable humorous novel about people and their quirks. This time it's a wedding, with a small mystery involved as well.

Thanks to a few rainy days, I finished Down the Garden Path - which I absolutely adored. It is a true gardening love story - the love between a man and his garden. Next time it is set to rain, I'll start A Thatched Roof. As I mentioned before, if I read it during nice weather, I keep putting it down to get out in my own garden.

Now reading Some Danger Involved by Will Thomas. It's a cece-recommended Victorian mystery and I was captured by those first two sentences. "If someone had told me, those many years ago, that I would spend the bulk of my life as assistance and eventual partner to one of the most eminent detectives in London, I would have thought him a raving lunatic. It was my intention from an early age to aspire to a quiet life of letters, an Oxford donship, if possible, with the occasional slim volume privately printed every couple of years." Gotta run... my book is waiting.

PAM