Time to take a look at my final tally for MizBook's 2007 TBR Challenge. Looking back at my list, I'm pretty satisfied with my results. Of the dozen titles chosen, I finished the following 7:The Great Santini by Pat Conroy (2.5/5)Up Island by Anne Rivers Siddons (3/5)Harvesting the Heart by Jodi Picoult (2.5/5)Five Quarters of the Orange by Joanne Harris (3.5/5)One True Thing by Anna Quindlen (4.5/5)The Baker's Apprentice by Judith Ryan Hendricks (2.5/5)Women of Silk by Gail Tsukiyama (3/5)I attempted (but gave up on) these 2:The Tall Pine Polka by Lorna LandvikA Stranger's House by Bret LottI ran out of time and left the following 3 unread:Water Witches by Chris BohjalianWelcome to the World, Baby Girl! by Fannie FlaggComing Home by Rosamunde PilcherIt felt good to read some of these books, as I've had many of them for quite a few years!Best book(s) I read for the challenge:One True Thing, which will probably wind up on my Top Ten list for 2007. I'm actually a bit surprised that there weren't very many high scoring books in this group. I wonder if I subconsciously sensed this and that's why they've languished on my shelves for so long.Books I could've done without:Well, that's fairly obvious. Pretty much all but the Quindlen and the three I haven't yet attempted.Any new authors? Will I read them again?OK, that's interesting. There is not one single "new-to-me" author in this bunch. Wonder how I managed that?!Best thing about the challenge? What did I learn?Well, as I said, it feels good to have finally knocked some of these books off my shelves. It was nice to have the challenge to motivate me to read some of these older titles. I haven't decided if I'll participate in the 2008 challenge, but I will make an effort to read more of what I already own!Thanks, Jen, for hosting this fun challenge!
One True Thing
by Anna Quindlen
Contemporary Fiction
Finished on 9/12/07
Rating: 4.5/5 (Terrific!)
2007 TBR Challenge #7
Publisher's Blurb:
She was Ellen Gulden, successful magazine writer, who ate ambition for breakfast--and anyone who got in her way for lunch. Until the day she quit her job, left New York, and returned to her scorned hometown to care for her dying mother. Ellen Gulden had something to prove--she had to prove she had a heart. Five months later she stood before a grand jury, accused of killing her own mother.Suddenly, she was Ellen Gulden, daughter, stepping into her mother's role as the quintessential homemaker, seeing into her mother's soul. Discovering a woman she had never truly known, and now Ellen Gulden was about to accept responsibility for an act she did not commit...
Last month I had the pleasure of reading a collection of Quindlen's essays. The success of that read prompted me to quickly pick up One True Thing for my September selection for the 2007 TBR Challenge. I've owned this book for many, many years; probably bought it soon after seeing the movie back in 1998. I couldn't help but picture Meryl Streep, William Hurt and Renee Zellweger as I read the novel and while most of the storyline was still familiar after almost a decade, I'd forgotten one key element which increased my enjoyment, making it impossible to put down.
One would think a story about a daughter returning home to take care of her cancer-stricken mother would be maudlin and sappy, but Quindlen is a superb storyteller, drawing the reader in with deftly drawn details of suspense and drama, all the while avoiding overwrought and gratuitous sentimentality. This is definitely one to read and watch a second time. Off to Netflix to put the movie in our queue.
