PAUL C in the War Room - XXVIII : The End of War

Well, Carruthers you got that wrong. 110 years on and the death toll mounts!

The Opening Words

What things do I believe are important today? Ecology certainly. Freedom of speech and the inherent rights of the individual within a caring social framework. Basic fairness and equality irrespective of class, creed, wealth, race, gender, age and sexuality.
To find ideas on this I am trying to read from various sources garnering new ideas on how societies should change and operate - some from the left, some of the centre and some of the right. There are no monopolies on good ideas.

British Conservative politician Danny Kruger has written a thoughtful exposition of his ideas with ecology at its centre called Covenant : The New Politics of Home, Neighbourhood and Nation. He terms his philosophy "Communitarianism".





"If a "place" is ground made meaningful by human beings, the central district of Wiltshire must be the oldest place in England. Here our Neolithic forbears built the monuments of their now-silent civilisation : the long and the round barrows; the huge mounds like Silbury Hill (the largest man made structure of Western prehistory); and the standing stones and circles, like Stonehenge and the older and bigger Avebury, and largest of all but now almost vanished, the great henge at Marden."

Interested...........................?

Books Read January to September

January

1. Dear Future Boyfriend by Cristin O'Keefe Aptowicz (2000) 90 pp Poetry / 150Y Challenge 15/150
2. Pax Romana by Adrian Goldsworthy (2016) 420 pp Non-Fiction / War Room / 150Y Challenge 16/150
3. The Lantern Bearers by Rosemary Sutcliff (1959) 306 pp Fiction / War Room / 150Y Challenge 17/150
4. Black Hearts in Battersea by Joan Aiken (1964) 286 pp Fiction / BAC / 150Y Challenge 18/150
5. Carthage Must Be Destroyed by Richard Miles (2010) 373 pp Non-Fiction / War Room / 150Y Challenge 19/150
6. When We Were Warriors by Emma Carroll (2019) 248 pp Fiction / War Room / 150y Challenge 20/150
7. Double Indemnity by James M Cain (1936) 136 pp Thriller / 150Y Challenge 21/150
8. Persian Fire by Tom Holland (2005) 376 pp Non-Fiction / War Room / 150Y Challenge 22/150
2,235 pages

February

9. North Woods by Daniel Mason (2023) 369 pp Fiction 150Y Challenge 23/150
10. The African by JMG Le Clezio (2004) 106 pp Non-Fiction / 150Y Challenge 24/150
11. The British are Coming by Rick Atkinson (2019) 564 pp Non-Fiction / War Room
12. Death Comes for the Archbishop by Willa Cather (1927) 297 pp Fiction 150Y Challenge 25/150
13. Redcoat by Bernard Cornwell (1987) 405 pp Fiction / War Room / 150Y Challenge 26/150
1,741 pages

March

14. Fatal Colours by George Goodwin (2011) 239 pp Non-Fiction / War Room / 150Y Challenge 27/150
15. R.S. Thomas : Selected Poems by R.S. Thomas (2003) 343 pp Poetry / BAC / 150Y Challenge 28/150
16. The Maiden by Kate Foster (2023) 370 pp Fiction
17. The Storm We Made by Vanessa Chan (2024) 334pp Fiction / Warm Room
18. The Wren, The Wren by Anne Enright (2023) 273 pp Fiction
19. The Brothers York : An English Tragedy by Thomas Penn (2019) 572 pp Non-Fiction / War Room
20. Pet by Catherine Chidgey (2023) 323 pp Fiction
21. Brotherless Night by VV Ganeshanathan (2023) 341 pp Fiction
22. Breakdown by Cathy Sweeney (2024) 217 pp Fiction
23. Under Milk Wood by Dylan Thomas (1954) 108 pp Drama / BAC / 150 Y Challenge 29/150
24. Bosworth: Psychology of a Battle by Michael Jones (2002) 220 pp Non-Fiction/ War Room / 150Y Challenge 30/150
3,340 pages

April

25. The Sweet Science by A.J. Liebling (1956) 232 pp Non-Fiction / AAC / 150Y Challenge 31/150
26. The Talented Mr. Ripley by Patricia Highsmith (1955) 249pp Thriller / 150Y Challenge 32/150 / 1001 Books
27. Enter Ghost by Isabella Hammad (2023) 319 pp Fiction / War Room
28. Quartet in Autumn by Barbara Pym (1977) 186 pp Fiction / 150Y Challenge 33/150 / BAC/ 1001 Books
29. A History of the Crusades I by Steven Runciman (1951) 281 pp Non-Fiction / War Room / 150Y Challenge 34/150
30. Loot by Tania James (2023) 289 pp Fiction
31. Field Work by Seamus Heaney (1979) 56 pp Poetry / 150Y Challenge 35/150
32. A History of the Crusades II by Steven Runciman (1952) 385 pp Non-Fiction / War Room
33. A History of the Crusades III by Steven Runciman (1954) 401 pp Non-Fiction / War Room
34. Soldier Sailor by Claire Kilroy (2023) 233 pp Fiction
35. The People of Hemso by August Strindberg (1887) 152 pp Fiction / 1001 Books / 150Y Challenge 36/150
36. Five Children and It by E. Nesbit (1902) 237 pp Fiction / 150Y Challenge 37/150
37. The Way We Live Now by Anthony Trollope (1875) 766 pp Fiction / BAC / 150Y Challenge 38/150
38. The Details by Ia Genberg (2022) 151 pp Fiction / 150Y Challenge 39/150
3,937 pages

May

39. Napoleon by Alan Forrest (2011) 331 pp Non-Fiction / War Room
40. The List of Suspicious Things by Jennie Godfrey (2024) 449 pp Fiction
780 pages

June

41. Act of Oblivion by Robert Harris (2022) 550 pp Thriller / War Room
42. Selling Manhattan by Carol Ann Duffy (1987) 52 pp Poetry
43. A Traveller in Time by Alison Uttley (1939) 392 pp Fiction / BAC / 150Y Challenge 40/150
44. The Fox by D.H. Lawrence (1922) 123 pp Fiction / BAC / 1001 Books / 150Y Challenge 41/150
45. Peace by Richard Bausch (2008) 171 pp War Room / 150Y Challenge 42/150
46. The Deathless Girls by Kiran Millwood Hargrave (2019) 304 pp Fiction / BAC
47. River East, River West by Aube Rey Lescure (2024) 339 pp Fiction
48. Minor Detail by Adania Shibli (2017) 112 pp Fiction / War Room / 150Y Challenge 43/150
49. The House of Broken Bricks by Fiona Williams (2024) 377 pp Fiction / Alternate Women's Prize
50. Storm of Steel by Ernst Junger (1920) 296 pp Non-Fiction / War Room / 1001 Books / Anita Memoriam / 150Y Challenge 44/150
51. A Move in the Weather by Anthony Thwaite (2003) 67 pp Poetry
2,783

July

52. Number the Stars by Lois Lowry (1989) 137 pp Fiction / War Room / 150 Year Challenge 45/150
53. The Middle Daughter by Chika Unigwe (2023) 305 pp Fiction / Women's Alternative Longlist
54. The Wretched of the Earth by Frantz Fanon (1961) 255 pp Non-Fiction / War Room / 150 Y Challenge 46/150
55. The Kreutzer Sonata by Leon Tolstoy (1891) 76 pp Fiction / 1001 Challenge / 150 Y Challenge 47/150
56. The Way Back by Erich Maria Remarque (1931) 286 pp Fiction/ War Room/ 150Y Challenge 48/150 / Anita Memoriam Read
57. Berlin Cantata by Jeffrey Lewis (2012) 248 pp Fiction / 150Y Challenge 49/150
58. The Bass Rock by Evie Wyld (2020) 359 pp Fiction / 150Y Challenge 50/150
1,666 pages