The Great Santini
by Pat ConroyContemporary FictionFinished on 8/20/07Rating: 2.5/5 (Fair)
TBR Challenge #6
Southern Reading Challenge #3Book DescriptionThe Astonishing Autobiographical Bestseller By The Author Of Beach MusicToday his family would be called dysfunctional. Bull Meecham -- fighter pilot, warrior, juggler, clown and bully -- a hard-drinking terror of a man who calls himself The Great Santini -- actually hides behind his misnomer. His swaggering mask is all Marine, and entitles him to be the absolute ruler of his family, which he handles with all the tenderness and understanding of a drill sergeant shaping up a class of new recruits.Bull's wife, Lillian, is a beautiful steel magnolia -- without her cool head and infinite patience, the family would fall apart. Ben, at eighteen the oldest of Bull and Lillian's three children, is a natural athlete whose best never satisfies his father. As Ben struggles to become his own man against the intimidation of his father, he's forced to stand up, even fight back, against a man who refuses to give in.Bull Meecham is undoubtedly Pat Conroy's most explosive character -- a man you should hate, but a man you'll come to love, in this stingingly authentic production.I never came to love Bull Meecham, but as the book drew to a close, I began to reconsider my initial opinion of the novel. While reading The Great Santini, I couldn't help but compare it to Beach Music
, the only other work of Conroy's I've read. From my journal, dated September 1996, I wrote:THE BEST! I think this has to be one of the very best books I've ever read. I couldn't put it down and didn't want it to end. I want to read everything Pat Conroy has ever written. He writes the most beautiful sentences I have ever read. I felt like I could see, hear, taste and smell everything he described. The characters became part of me. I laughed. I cried. What a beautiful, lyrical book. I recommend it to everyone! So why did it take me 11 years to pick up another book by Conroy? Did I have some inkling that Beach Music was the best of lot?Unfortunately, there's just no comparing The Great Santini to Beach Music. Instead of lyrical prose, I found verbosity. Rather than endearing and memorable characters such as Jack McCall and his mother Lucy, I found nothing but crude vulgarity in Bull. The long, drawn out details of several basketball games grew tiresome, whereas the lush details of Italy and South Carolina drew me in to worlds I've come to long for even after all these years. When asked to name my favorite books, Beach Music immediately springs to mind with no hesitation. I've wanted to read it again, yet fear it won't live up to that magic one feels when reading a gem for the first time. I had hoped to capture that feeling once again when I picked up The Great Santini. Sadly, I was disappointed. My first inclination was to say this is an awful book. However, looking back I think Conroy is superb storyteller. He created a realistic family and a believable character in Bull, who was a dispicable father, husband and human being, and I cringed at his words as often as his actions. I held my breath, hoping for a better outcome, wrapped up in Ben's world and desire to simply make his father proud.
I've wrestled with my reaction to this novel, wondering why I hesitate to recommend it or give it a higher rating. I think it boils down to the disturbing nature of the story. Sure, I've read upsetting novels that I've loved and gone on to rave about to anyone who'll listen (The Book Thief is the first that comes to mind), but this is a portrait of a family (albeit a dysfunctional family), and we all have families. As children, we desire our parents' love and approval and as parents we teach and guide our children while providing them with love and assurance. I know what family is, whereas the terrors of war are distant and somewhat removed from my daily life. I can read a book such as The Book Thief and appreciate the harrowing tale of the Holocaust, yet still love the story. In reading The Great Santini, I felt nothing but disgust for the chauvanistic bully and bigot portrayed by Bull Meecham. That disgust interfered with my overall appreciation of the narrative, but not so much that I couldn't finish. And there were, afterall, beautiful passages sprinkled here and there.
A favorite passage:
The next day Ben received a phone call from a Coach Murphy who said he heard from some of his players that the Arlington Jaycees had cut one hell of a baseball player and that he would consider it a personal favor if Ben would come play for his team. That was the beginning. And as Ben walked along the edge of the salt river, he realized that he wore the memory of Dave Murphy like a chain and it carried him like a prisoner to the infields of Four Mile Run Park in Arlington, Virginia, where he played for the Old Dominion Kiwanis for two of the best years of his life. In the night games, beneath the arc of lights, in his last year of Little league, Ben's new spikes gleamed like teeth as he walked toward Dave Murphy. For years Ben had walked toward him in dreams and sudden thoughts. If he could, Ben would have told him about the soft places a boy reserves for his first coach, his unruined father who enters the grassless practice fields of boyhood like a priest at the end of life. Coach Murphy was gentle. Yes, that was it. Gentle to the clumsy, girl-voiced boys whom he trained to be average, to be adequate, as he hit the soft fungoes to the outfield green. But Dave Murphy had a gift. Any boy who came to him had moments of feeling like a king. Any boy who played for the Old Dominion Kiwanis. Any boy. Coach Murphy still haunts the old fields where his boys bunted down the line, and with graceless fever took infield in voices that cried out for fathers. Going home after practice, they waved good-bye to their coach as they slid their spikes on the sidewalk, astonished at the fire that sprang from their feet. Then they turned toward home, toward the real fathers who waited for their sons to come homeward disguised as heroes.
Hmmm. Perhaps I would've found more to love had The Great Santini been about baseball (which lends itself to poetic prose, not to mention my love for the game) rather than basketball.