August

59. Poems : MacNeice by Louis MacNeice (1935) 37 pp Poetry / 150Y Challenge 51/150
60. Red Dragon by Thomas Harris (1981) 421 pp Thriller / 150Y Challenge 52/150
61. Chess by Stefan Zweig (1941) 83pp Fiction / 150Y Challenge 53/150
62. The Rape of Nanking by Iris Chang (1997) 230 pp Non-Fiction/ War Room /150 Challenge 54/150
63. The Last Green Valley by Mark Sullivan (2021) 435 pp Fiction / War Room / 150Y Challenge 55/150
64. The Grand Alliance by Winston Churchill (1950) 629 pp Non-Fiction / War Room / BAC / 150 Y Challenge 56/150
65. A Farewell to France by Noel Barber (1983) 787 pp Fiction / War Room / 150Y Challenge 57/150
66. Laughter in the Dark by Vladimir Nabokov (1933) 197 pp Fiction / 150 Y Challenge 58/150
67. War Diaries 1939-1945 by Viscount Alanbrooke (1957) 721 pp Non-Fiction / War Room / 150 Y Challenge 59/150
68. Close Quarters by Michael Gilbert (1947) 190 pp Thriller / 150 Y Challenge 60/150
69. The Light in Hidden Places by Sharon Cameron (2015) 390 pp Fiction / War Room / 150Y Challenge 61/150
4,120 pages

September

70. The Killer Angels by Michael Shaara (1974) 355 pp Fiction / War Room / 150Y Challenge 62/150
71. Black Rain by Masuji Ibuse (1965) 300pp Fiction / War Room / Anita Memoriam / 150Y Challenge 63/150
72. An Enemy of the People by Henrik Ibsen (1882) 82 pp Play / 150Y Challenge 64/150
73. Academy Street by Mary Costello (2014) 179 pp Fiction / 150Y Challenge 65/150
74. 33 Days by Leon Werth (1940) 116 pp Non-Fiction / War Room / 150Y Challenge 66/150
75. Human Voices by Penelope Fitzgerald (1980) 200 pp Fiction / BAC / War Room / 150Y Challenge 67/150
76. Counter-Attack and Other Poems by Siegfried Sassoon (1918) 63 pp Poetry / War Room / 150Y Challenge 68/150
77. Marius the Epicurean by Walter Pater (1885) 267 pp Fiction / 150Y Challenge 69/150
78. The Boys from Brazil by Ira Levin (1976) 258 pp Thriller / 150Y Challenge 70/150
79. We Have Always Lived in the Castle by Shirley Jackson (1962) 146 pp Fiction / 150Y Challenge 71/150
80. Mrs. Ames by E.F. Benson (1912) 301 pp Fiction / 150Y Challenge 72/150
81. The Story of a Life by Aharon Appelfeld (1999) 191 pp Non-Fiction / 150Y Challenge 73/150
82. The Edwardians by Vita Sackville-West (1930) 285 pp Fiction / 150Y Challenge 74/150
83. The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn by Mark Twain (1884) 305 pp Fiction / AAC / 1001 Books / 150Y Challenge 75/150
84. Love and Obstacles by Aleksandar Hemon (2009) 210 pp Short Stories / AAC / 150Y Challenge 76/150
85. Payment Deferred by C.S. Forester (1926) 187 pp Thriller / 150Y Challenge 77/150
86. Uncle Vanya by Anton Chekhov (1900) 45 pp Drama / 150Y Challenge 78/150
87. Battle Cry of Freedom by James McPherson (1988) 862 pp Non-Fiction / War Room / 150Y Challenge 79/150
88. Gigi by Colette (1944) 57 pp Fiction / 150Y Challenge 80/150
89. The Sailor Who Fell from Grace with the Sea (1963) 181pp Fiction / 150Y Challenge 81/150
4,590 Pages

Books Read October to December

October

90. The Things They Carried by Tim O'Brien (1990) 233 pp Fiction / War Room / 150Y Challenge 82/150
91. The Yellow Wallpaper and Other Stories by Charlotte Perkins Gilman (1892) 70 pp Fiction / 150Y Challenge 83/150/ 1001 Books
92. Ratlines by Stuart Neville (2013) 399 pp Thriller / 150Y Challenge 84/150
93. Another Part of the Wood by Beryl Bainbridge (1968) 165 pp Fiction / 150Y Challenge 85/150
94. Holes by Louis Sachar (1998) 233 pp Fiction / 150Y Challenge 86/150 / Anita Memorial Read.
95. A Woman of No Importance by Oscar Wilde (1893) 80 pp Drama / 150Y Challenge 87/150
96. Say Uncle by Kay Ryan (1991) 76 pp Poetry / 150Y Challenge 88/150 / AAC
97. The Great Railway Bazaar by Paul Theroux (1975) 379 pp Non-Fiction / 150Y Challenge 89/150
98. The Great Brain by John D. Fitzgerald (1969) 175 pp Fiction / 150Y Challenge 90/150
99. Martha Quest by Doris Lessing (1952) 333 pp Fiction / 150Y Challenge 91/150
100. The Hiding Place by Corrie ten Boom (1971) 221pp Non-Fiction / 150Y Challenge 92/150 / War Room
101. Summer by Edith Wharton (1917) 194 pp Fiction / 150Y Challenge 93/150 / 1001 Books
2,558 pages

November

102. Journey's End by R.C. Sherriff (1928) 95 pp Drama / 150Y Challenge 94/150 / War Room
103. Held by Anne Michaels (2023) 220 pp Fiction / Booker Shortlist
104. A Farewell to Arms by Ernest Hemingway (1929) 293 pp Fiction / War Room / 1001 Books / 150Y Challenge 95/150
105. Geneva by Richard Armitage (2023) 280 pp Thriller
106. World War One British Poets ed by Candace Ward (1997) 71pp Poetry / War Room
107. The Dark Lake by Sarah Bailey (2017) 429 pp Thriller
108. Box 88 by Charles Cumming (2020) 482 pp Thriller
109. The First World War by Hew Strachan (2004) 331 pp Non-Fiction / War Room
110. The Safe Place by Anna Downes (2020) 399 pp Thriller
111. Anecdotal Evidence by Wendy Cope (2018) 66 pp Poetry
112. Autobibliography by Rob Doyle (2021) 236 pp Non-Fiction
113. Orbital by Samantha Harvey (2023) 136 pp Fiction / Booker Winner
114. The Tenant by Katrine Engberg (2020) 354 pp Thriller
115. The Netanyahus by Joshua Cohen (2021) 233 pp Fiction / Pulitzer / AAC
116. Under Fire by Henri Barbusse (1916) 183 pp Fiction / War Room / 150Y Challenge 96/150
117. Tension by E.M. Delafield (1920) 207 pp Fiction / BAC / 150y Challenge 97/150
4,015 pages

December

118. James by Percival Everett (2024) 303 pp Fiction
119. And Yet : Poems by Kate Baer (2022) 100 pp Poetry
120. The Searcher by Tana French (2020) 392 pp Thriller
121. The Tartar Steppe by Dino Buzzati (1940) 193 pp Fiction / 1001 Books
122. The Battle for Spain by Antony Beevor (2006) 479 pp Non-Fiction / War Room / 150Y Challenge 98/150
123. Love's Bonfire by Tom Paulin (2011) 52 pp Poetry
124. A Room Full of Bones by Elly Griffiths (2012) 344 pp Thriller
125. The Midwich Cuckoos by John Wyndham (1957) 220 pp Sci-Fi
126. Bismarck's War by Rachel Chrastil (2023) 439 pp Non-Fiction / War Room
127. Glorious Exploits by Ferdia Lennon (2024) 276 pp Fiction
128. Scrublands by Chris Hammer (2019) 481 pp Thriller
129. The Home Child by Liz Berry (2023) 107 pp Poetry
130. This Plague of Souls by Mike McCormack (2023) 182 pp Fiction
131. Covenant : The New Politics of Home, Neighbourhood and Nation by Danny Kruger (2023) 144 pp Non-Fiction
3,712 pages

Currently reading

The War Room



JANUARY - Ancient Wars (Greeks/Romans/Persians/Carthage/Egyptians/Alexander, etc) https://www.librarything.com/topic/356820
1. Pax Romana by Adrian Goldsworthy
2. The Lantern Bearers by Rosemary Sutcliff
3. Carthage Must Be Destroyed by Richard Miles
4. Persian Fire by Tom Holland

FEBRUARY - The American War of Independence : https://www.librarything.com/topic/358097#n8402612
1. The British are Coming by Rick Atkinson
2. Redcoat by Bernard Cornwell

MARCH - The War of the Roses : https://www.librarything.com/topic/358941
1. Fatal Colours by George Goodwin
2. The Brothers York : An English Tragedy by Thomas Penn

APRIL - Wars of Religion https://www.librarything.com/topic/359824#n8524265
1. Enter Ghost by Isabella Hammad
2. A History of the Crusades I by Steven Runciman
3. A History of the Crusades II by Steven Runciman
4. A History of the Crusades III by Steven Runciman
5. Minor Detail by Adania Shibli

MAY - Napoleonic Wars : https://www.librarything.com/topic/360466
1. Napoleon by Alan Forrest

JUNE - English Civil War : https://www.librarything.com/topic/361198
1. Act of Oblivion by Robert Harris

JULY - Colonial Wars : https://www.librarything.com/topic/361750#n8568832
1. The Wretched of the Earth by Frantz Fanon

AUGUST - WW2
1. When We Were Warriors by Emma Carroll
2. The Storm We Made by Vanessa Chan
3. Peace by Richard Bausch
4. Number the Stars by Lois Lowry
5. The Rape of Nanking by Iris Chang
6. The Last Green Valley by Mark Sullivan
7. The Grand Alliance by Winston Churchill
8. A Farewell to France by Noel Barber
9. War Diaries 1939-1945 by Viscount Alanbrooke
10. The Light in Hidden Places by Sharon Cameron
11. Black Rain by Masuji Ibuse
12. 33 Days by Leon Werth
13. Human Voices by Penelope Fitzgerald
14. The Hiding Place by Corrie ten Boom

SEPTEMBER - American Civil War : https://www.librarything.com/topic/363081#n8612485
1. The Killer Angels by Michael Shaara
2. Battle Cry of Freedom by James McPherson

OCTOBER - American Follies (Korea, Vietnam, Gulf-War, Afghanistan) : https://www.librarything.com/topic/364666
1. The Things They Carried by Tim O'Brien

NOVEMBER - WW1 :
1. Storm of Steel by Ernst Junger
2. The Road Back by Erich Maria Remarque
3. Counter-Attack by Siegfried Sassoon
4. Journey's End by R.C. Sherriff
5. A Farewell to Arms by Ernest Hemingway
6. World War One British Poets ed Candace Ward
7. The First World War by Hew Strachan
8. Under Fire by Henri Barbusse

DECEMBER - Spanish Civil War
1. The Battle for Spain by Antony Beevor

WILDCARD - Pick your own fight
1. Bismarck's War by Rachel Chrastil FRANCO-PRUSSIAN WAR 1870

BAC

British Author Challenge (Hosted by my friend Amanda)



JANUARY - Joan Aiken & Sir Arthur Conan-Doyle : Black Hearts in Battersea
FEBRUARY - Emma Newman & Ronald Firbank
MARCH - Welsh Writers : Selected Poems R.S. Thomas; Under Milk Wood
APRIL - Barbara Pym & Anthony Trollope - Quartet in Autumn; The Way We Live Now
MAY - Time Portals : A Traveller in Time by Alison Uttley
JUNE - Kiran Millwood Hargrave - The Deathless Girls & D.H. Lawrence - The Fox
JULY - Animal Tales
AUGUST - Winston Churchill - The Grand Alliance
SEPTEMBER - The 80s - Human Voices by Penelope Fitzgerald
OCTOBER - Gothic Fiction
NOVEMBER - EM Delafield - Tension
DECEMBER - Added in 2024

American Author Challenge (Hosted with occasional assistance this year by my friend Linda)



JANUARY - Mark Twain - Huckleberry Finn
FEBRUARY - Susan Sontag
MARCH - Truman Capote
APRIL - Non-Fiction - The Sweet Science by AJ Liebling
MAY - William Maxwell
JUNE - Queer Authors - Say Uncle by Kay Ryan
JULY - Mona Susan Power
AUGUST - Jeffrey Lent
SEPTEMBER - Adoptive Americans - Love and Obstacles by Aleksandar Hemon
OCTOBER - Katherine Anne Porter
NOVEMBER - Jewish Americans - The Netanyahus by Joshua Cohen
DECEMBER - Heartland Authors

150 YEARS OF BOOKS

150 years; 150 books; 150 authors; 15 months

Done:
Row 1 : 1874, 1875, 1882, 1884, 1885, 1887


Row 2 : 1889, 1891, 1892, 1893, 1900, 1902


Row 3 : 1904, 1908, 1910, 1912, 1915, 1917, 1918


Row 4 : 1920, 1922, 1923, 1926, 1927, 1928, 1929, 1930, 1931, 1933


Row 5 : 1935, 1936, 1937, 1939, 1940, 1941, 1944, 1945, 1947


Row 6 : 1950, 1951, 1954, 1955 1956, 1957, 1958, 1959, 1961, 1962, 1963


Row 7 : 1964, 1965, 1966, 1968, 1969, 1971, 1974, 1975, 1976, 1977


Row 8 : 1979, 1980, 1981, 1983, 1987, 1988, 1989, 1990, 1991


Row 9 : 1994, 1997, 1998, 1999, 2000, 2001, 2002, 2003, 2004, 2005, 2008


Row 10 : 2009, 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014, 2015, 2016, 2017, 2018, 2019, 2020, 2021, 2022, 2023

BEST BOOKS OF THIS CENTURY

Books Added in 2024

January books 1-31
https://www.librarything.com/topic/357215#8360403

February books 32-73
https://www.librarything.com/topic/358698#8432568

March books 74-104
https://www.librarything.com/topic/359405#8476551

April books 105-130
https://www.librarything.com/topic/360210#8513437

May books 131-144
https://www.librarything.com/topic/360952#8540231

June books 145-160
https://www.librarything.com/topic/361445#8558052

July books 161-182
https://www.librarything.com/topic/362027#8578805

August books 183-200
https://www.librarything.com/topic/362737#8601627

September books 201-234
https://www.librarything.com/topic/363372#8623252

October books 235-270
https://www.librarything.com/topic/364990#8646900

November books 271-295
https://www.librarything.com/topic/366155#8685891

December books

296. The Lantern Men by Elly Griffiths
297. Now Then by Rick Broadbent
298. Time of the Flies by Claudia Pineiro
299. Big Caesar and Little Caesar by Ferdinand Mount
300. Inside Enemy by Alan Judd
301. The Hunter by Tana French
302. The Home Child by Liz Berry
303. The Passenger by Ulrich Alexander Boschwitz
304. The Road by Christopher Hadley
305. The Lightning Tree by Emily Woof

Book Stats

Books Read : 131
Pages Read in completed books : 35,464 pp

Longest book : Battle Cry of Freedom : 862 pp
Shortest book : Poems : Louis MacNeice : 37 pp
Mean book length : 270.72 pp

Books written by men : 78
Books written by women : 53

Non-Fiction : 28
Fiction : 67
Poetry : 13
Thriller : 16
Drama : 5

1870's : 1 book
1880's : 4 books
1890'S : 3 books
1900's : 2 books
1910's : 4 books
1920's : 7 books
1930's : 6 books
1940's : 5 books
1950's : 11 books
1960's : 7 books
1970's : 6 books
1980's : 7 books
1990's : 6 books
2000's : 9 books
2010's : 19 books
2020's : 34 books

UK Authors : 60
US Authors : 33
Ireland Authors : 10
Sweden Authors : 2
France Authors : 5
Malaysia Authors : 1
New Zealand Authors : 1
Palestine Authors : 1
Germany Authors : 2
Nigeria Authors : 1
Russian Authors : 3
Austria Authors : 1
Japan Authors : 2
Norway Authors : 1
Israel Authors : 1
Bosnian Author : 1
Netherlands Author : 1
Canada Author : 1
Australia Authors : 2
Denmark Author : 1
Italy Author : 1

Nobel Winners : 1 (79/120)
Carnegie Medal Winners : 2 (7th overall)
Women's Prize Winners : 1
Pulitzer Fiction Prize Winners : 2
Booker Winners : 1
1001 Books : 14

Read : 130 books
Added : 317 books

Change to TBR : +187

Welcome to my 28th and final thread of 2024

Happy new thread Paul!