The Great Santini is a work of fiction, but how much is really a retelling of Conroy's own childhood? I'll have to give My Losing Season a read and compare details. I've had an Advanced Reader's Copy in my stacks for close to five years. Now I'm eager to give it a read.
Go here for more on Pat Conroy, the author, the man and the child.
Up Island by Anne Rivers SiddonsContemporary FictionFinished on 6/26/07Rating: 3/5TBR Challenge #5Southern Reading Challenge #2
It's been almost six years since I discovered Anne Rivers Siddons and her remarkable saga, Colony
. I loved that book and felt as though I'd found another Rosamunde Pilcher in Siddons. I went on to read Islands and Sweetwater Creek, but neither impressed me nearly as much as Colony (Islands earned a 3/5 rating; Sweetwater a 2/5). The House Next Door was quite good, but more of a horror story than Siddons' typical works.And now I've read Up Island. It wasn't a bad read, but it certainly wasn't another Colony. I enjoyed it for the most part (although toward the end, I found myself getting impatient, wanting to be finished and on to something else). Siddons is quite a descriptive writer, but I wouldn't go so far to say she's a lyrical author (Pat Conroy and Rosamunde Pilcher are two who do excel at painting a vivid picture in my mind's eye).Only one favorite passage to share (and only because it speaks to the reader in me):After that I went over to the Black Dog and bought bread and sweet rolls and had a bowl of Quahog chowder for lunch, then treated myself to a couple of sturdy Black Dog sweatshirts. The air, even at noon, had a pinch to it. They would feel good on chilly mornings. Walking back to the Ford I passed the Bunch of Grapes bookstore and, on impulse went in. I had planned to find a library for my reading material; books were one expense I thought I could forego. But I came out laden with both paperbacks and hardbacks, thinking with delight of the moment when I slipped between my silky old sheets and turned on my new reading lamp and opened a new novel. Home: leisurely reading in bed would always be, for me, one of its cornerstones.I still have several other books by Siddons to read, but this one is off to the used bookstore. If I'm going to re-read any of hers, Colony is at the top of the list.
Five Quarters of the Orange
by Joanne HarrisContemporary FictionFinished on 4/13/07Rating: 3.5/5 (Good)2007 TBR Challenge #4
I had been back for almost six years when I opened the crêperie. By then I had money set aside, custom, acceptance. I had a boy working for me on the farm - a boy from Courlé, not from one of the Families - and I took on a girl to help with the service. I started with only five tables - the trick has always been to think small at first, to avoid alarming people - but eventually I had double that, plus what I could fit on the terrasse in front on fine days. I kept it simple. My menu was limited to buckwheat pancakes with a choice of fillings, plus one main dish every day and a selection of desserts. That way I could handle the cooking myself, leaving Lise to take the orders. I called the Place Crêpe Framboise after the house specialty, a sweet pancake with raspberry coulis and my homemade liqueur, and I smiled a little to myself, thinking of their reaction if they could have known... Several of my regulars even came to calling the place Chez Framboise, which made me smile all the more.It's been almost exactly seven years since I read Harris' novel, Chocolat
. I didn't write much about that particular book in my reading journal -- only noting that it was "pretty good" and advising against reading if hungry, as my mouth didn't stop watering the entire time I was reading. Five Quarters of the Orange is another that offers tantalizing descriptions of meals and ingredients, yet not quite as prominently as in Chocolat.Perhaps that was why she gave me the album, valueless then except for the thoughts and insights jotted in the margins alongside recipes and newspaper cuttings and herbal cures. Not a diary, precisely. There are almost no dates in the album, no precise order. Pages were inserted into it at random, loose leaves later bound together with small, obsessive stitches, some pages thin as onionskin, others cut from pieces of card trimmed to fit inside the battered leather cover. My mother marked the events of her life with recipes, dishes of her own invention or interpretations of old favorites. Food was her nostalgia, her celebration, its nurture and preparation the sole outlet for her creativity. The first page is given to my father's death - the ribbon of his Légion d'Honneur pasted thickly to the paper beneath a blurry photograph and a neat recipe for black buckwheat pancakes - and carries a kind of gruesome humor. Under the picture my mother has penciled Remember - dig up Jerusalem artichokes. Ha! Ha! Ha! in red.Five Quarters of the Orange was enjoyable enough and I was eager to see how things would turn out for Framboise, yet none of the characters felt fully realized. The only one I came to care about was nine-year-old Framboise (who reminded me of Ian McEwan's Briony from Atonement
). All the other characters (primary and supporting) were flat and unremarkable.While I'm not sorry I read the book, I doubt I'll bother with any other novels by Joanne Harris. In 2005, I gave up on Blackberry Wine
after only a few chapters. Nothing has impressed me quite like Chocolate. Having said that, my curiosity was piqued when I discovered the enticing descriptions for Harris' two cookbooks: My French Kitchen: A Book of 120 Treasured Recipes
and The French Market: More Recipes From a French Kitchen. They sound absolutely lovely.Oh, dear. I just discovered a new novel (The Lollipop Shoes
) by Harris is due for publication on May 10th. It sounds intriguing! “Who died?” I said. “Or is it a secret?”