Yes. Happy New Thread.

>14 quondame: Thank you, Susan.

>15 avatiakh: And thank you too, Kerry. The Black-Caps are certainly getting a little of their own back just at the moment. What a tremendous player Williamson is and he would play at three in my World XI any day. Nice to see O'Rourke get a bit more joy also as he has bowled well throughout without much reward.

Happy new thread, Paul!

>17 atozgrl: Thank you, Irene.

I am a little busy today so it will take me a while to get fully set up and catch up on my reviews etc.

Happy new thread Paul.

Happy new thread!

>19 Kristelh: Thank you, Kristel.

>20 amanda4242: Thanks Amanda.

CARTOON

The Green Energy Minister or whatever the heck Ed Miliband is seems intent on filling all available land with wind farms and decimating the British habitat in the process.

Hi Paul. I wouldn't mention it, but this is twice, maybe in a row, maybe a skip or two, that you have not seen my HNT message!

>24 quondame: If I have missed you at any stage, Susan, then I heartily and unreservedly apologise as it is certainly not intentional.

I do note however that my post >16 PaulCranswick: is actually in response to you but I got the post number wrong as I put >13 PaulCranswick: instead of >14 quondame:.
If you look now you will see that I have corrected that. xx

>25 PaulCranswick: Yes >16 PaulCranswick: references >14 quondame: - but replies to >15 avatiakh: (Kerry)

I wouldn't want you to think I was remiss with NT greetings.

>26 quondame: No Susan, I saw you and did use your name in response at least. It was my fault for messing the numbers up!

Happy New Thread, Paul!
And have a good start into the new week.

>16 PaulCranswick: Paul, I'm not following the cricket this time though seems like I should.

>28 SirThomas: Thank you, Thomas.
Always a pleasure to see you here.

>29 avatiakh: It would have given a New Zealander a lot of pleasure today if you were, Kerry.

Happy new one

>31 figsfromthistle: With all my friends I am sure it will be, Anita. Thank you for always stopping by and being a pal. x

Happy New thread Paul!!

happy new one Paul!

Happy New Thread! Last one of the year? Or do you think you'll squeak out one more. :p

Happy new one, Paul!

>33 hredwards: Thank you, Harold.

>34 louisisaloafofbreb: Thanks Lily.

>35 mahsdad: Thanks Jeff. No, I reckon that this will be the last one in 2024, but I do hope to squeeze to 8,000 posts.

>36 drneutron: Thanks DocRoc.

Happy new thread, Paul! I got home just in time. . .lol

>37 PaulCranswick: Your very welcome Paul :)

>39 alcottacre: Thank you for stopping by Juana, I know you have a lot on your plate just now. xx

>40 louisisaloafofbreb: I hope all is well with you, Lily.

Happy New Thread!

>42 SilverWolf28: Thank you Silver and for your dedication to our Readathons!

CARTOON

Back to Prince Andrew

Happy New Thread, Paul! 🧵

>45 vancouverdeb: Thank you Deb. I have just had some really nice Italian food (Papardelle Ragu) delivered to the office and am replete with Mediterranean goodness!

Happy new thread, Paul! RE the mix up in post numbers, after a new thread is set up LT tends to give the next post from whoever gives greetings first the same number as the last of the set up posts. Drives me crazy every time!

>47 Familyhistorian: Thanks Meg. Yes, especially at the beginning of threads when the posts are coming thick and fast, you need to watch out that two posts don't carry the same number.

>41 PaulCranswick: Exams start today, so I'm a bit nervous! Its American History & Health exams today, and my brother says the Health exam is pretty easy so I hope i pass

Happy New Thread, Paul. I had not heard of the Richard Powers book that you are currently reading. Good? I have added you to The Balkan Trilogy shared read. Nice to have you along for the ride.

>49 louisisaloafofbreb: How do they test you on Health? Is it like a Physical Education thing or a branch of biology?

>50 msf59: Not really got to it yet, MarK - probably this weekend. But my reading this month has been pretty stellar so far.
I am glad to be along for The Balkan Trilogy - on my shelves for too long.

Happy new thread, Paul.

Have you read My Name Is Red? I’m finding it marvelous but difficult.

Happy new thread, Paul. I hope all is well.

>52 Matke: Thank you, Gail.

I have read it and fairly recently - it is a challenging read but, as you say, a marvelous one too.

>53 DianaNL: Lovely to see you, Diana. I am doing OK and I trust that you are too. xx

CARTOON

British traditions including the names of Public Houses (Bars) are under attack for people offended by the older names.

Happy New Thread Paul.

>56 johnsimpson: Thanks John. I hope you are feeling ok these days.

>51 PaulCranswick: Its basically everything we learned in that class (nutrition, sex ed, etc.) and we get tested on how well we know it- I uh...failed

>58 louisisaloafofbreb: Biology was not my best subject either to be honest. Better luck next time, Lily.

>51 PaulCranswick: Olivia Manning’s two trilogies, along with Paul Scott’s The Raj Quartet are exceptions to my frequent experience of a discrepancy between my enjoyment of a work of fiction and my satisfaction with its translation to the screen. It can go both ways: one can enjoy a movie or a mini-series and then find the book a big disappointment. But The Balkan Trilogy satisfied in both media.

>60 booksaplenty1949: That is very encouraging. I have experienced neither to date with regard to the Balkan Trilogy.

>59 PaulCranswick: Yeah, thats true, i just hope i pass the rest of my exams

>62 louisisaloafofbreb: I'm sure that you will....don't get stressed.

>63 PaulCranswick: I'll try not to, i finished my Physical Science and English exams for today

I'm trying to catch up on threads here. I probably need to look and see if 2025 is up yet so I can make a thread! I need to do that for the other group too, but I haven't been inspired yet with a theme!

>64 louisisaloafofbreb: English, History, Geography and Maths were my strongest subjects, Lily.

>65 thornton37814: Lovely to see you, Lori. My theme and challenge next year will be a European Grand Tour. It is almost that time isn't it for new year threads and new groups.

>66 PaulCranswick: I think I've come up with one, so I'll need to collect my graphics and such so I can post my new year's threads when I get a chance.

>66 PaulCranswick: Im doing my Geometry exam tomorow! My worst subject is Math haha

>66 PaulCranswick: You did well at both English and Maths? My observation is that it’s often one or the other.

>67 thornton37814: I always enjoy your threads at the beginning of the year, Lori, because you usually start off very strongly. January is often Lori's month!

>68 louisisaloafofbreb: Geometry was not my favourite but I love numbers and my mental arithmetic is still pretty good. I rarely use a calculator.

>69 booksaplenty1949: That is probably true but I have always loved numbers and statistics and was invariably school prizewinner in English.

>70 PaulCranswick: i may fail this one- i hope i dont though

>72 louisisaloafofbreb: O' yeh of little faith!

>73 PaulCranswick: Hah, i'll try to have faith in myself, but I don't know how much I can spare

>74 louisisaloafofbreb: If you cannot have faith in yourself, Lily, it is difficult to expect it for you from others.

>75 PaulCranswick: Yeah, thats true

Friday lunchtime additions

306. Rosarita by Anita Desai
307. A Bird in Winter by Louise Doughty
308. Forest Noise by Mosab Abu Toha
309. 73 Dove Street by Julie Owen Moylan
310. The Racket by Matt Kennard

>76 louisisaloafofbreb: For sure, Lily. Self-belief is half of the battle.

>78 PaulCranswick: Self-belief is hard to achieve i think, well unless you don't judge yourself too much

>79 louisisaloafofbreb: I don't agree, Lily, I think that, within reason, we should all have a modicum of self belief and positivity. We can all achieve most of our goals if we properly set our minds to it. When I decided to become a Contracts/Quantum specialist in Construction I always wanted to be the very best I could be and work on cutting edge projects that people would recognize.

Despite coming from a small working class mining village in a Yorkshire backwater I think I achieved most of my aims in my career to date. Without willpower, self-belief, hardwork and an ability to lead and persuade I would not have ever done that.

>80 PaulCranswick:

I worked on this project:



Marina Bay Sands in Singapore

>80 PaulCranswick: Yeah, maybe i do have some somewhere in me- its just hidden right now I guess

>80 PaulCranswick:

And I worked on this building:



Putrajaya Steel Archway Building

>80 PaulCranswick:

And I worked on this one



Menara Landmark in Johor Bahru, Malaysia - Completed in 1999

>80 PaulCranswick: And I worked on this one



Suasana Condominium, Kuala Lumpur Sentral, Malaysia Completed in 2002.

>80 PaulCranswick:

And I worked on this one



Kranji Racecourse in Singapore

>80 PaulCranswick: And I worked on this one:



KK Hospital in Singapore

>80 PaulCranswick:

And I worked on this one



Spirit Aerosystems Facilities in Subang, Malaysia

>80 PaulCranswick: And I worked on this



Sapura Tower Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia

>90 PaulCranswick: And now I'm helping to finish off this one:



Merdeka 118 in Kuala Lumpur - currently the world's second tallest building at 678.9 metres.

I didn't put up my industrial projects as they are visually unexciting although often more difficult!

>82 louisisaloafofbreb: We all do, Lily.

Here's the next readathon: https://www.librarything.com/topic/366615

>90 PaulCranswick: Wonderful. And yet you say you weren’t much good at geometry?!

Paul, I enjoyed seeing your buildings. They are works of art and pleasing to the eye. Thanks for sharing.

Seen in sequence that's a most impressive CV.

>92 SilverWolf28: Thank you, Silver.

>93 booksaplenty1949: Hahaha I helped accomplish their completion but I didn't design them - that would be beyond my ken!

>94 Kristelh: Thank you, Kristel, I am proud that I can travel around the region and come across buildings that I have been, one way or another involved in. I could have included a couple of buildings in Hanoi, a tower in Bahrain, a textile plant in Egypt, a Hotel and another tower in Dubai, part of Changi Airport in Singapore, their Immigration building in Lavender Road, Singapore, a Monorail manufacturing plant in Malaysia and numerous other aviation related projects, a couple of hospitals in Malaysia, two power stations in Malaysia and my earlier projects in the UK.

>95 quondame: More or less in sequence, Susan, except Marina Bay Sands is out of sequence.

>90 PaulCranswick: Wow
>97 PaulCranswick: More wow. Quite impressive Paul. Would you say there is more to do when it comes to new and impressive building and architecture in the East nowadays, then over here in Europe?

>98 EllaTim: I think so, Ella. There are some beautiful buildings in Western Europe (including the UK) but the scale is a little different.
The Shard, London's tallest stands at 310 metres and Merdeka 118 is 678.9 metres.
As someone who is under 1.70 metres tall, I must emphasize though that size isn't everything!

>96 PaulCranswick: One of my children is a project manager for an architecture firm but is careful to clarify “I don’t draw buildings.”

>96 PaulCranswick: Quite right too! The problems are normally in the minutiae. Some of it when explained seems pretty obvious too. For example pursuant to a Fire Department inspection it was commented that due to the extravagant size of the Presidential Suite in the hotel, a full height fire break wall needed to be constructed to compartmentalize it. The Architect issued an instruction which when I studied it could only have been realized by taking down all the adjacent M&E services (electrical cables, aricond ducting, fire and plumbing piping, CCTV and Security works) which would have cost the Employer a fortune and delayed the project much further. I wrote to the Contract Administrator and notified them that the instruction was impractical and we needed several design workshops to come up with a better solution.

Solstice cheer, PC!

>102 richardderus: Thank you RD. If I was back in the UK, I couldn't quite see me running naked around the stones at Stonehenge but I really miss the vitality of the seasons living here in Malaysia.

>103 PaulCranswick: I can imagine...I'm gettin' testy at a 10C Yule, but the tropics...!

>104 richardderus: It is the sameness that palls, RD. Sweat pouring out of you just walking to the shops. The almost guaranteed hour of torrential downpour daily.

>105 PaulCranswick: I never, ever miss Texas. Ever. That kind of weather I'd rather be in Iceland than endure. It's a human rights violation!

>101 PaulCranswick: Yes, apparently the architect partners in the firm “scribble something on a paper napkin” and then the project managers have to make it all happen. But satisfying to be involved, in whatever way, in creating something large and beautiful and visible.

I see that the Best Five Books Lists for 2024 are up on the site.

To give some variety to my selections and in keeping with my current reading cycles of five books at a time I have selected a winner in each category:

1. POETRY / DRAMA

Not one of my best years for poetry reading - Sassoon and the War Poets of course deserve a mention as does Louis MacNeice and Heaney re-reads but I will select a very good collection by Wendy Cope

Anecdotal Evidence by Wendy Cope

2. NON-FICTION

My best year for ages in reading non-fiction thanks largely to my War Room reading. Stephen Runciman's books on the Crusades would be close especially taken as a whole, a book on the Franco-Prussian War by Rachel Chrastil almost stole it at the death and I will look out for new books by her. Battle Cry of Freedom would win most years and I loved following Paul Theroux on his train journey through Europe and Aaron Apelfeld's memoirs were brilliantly moving. But I go back to February and must choose the absorbing book by Rick Atkinson on the American Revolutionary War:

The British are Coming by Rick Atkinson

3. Thrillers, Mysteries, Sci-Fi and Fantasy

Ranging from Historical thrillers by Cornwell and Robert Harris to classic Highsmith as well as some promising procedurals, the winner is fresh in my mind in Tana French's splendid creation in the West of Ireland.

The Searcher by Tana French

4. Fiction before this Decade

Willa Cather sang early and loudly, Ernst Junger and Remarque wrote strongly of war and I adored Stefan Zweig's brilliant novella Chess but I travel again to Ireland in choosing my winner here.

Academy Street by Mary Costello

5. Fiction from this Decade

I suppose this is, in some ways, the Blue Riband "prize" and it has been a stellar year for me with some really wonderful novels. I could mention many but certainly James by Percival Everett deserves its accolades, I really enjoyed The List of Suspicious Things by Jenny Godfrey set in my home area. I thought Brotherless Night by V.V. Ganeshanathan was a superior winner of the Women's Prize. The Maiden by Kate Foster was excellent historical fiction and I was blown away by Pet by Catherine Chidgey. My choice settles on the almost picaresque book by Tania James that travels through India and France to the cold of England.

Loot by Tania James

>106 richardderus: I do tend to concur!