“My mother. Vianne Rocher.”Seeking refuge and anonymity in the cobbled streets of Montmartre, Yanne and her daughters, Rosette and Annie, live peacefully, if not happily, above their little chocolate shop. Nothing unusual marks them out; no red sachets hang by the door. The wind has stopped – at least, for a while. Then into their lives blows Zozie de l’Alba, the lady with the lollipop shoes, and everything begins to change…But this new friendship is not what it seems. Ruthless, devious and seductive, Zozie de l’Alba has plans of her own – plans that will shake their world to pieces. And with everything she loves at stake, Yanne must face a difficult choice; to flee, as she has done so many times before, or to confront her most dangerous enemy...
Herself.Recognize the name Vianne Rocher? She's the main character in Chocolat. How can I resist? For further details, go here.
Women of the Silk
by Gail TsukiyamaContemporary FictionFinished on 3/12/07Rating: 3/5 (Above Average)
2007 TBR Challenge #3Publisher’s Description:Gail Tsukiyama lends her voice to a landscape of exceptional beauty in Women of the Silk, and she peoples it with figures of women striding together toward a dream of autonomy and self-determination – women, Tsukiyama tells us, who Do Not Go Down to the Family; Women Who Braid Their Own Hair. This is the story of Pei and Lin, of their struggle for economic independence through what was known simply as “the silk work” in 1926, in a small village in rural China.It is the story of the evolution of a sisterhood, and of a community of women who turn each of their misfortunes into a point of embarkation and an opportunity for a better, truer life. Pei and Lin set out to spin silk and succeed in spinning the power structure of an entire town into a form so new that they are able to organize the first workers’ union and lead the first strike the village has ever seen. By the novel’s end they seem to be spinning not silk, but whole worlds, from the precious threads of tenacity, good faith, and abiding courage. Though it confronts the failure of human hope and kindness in a tumultuous and disillusioned time, Tsukiyama’s tale is ultimately of friendship, kinship, and love, rendered with exquisite grace, and with all the fluent, resounding dignity of legend or song.This is the fourth novel of Tsukiyama’s I’ve read, and like all but The Samurai’s Garden (which I gave a perfect 10 in 2002), it was just barely better than a lukewarm experience. I enjoyed most of it, but something (dramatic tension, perhaps?) was missing. If I had enjoyed all her other books, I’d be quick to say that the cause of my disappointment was simply that this was her debut novel (and possibly not as polished as her others). But it wasn’t such a bad experience that I won’t go on and read the sequel, The Language of Threads, especially since I already own a copy. And, I doubt I’ll wait too long to get to it; I don’t want to forget too many of the details from Women of the Silk. It’s definitely not one I would want to re-read. I’m still debating whether it’s one I even want to hang on to.If you’ve never had the opportunity to read anything by Gail Tsukiyama, I strongly advise that you begin with The Samurai’s Garden. It’s simply one of the most lyrical novels I’ve ever read.For a more glowing response to Women of the Silk, read Jana Siciliano’s lovely review here.
Harvesting the Heart by Jodi Picoult
Contemporary Fiction
Finished on 2/22/07
Rating: 2.5/5 (Average)
2007 TBR Challenge #2
Book Description:
Paige has only a few vivid memories of her mother, who left when she was five. Now, having left her father behind in Chicago, she dreams of art school and marries an ambitious doctor - and soon becomes a mother herself. Overwhelmed by the demands of having a family, Paige cannot forget her mother's absence and the shameful memories of her own past, which make her doubt both her maternal abilities and her sense of self-worth. Out of Paige's struggle to find wholeness, Jodi Picoult crafts with astonishing clarity and evocative detail and absorbing novel that explores issues and emotions we can all relate to.