>107 booksaplenty1949: Yes indeed. My role is also one of Project Management with especial concentration on the cost, contract and revenue side of the business/project. Value Engineering, working out what is and isn't included in the original scope of works and what are the implications of such changes and the same for issues which cause delay to the Works. Identifying them, notifying them, quantifying them and trying to negotiate settlement in respect of them.

Hi Paul - love looking at all your projects from over the years. A wonderful legacy.

Impressive projects, Paul. I especially like the Marina Bay Sands in Singapore.

>110 avatiakh: I must admit Kerry, I do get a sense of pride especially when I see them long afterwards and I remember them as pretty much holes in the ground or problems to overcome.

>111 vancouverdeb: Deb, my old clients Ssangyong used to fly me down to Singapore every week to formulate a plan of how to catch up one of the three towers which was lagging badly behind the others. I spent about six months on it settling that one and it was amongst the most lucrative six months of my career. I came back to it as it was closing in on completion in order to help settle the account with Sands.

>108 PaulCranswick: Thanks for sharing your Best of the Year list. I am still working on my complete one. I liked The Searcher but no where near the level you did. Glad it worked for you so well. The one off your list that really got my attention is Loot. That one looks like my cuppa.

>133 Carmenere: Yes, I think you'd like that one, Mark.

Have a great weekend buddy.

I like what you did with your top five books of the year. I need to think about this and see if I can produce a top five by categories.

It looks like I will be the moderator for Club Read's Poetry Thread in the New Year. I hope you can join us over there. I know you love your poetry. This is a the current link and I will share the new one once I get it rolling:

https://www.librarything.com/topic/360538#n8702114

>115 Kristelh: Otherwise I could have gone all new fiction or all non-fiction because that was where I hit pay dirt this year, Kristel.

>116 msf59: I will certainly try to do so Mark. I do hope you'll remind me if I don't appear early!

>90 PaulCranswick: Very impressive projects, Paul! Thank you for sharing.

Since my husband and I will be leaving town early Monday and we will be very busy tomorrow, and I don't expect that I will be on LT again until after the new year, I thought I would go ahead and send my holiday greetings. I wish you a wonderful Christmas and a very happy New Year. I hope you will have at least some of your family with you.

>119 atozgrl: Thank you for that, Irene.

I will try to take off Christmas Eve and the day itself of course. Happy travels and have a wonderful Christmas.

>120 PaulCranswick: Thank you, Paul, we will!

Happy Winter Solstice, Paul! I haven’t read any of your top 5 books, but the Tana French looks good. I haven’t chosen my top 5 yet—I’m still reading and ya never know if the next book will be a favorite.

>121 atozgrl: I will be missing my tribe this Christmas but we will video call on the day itself. I really hope that this is the last one we spend apart.

>122 Storeetllr: I am sort of having the same feelings, Mary, as a couple of my December reads might well ruin my list!

Christmas Additions

311. The Information by Martin Amis
312. Britt-Marie Was Here by Fredrik Backman
313. Nadja by Andre Breton
314. The Pole by J.M. Coetzee
315. Sugar Street by Jonathan Dee
316. Now I am Here by Chidi Ebere
317. Austral by Carlos Fonseca

CARTOONS

Our Labour Party has not endeared itself to the incoming President. Firstly it sent staff to work on behalf of Ms Harris, secondly our Foreign Minister is on record as calling Trump "a neo-Nazi sociopath" and thirdly we have just sent Lord Peter Mandelson as our Ambassador.

>124 PaulCranswick: i wanna read Britt-Marie Was Here is it a good book? Im currently reading A Man Called Ove by the same author

Hi!!

>125 PaulCranswick: I tend not to like people who endear themselves to Rump, so....

>126 louisisaloafofbreb: I couldn't tell you, Lily. I only bought it yesterday. I will read something by Fredrik Backman in February as my European Grand tour is focusing on the Scandinavian countries and the author is Swedish.
Do let me know what you think of "Ove".

>127 Berly: He isn't my cup of tea either, Kimmers. I despair at the quality of public figures these days - I thought Obama was a true statesman but since him nobody has cut the mustard. The UK has similar problems too.

I am planning on reading Brit-Marie was Here in February as well. I will attempt, in 2025, to read a couple of books from each letter of the alphabet and which are on my bookshelf. Sounds like a good idea, huh, well we will see how long this new year's resolution lasts. Ha ha ha

>128 PaulCranswick: Oooo- that's cool! I will definitely tell you what I think of Ove as I finish the book. Hope you have fun on your European tour!

Merry Christmas to you and your family Paul!!

>129 Carmenere: My books are generally arranged alphabetically by author and at one point I decided to start at the beginning of the alphabet and start reading some of the books I’d owned for many a long year which remained on the “To Read” list. I’ve gotten as far as “B.” Your plan sounds like a more interesting variation.

>132 booksaplenty1949: Actually, we are in the same boat. I should have said alpha order by author. It’s just a coincidence Brit-Marie and Blackman……”B”.

Hiya, Paul. Man, I can’t begin to keep up with your thread speed. How do you keep up with it?

Somewhere back there you favorably reviewed The Things We carried, and I was going to say how much I liked that one. Somewhere back there one of your visitors was reading Paradise Lost with a group, and once a month they’d get together over a beer and discuss it. I thought to meself, now that’s the way to read it! A ways back you mentioned the book The Battle Cry of Freedom and I wondered whether you recommend it. I’ve thought many times, “I should read that book”, but I’ve never gotten further.

>134 jnwelch: I belong to a book group that meets once a week and reads a chosen work aloud for an hour. The following week we pick up where we left off. Right now we’re reading A Question of Upbringing—-as a break from The Iliad, which we’ve been reading in sections for most of 2024, punctuated by lighter fare. Reading aloud has a long history—-indeed, well into the Middle Ages people read aloud even when they were reading alone.

>129 Carmenere: It is a nice way of balancing your reading, Lynda. I have tried a few times to read a book by an author with surname from every letter of the alphabet in a single month. I have come pretty close too. Look forward to reading it with you, Lynda.

>130 louisisaloafofbreb: It is a figurative tour rather than a literal one, mores the pity!

>131 hredwards: Thank you, Harold. I will try my best to get across the threads today and tomorrow to wish all my friends the very best of seasons greetings.

>132 booksaplenty1949: Mine are also shelved alphabetically by author other than my poetry and plays which I keep separately.

>133 Carmenere: Alphabetically by title would be an interesting variation though. Hadn't thought of that!

>134 jnwelch: I would definitely recommend Battle Cry of Freedom, Joe. Definitely would be in my top five non-fiction books of 2024. My son is an interesting character as he places Paradise Lost as his favourite book.

>135 booksaplenty1949: I love that! In the process you get to savour and fully appreciate and understand a book.

>136 PaulCranswick: Oh- i thought it was a literal one 🤦 but I'm sure a literal one would be cool too!

>140 louisisaloafofbreb: More cool, I would say and more than the cost of the books!

By the way I wanted to thank everyone who has visited here and posted.

My thread passed 8,000 posts for the year overnight.

>141 PaulCranswick: Was the cost a lot? I bet with tax it was, books are getting expensive nowadays!

Lets say I read 200 books next year and the average is say $15 per new book that would be a cost of $3000 a year.
A tour of Europe would cost me probably $300 per day for 10 months which would be $90,000 so the books are definitely cheaper.

>144 PaulCranswick: Oh wow- that is a lot of money for sure- I wouldn't be able to do all the walking around either- even going up stairs my legs feel like they are gonna fall off.

>145 louisisaloafofbreb: Great exercise is walking.

Well, I lost the struggle with temptation and went ahead and posted my “Top 5” reads of the year, even though the current or next book(s) may also be top reads.

>144 PaulCranswick: That’s quite a creative justification! I like it!

>146 PaulCranswick: I know that- i think its a medical problem I've had since I was born- *shrug* my legs have always been weird

>147 Storeetllr: I will go and have a peek, Mary.