Hmmm, I suppose I can relate to some of Paige's issues. I, too, got married at a young age (19) and was a bit overwhelmed when our daughter was born two-and-a-half years later. I was immature and naive about marriage, emotionally dependent on my husband very much like Picoult's main character. Yet in spite of the demise of my first marriage, I had many friends and relatives I could turn to for help and advice. Paige was pretty much on her own as she tried to figure out how to be a good mother and a loving wife.
I found it difficult to sympathize with either of the main characters (quite frankly, I didn't care at all for Nicholas, who came across as too full of himself and unsympathetic to his wife's needs), and the minor characters lacked dimension. If I had to sum it up in a single word, I'd say this book was hokey. The pacing was uneven and some of the situations seemed implausible and contrived.
I've read and enjoyed several books by Jodi Picoult but this particular novel failed to impress me. It certainly wasn't as entertaining (or as thought-provoking) as Keeping Faith
, The Pact, Plain Truth or My Sister's Keeper, yet something pushed me to keep on reading to the end. Maybe I was simply tired of giving up on books so readily and felt compelled to complete this one just for the sake of finishing.
Tall Pine Polka
by Lorna LandvikContemporary FictionQuit on 2/7/07Rating: DNF2007 TBR Challenge (incomplete)Book DescriptionIn the small town of Tall Pine, Minnesota, at the Cup O’Delight Cafe, the townsfolk gather for what they call the Tall Pine Polka, an event in which heavenly coffee, good food, and that feeling of being alive among friends inspires both body and soul to dance. There’s the cafe owner, the robust and beautiful Lee O’Leary, who escaped to the northwoods from an abusive husband; Miss Penk and Frau Katt, the town’s only lesbian couple (“Well, we’re za only ones who admit it.”); Pete, proprietor of the Shoe Shack, who spends nights crafting beautiful shoes to present to Lee, along with his declarations of love; Mary, whose bad poetry can clear out the cafe in seconds flat; and, most important of all, Lee’s best friend, Fenny Ness, a smart and sassy twenty-two-year-old going on eighty.When Hollywood rolls into Tall Pine to shoot a movie, and a handsome musician known as Big Bill appears on the scene, Lee and Fenny find their friendship put to the test, as events push their hearts in unexplored directions—where endings can turn into new beginnings. . . I suppose everyone's entitled to an off day. Or an off book. After struggling through 116 pages (out of 440), I decided to call it quits. I simply didn't care for the story, and none of the characters appealed to me. If anything, they annoyed me. Not to mention the unrealistic dialogue and ridiculous number of asides. (I know, I know. I'm guilty of that myself.)
I've enjoyed most of Landvik's novels and gave Oh My Stars a perfect A+ rating last spring. Patty Jane's House of Curl
, Your Oasis on Flame Lake, and Angry Housewives Eating Bon Bons are also some of my favorites (the latter of which made my Top Ten for 2004 with a perfect rating of 5/5). But still, I wasn't terribly eager to read this one since I'd heard several negative comments about it and it's been sitting in one of my bookcases for quite a while. When it came time to put together my list for the 2007 TBR Challenge, I thought it was high time to give Tall Pine Polka a chance. Oh, well. One more to take to the used book store next week.
The Baker's Apprentice by Judith Ryan Hendricks
Contemporary Fiction
Finished on 1/22/07Rating: 2.5/5 (Average)From the Stacks Winter Reading Challenge #52007 TBR Challenge #1You would think by now I would know better than to get my hopes set too high for the sequel to a book, regardless of who the author is. But no, I still set myself up for disappointment time after time. It's always a bit more exciting to begin reading the sequel to a well-loved novel than simply picking up a new release or highly acclaimed book. With a sequel, you already have a connection to the characters and setting, as well as an admiration for the author's ability to entertain. But unfortunately a book is just a book and there's no guarantee that the follow-up will be as entertaining (or even as well-written) as its predecessor. For example, I loved Dean Koontz's Odd Thomas, but was terribly disappointed with Forever Odd. Mary Doria Russell's The Sparrow
is an incredible story and, like Odd Thomas, made my Top Ten for the year I read it. However, Russell's sequel (Children of God) failed to hold my interest and I struggled to finish, hoping it would get better the further along I read. Julie and Romeo Get Lucky is another sequel that left me longing for the humor and warmth I enjoyed in Julie and Romeo. Instead it only annoyed me with its silly and repetitious storyline. Bill Richardson's Bachelor Brothers' Bed & Breakfast is a delightfully hilarious book, but the sequel (Bachelor Brothers' Bed & Breakfast Pillow Book) fell short and wound up in the discard pile.On the other hand, I loved The Exact Same Moon: Fifty Acres and a Family just as much (if not more) than its predecessor, Fifty Acres and a Poodle. And, The Duchess of Bloomsbury Street was just as lovely as 84, Charing Cross Road. So, after reading Judith Hendricks' Bread Alone for the second time, I was excited to finally read The Baker's Apprentice. I had thoroughly enjoyed Bread Alone and was eager to see what the future held for Wynter, both as a bread baker at the Queen Street Bakery in Seattle and in her personal life with her new love interest. Unfortunately, this was a less-than-lackluster follow-up to Ms. Hendricks' debut novel. Bread Alone is a warm, cozy read full of wonderful descriptions about baking and life in the Pacific Northwest. Unfortunately, the sequel is less about the goings-on in the bakery and more about the ups and downs of Wynter's love life (which quickly becomes plodding and predictable). I didn't care for the abrupt ending and wonder if the author wrote it in hopes of continuing further with these characters and storyline. Of her three novels, Isabel's Daughter (a stand-alone) is by far my favorite.There are no guarantees when it comes to the enjoyment of a book, whether it's a stand-alone or a sequel (or a series, but that's a whole 'nother kettle of fish!). So much depends one's mood, the timing of the read, or whether it's been over-hyped. I'll just continue to hope for the best and ignore that irritating little voice that so rudely reminds me that I'm bound to be disappointed.
Yep, another challenge hosted by Mizbooks over at Literary Cache. Don't get me wrong. I'm not complaining! I love to compile lists of possibilities, stacking books in my office or on my nightstand and focusing on a specific set of titles for a given period of time. And this one should be fairly easy. Here are the details:** Pick 12 books - one for each month of 2007 - that you've been wanting to read (have been on your "To Be Read" list) for 6 months or longer, but haven't gotten around to.
** Then, starting January 1, 2007, read one of these books from your list each month, ending December 31, 2007.
Easy peasy, lemon squeezy! I have SOOOOO many to choose from. And these are books I actually own. I don't dare choose books from my To Be Read Wishlist! I need to read what I own! I decided to look at all the possibilities and choose authors I've already read and loved. Since I'm also partaking in Bookfool's "Chunkster Challenge" (read: BIG time investment), I need to be fairly certain that I'll have good luck with what I've picked for Mizbooks' challenge. No new authors!
So, for today's Thursday Thirteen, here's my list (with one extra just in case...):The Great Santini by Pat Conroy (Finished on 8/20/07)The Tall Pine Polka by Lorna Landvik (DNF on 2/7/07)Water Witches by Chris BohjalianWelcome to the World, Baby Girl! by Fannie FlaggA Stranger's House by Bret Lott (DNF on 2/17/07)Coming Home by Rosamunde PilcherUp Island by Anne Rivers Siddons (Finished on 6/26/07)Harvesting the Heart by Jodi Picoult (Finished on 2/22/07)Five Quarters of the Orange by Joanne Harris (Finished on 4/13/07)One True Thing by Anna Quindlen (Finished on 9/12/07)The Baker's Apprentice by Judith Ryan Hendricks (Finished 1/22/07)Women of the Silk by Gail Tsukiyama (Finished on 3/12/07)I was going to include remarks as to why I chose these books, but I figure I'll either add that information in response to reader comments or when I actually post my reviews next year.I just realized one title (The Baker's Apprentice) overlaps with the Winter Reading Challenge, but that's ok. I'll just read it in January. You know, I could have just picked the same books that I selected for Bookfool's challenge, but where's the fun in that? This way, I should be able to knock off two dozen books from my TBR stacks. Hmmmm, wonder what I should do with all the empty space in our bookcases??? ;)
That's enough list-making. Time to go read!