I don't need much encouragement to buy books really!

>148 louisisaloafofbreb: You need a few New Year resolutions, Lily.

1. Exercise daily
2. Love yourself more.

>142 PaulCranswick: 8,000 posts!!! Congrats and thank you BTW. You are a source of inspiration and joy. : )

Nice that you can see concrete results of what you have worked on, Paul. Very impressive!

>150 Berly: Aww thank you for that, Kimmers. Pot. Kettle and Black.

>151 Familyhistorian: Yeah I don't think I will live to see the bulldozers coming for those, Meg.

Here's the Christmas readathon: https://www.librarything.com/topic/366724

Happy Holidays, Paul. I am sure it is tough not to spend this time with the family. Try to make the best of it, my friend.

Merry Christmas, Paul!

Nadolig Llawen, Happy Christmas and Happy Holidays!

>149 PaulCranswick: I'll try that, i can even do it every Thursday as I have clubs and I can walk home afterwards, I just have to bring a backpack for the end of it

also- Merry Christmas!

>153 SilverWolf28: Thank you, Silver

>154 msf59: Thanks Mark. I couldn't sleep so well and got up and had a glass or four of wine which did the job of helping me sleep back!

>155 Carmenere: Thank you, dear Lynda

>156 SandDune: Thanks Rhian and I like that take on a Christmas image. xx

>157 louisisaloafofbreb: Please try to follow both resolutions!

>158 louisisaloafofbreb: Thank you, Lily.

>159 johnsimpson: Thanks John. I don't know whether Yasmyne managed to get to your place yet?

>162 PaulCranswick: I will try my best Paul

Your welcome!

Winslow and all of us wish you a very happy holidays!


Thanks for showing us some of your projects, Paul - they're amazing and I love a small window into your world!

>164 louisisaloafofbreb: That is the spirit, Lily.

>165 AMQS: Happy Christmas, Winslow!

And to Anne, Stelios, Callia and Marina.
The friendships forged in this wonderful group make life a better place every day.

CARTOON

I will get round the threads but Festive Greetings to everyone!

Merry Christmas!

>168 amanda4242: Same to you my friend. xx

Have a wonderful Christmas, Paul!

Thank you Chris and the very same to you my friend.

Dear
Friend:

I send lots of love and all good wishes for a wonderful holiday, and a Happy New Year!

>172 Whisper1: Thank you, dear Linda

Have a wonderful Christmas, Paul!

>174 Familyhistorian: Thank you, Meg. x

Season's greetings Paul.

Thank you, Kristel. Back round the threads for me shortly.

Happy Holidays and thank you for the well wishes!

>178 elorin: Thank you, Robyn. It has been great to have your company in the group this year.

>167 PaulCranswick: - I am one who has disappeared into that pothole this year, Paul. I hope to do better next year.

Wishing you and the family all the best for 2025. Will it be the year of a home return for you?

>180 jessibud2: Well then it was two wise men and a wise woman, Shelley!

I do hope I can get home for good in 2025.

Merry Christmas, Paul.

I hope you'll all be home together soon xx

Happy Boxing Day, Paul!

>183 quondame:, that’s an adorable penguin.

Thanks for stopping by my thread and leaving your kind holiday greeting, Paul. May your holidays be blessed!

I am not sure if you celebrate Christmas or not, Paul, but I wanted you to know that I am thinking of you this holiday season. I hope you and yours are all well and safe!

>182 DianaNL: Thank you Diana, lovely to see you.

>183 quondame: Thanks Susan. That penguin looks cold!

>184 Kristelh: Pretty much what I was thinking too, Kristel.

>185 Tess_W: Thanks Tess. They were blessed with good food yesterday for sure.

>186 Storeetllr: My pleasure, Mary, and thank you for the return visit and good wishes. xx

>187 alcottacre: I grew up loving it and will always celebrate it, Stasia - my tribe do at least as much as I do too to be fair and they didn't really grow up with it.

Happy thoughts for you Paul as the year draws towards a close. Always appreciate your posts and warmth to others.

>190 PaulCranswick: Answers my questions. Happy Feast of Stephen.

>191 RBeffa: Thank you, Ron. You too buddy.

>192 booksaplenty1949: Thank you my friend. Since you don't have a thread in the group I wasn't able to drop by and wish you a Happy Christmas / Festive Season but mark my words I was thinking it.

Happy Boxing Day, Paul. December 26 was always my favorite day of the year: all the excitements had died down; relatives and friends had gone home; just a sweet quiet day to absorb and sort out all the feelings swirling around.

I hope you can get home in 2025, Paul.

>193 PaulCranswick: Thank you. Christmas going very well so far. Family all together. I hope that will be your experience in 2025, preferably back in the land of Christmas pudding and Brussels sprouts and hats and mitts. Meanwhile the LT family you have attracted and maintained is here to send out so many good wishes. Around the globe. Very nice.

I've declared LibraryThing bankruptcy. You have started two new threads since I got overwhelmed with real life, and it looks like the current one may become too full before the end of the year. I'll never catch up if I try to read anything but the current thread. I hope i didn't miss too many great discussions, or great books.

Happy Boxing Day ;-)

>2 PaulCranswick: That does sound interesting. Adding it to The List, though not really expecting it to turn up at any local library. (My threshold for buying books is much higher than my threshold for borrowing them. My house is too full, and it feels worse currently because a lot of things had to be moved out of my housemate's room so she could use her new walker.)

>55 PaulCranswick: roflmao

>125 PaulCranswick: Accuracy from a politician? The neo-Nazi sociopath must have been shocked and appalled.

>144 PaulCranswick: I remember when $4 was a reasonable price for a paperback, and a bit later I was appalled to find myself spending $1000 per year on books.

>190 PaulCranswick: Well then, Merry Christmas a day late. Happy Boxing Day? Lol

>156 SandDune: I love that Nativity!!

>194 Matke: For me it was always the main day itself, Christmas Day - the food, the family, being forced by mum to listen to the Queen, James Bond thereafter, sherry and still earlier the joy of waking up early and seeing the room that "Santa" had prepared for us so lovingly.

>195 booksaplenty1949: I think that Jim gets far more credit than myself for propagating this wonderful group - it is very much an essential part of my life enriched as it is by the visits and friendships of the lovely people I now know here - your good self very much included.

>196 ArlieS: Lovely to see you Arlie and don't worry too much about trying to keep up, I think we all get behind from time to time and me just as much as anyone else.

I dread to think how much I have spent on books in the last decade but it must be close to $40,000.

>197 alcottacre: Happy Christmas time, Juana!

>198 hredwards: It is cute isn't it, Harold?

I'm kinda lonely over here....

https://www.librarything.com/ngroups/24622/75-Books-Challenge-for-2025

>202 drneutron: Haha thank Jim. I will be one amongst many coming over to keep you company soon!

Hi Paul, and happy newest thread.

>1 PaulCranswick: Haters are going to hate, power and resource grabs will cause wars too. It’s so sad.

>2 PaulCranswick: Bravo for your Opening words.

>4 PaulCranswick: I’ve started James for my January book club discussion and love the sly way James speaks to white people and the erudite way he speaks to his family.

I’m so impressed with all the projects you’ve worked on. Thank you for sharing the photos of them and what/where they are.

I wish all good things for you, and here’s looking forward to another year in the 75ers together.

>204 karenmarie: I love and cherish your posts, Karen.

Could we ever see an end to wars? Probably not.

The book expounds conservatism but in a reasonable way in the sense to conserve - I don't like the "traditional family values" bit being used to devalue those who would fall outside of that but there is much to value in Kruger's short book.

James is an excellent book isn't it? I too liked the way he played with the two tiers of language.

All good things for you too, Karen, always.

Wishing you a happy Christmas, Paul! Someone explained to me that Christmas lasts till January 6, so we can still say it.
And I hope for a speedy reunion with your family.

>206 EllaTim: I know that the Orthodox Christmas comes later but I didn't know that, Ella.
Thank you. I hope to visit the Netherlands next year too.

>206 EllaTim: Chiming in with an, “I know! I know!” It’s “The Twelve Days of Christmas,” lasting from 25 December through 5 January (see how I used the Brit way of specifying dates?).

Karen O

>208 klobrien2: Hahaha well done, Karen! You have learned to do it properly!!

(Just kidding).

I have had a double blow this morning.

Kyran is in hospital. He hasn't been feeling well over Christmas with a suspected Bronchial infection and was admitted this evening in Sheffield. He is sleeping presently in the cardiology ward. I am hopeful that that is because of a lack of beds but tests did show that his blood was too thick.

Secondly Jinxy the cat is ailing. She cannot stand up properly and is listing to the side in obvious discomfort. I am arranging for her to go to the vet.

>210 PaulCranswick: {{hugs}}

>210 PaulCranswick: I’m so sorry, Paul! I can imagine how you must be feeling. Praying for Kyran, for Jinxy, and for all of you.

Karen O

>211 amanda4242: Thank you Amanda. I have spoken to Kyran and he seems chipper enough - he thinks he is in the cardiology ward just for the convenience of the bed. I hope he is right.

>212 klobrien2: Thank you Karen. Not the end of year I hoped for.
Jinxy is on the way to the vet as I type. My wife's good friend has rushed to my place to save me from the added stress. I am so grateful for good friends.

This is Kyran earlier tonight:

Is Kayran in the hospital?

>215 Whisper1: Yes, Linda, he is. Not really sure what the diagnosis is but he seems to be in good spirits. Belle was with him and Hani will be there first thing in the morning. I think it is a pretty severe bronchial infection but waiting full confirmation. Kyran is a sensitive soul and like his mum he is also a hypochondriac.

Oh, Paul, I’m so sorry. What a worrying set of circumstances. Sending you some love and cheerful thoughts.

>217 Matke: Thank you, Gail.

Thinking of you.

>219 booksaplenty1949: Thank you my friend.

I hope Kyran has just been over cautious and will be feeling healthy again post haste!
I'm sorry about poor Jinxy, pet's can't say what ails them and it is so distressing.

>221 quondame: He seemed happy with the comfortable bed and people making a fuss of him. Jinxy will stay overnight for observation at the vet, Susan.

Friday lunchtime additions

318. The Book of M by Peng Shepherd
319. If Only by Vigdis Hjorth
320. Fifteen Wild Decembers by Karen Powell
321. The Wide World by Pierre Lemaitre

My Secret Santa also came up trumps when I arrived home:

322. Dickensland by Lee Jackson
323. Remarkably Bright Creatures by Shelby Van Pelt

I am a very happy guy because the timing was perfect - just when I needed a lift. Thank you to my Secret Santa.

I'm sorry to see this news, Paul, it must be hard for you being so far away but at least Kyran has his Mum close by.

>225 CDVicarage: Thanks Kerry. It is difficult waiting for news.

O Paul, I hope you'll receive better news soon. {{Hugs}}

>227 DianaNL:

The doctor has diagnosed a bad chest infection - there was blood in his cough and phlegm and that is probably due to tears in his sinus which will self repair. He is on antibiotics and will be allowed home today or tomorrow. So I can sigh a little bit with relief.

Like his Mother and one of his sisters he has been diagnosed with thalassemia minor which means he will have to take care of the iron in his blood.

Thanks Diana - you brought me good news!

That is a relief!

I know. I have struggled to concentrate today.

Sorry that Kyran is I'll but also that you now know he is going to get better. Sorry about the cat too.

Prayers for you all Paul!

>210 PaulCranswick: Ouch! sympathy from me, and hope that things have already begun to improve.

>210 PaulCranswick: Oh, I am so sorry, Paul. I hope Kyran recuperates rapidly. I know that has to be scary.

I am also sorry to hear about your cat. ((Hugs)) for you and yours!

>223 PaulCranswick: Nice haul, Juan!

>224 PaulCranswick: Glad to see that your Secret Santa came through for you just at the right time :)

My goodness, the news from Kyran must be a huge relief. Nothing worse than a sick child (no matter the age), and then being so very far away…

As promised, I am here for your 28th (WOW) and final thread of the year. I have not kept up with anyone very well this year. I’m grateful for a kind and compassionate group…and for new beginnings on the horizon.

>144 PaulCranswick: I love the way you think, Paul. I will join in from time to time on your European adventure; however, most of my books will come from the library so my travels will be free. ;-)

I’m sorry you spent Christmas alone this year, Paul, and hope that 2025 is your family reunion year. Also, very sorry that Kyran is in the hospital. Here’s to quick healing and no long-term damage to your handsome son. I know it’s hard to not be there with him. Hugs all around!

>231 Kristelh: Kyran can go home shortly, I think, Kristel. Now is Jinxy's turn to get well. No news of her yet.

>232 hredwards: Thank you, dear Harold.

>233 ArlieS: I am much more relaxed than I was this time yesterday, although it has thrown my sleep pattern to pieces, Arlie. xx

>234 alcottacre: Isn't it a wonderful group, Stasia - just seems to know when we are in most need! I still don't know who is my magical Secret Santa.

>235 Matke: Yes, Gail, especially when we feel so helpless to make any difference whatsoever.

>236 Donna828: Well I must say, Donna, that free travels are certainly the best travels! Thanks for the lovely words but I won't tell the boy your description of his looks as he is already more than vain enough!

Found only one cat picture in your gallery, and that dated back to 2012. A beautiful tabby, but not sure if it is Jinxy. In any event, hope Jinxy’s vet can update you soon.

Just saw the news about your son. I hope he has a quick and complete recovery, and you can stop worrying. Hope your cat is okay too.

>240 booksaplenty1949: Let me see if I can find any pictures of her. The cats avoid me like the plague for some reason!

>241 Storeetllr: Thank you, Mary. Kyran seems to be on the mend but I am still a little in the dark about Jinxy.

>242 PaulCranswick: You have more than one?

>243 booksaplenty1949: We have two and until a few years ago, three. Bambi, sibling to Jinxy, fell from the fifth floor of our previous Condo and has been something of an invalid since then, albeit a happy one. The vet had advised us to put him to sleep in the aftermath of his accident but I couldn't do that especially looking at my youngest daughter's saucer eyes. Erni takes constant care of him and loves the cats to distraction.

>244 PaulCranswick: I have a Siberian Forest Cat, able to leap tall bookshelves at a single bound.

>245 booksaplenty1949: Gosh that would make me a nervous wreck probably!

I'm glad Kyran will soon be out of the hospital and will be be well soon, Paul. I'm sorry to hear of Jinxy, and hope she too be will be home soon. I am glad you at least have your maid Erni to keep you company, and make good coffee and meals. I'm glad you had the lift of some new books as well.

>247 vancouverdeb: Thank you, Deb. I am now off until 2 January which will give me a good chance to charge my batteries.

Have a good holiday with good reading. Sorry to hear about Kyran and hope that he is better now.

Thank you Cyrel. He is still coughing apparently but is feeling better.

Glad to hear Kyran is doing better!

I hope Jinxy feels better soon as well.

>251 figsfromthistle: Thank you, Anita. Apparently I can bring Jinxy home at 4 pm.

>251 figsfromthistle:, You can bring him home but is there a diagnosis or just on to another of his 9 lives?

I'm stopping by to see if there is news regarding Jinxy and Kyran.

Glad Jinxy can come home, and hope that Kyran can do the same, but know it is bet to stay in the hospital until fully recovered.

Thnking of you!

>253 Kristelh: My sister in law has been following up on this Kristel so I am not sure if she has made a full recovery or not.

>254 Whisper1: Blessedly Kyran is home already, Linda. Still coughing but much improved.