PGMCC explores the Biblioverse in 2024: First instalment

Books completed in 2024

Title; Author; Status; Start/end date; Number of pages

Hogfather by Terry Pratchett Reading 19/12/2023 - 15/01/2024 445 Pages
If on a Winter's Night a Traveller by Italo Calvino 05/01/2024 - 27/01/2024 272 Pages
Relight my Fire by C. K. McDonnell 27/1/2024 - 01/02/2024 518 Pages

it's probably too early, but I can't help myself!!!

>2 Bookmarque: Not early at all. It was 14 minutes past midnight when I started this thread. Happy New Year!

I love the picture.

Oh so glad. I made everyone something different this year and this was yours.

>4 Bookmarque: I saw your post on MrsLee's thread. Great book titles.

Happy New Year and happy new thread!

Happy new year to you Mrs Pete and the clan, and happy new thread!

So we've made through to 2024! Enjoy the ride of the coming months, wherever that journey may take you this year. Happy new thread!

Happy Reading in 2024!

My daughter just posted a comment referring to boxed wine as “cardbordeux”.

>1 pgmcc: Happy New Year& Thread!

>2 Bookmarque: That's lovely!

>10 pgmcc: "Chateau Cardboard" here. Or "goon" for the really rubbish stuff.

Happy reading in 2024!

Thank you all for the good wishes for the New Year and New Thread. Many happy rereads returns of the season and threads.

Statistics for 2023 reading

Books started 49

Books abandoned 1

Books started & to be finished 6

Books finished in 2023 42
Fiction 39
Non-Fiction 3

For finished books
Number of authors read 27
Female 12
Male 15

Number of authors new to me: 14
Female 7
Male 7

Authors read before 13
Female 5
Male 8


Number of books by author gender:
Female 15
Male 27

I read books that attract my attention and interest regardless of the author's gender or gender preference. The above statistics show the result of this approach.

E.T.A.: NUMBER OF PAGES READ IN 2023: 15,805

2023 reading by author nationality.

Number of books by author's nationality:
ENGLISH; SCOTTISH; NORTHERN IRISH 14
US 13
IRISH 6
AMERICAN-IRISH 1
FRENCH 2
JAPANESE 2
MEXICAN 1
NEW ZEALAND 1
NORWEGIAN 1
UKRANIAN 1

Happy New Year to you! I hope 2024 brings you great books and many enjoyable missions to places with wine and cheese!

>10 pgmcc: bwahaha!

>16 pgmcc: A worldly reader! I didn't look at the fine tuning of the nationalities of the books read this year, but it amounted to mostly UK and USA, with 3 or 4 Irish thrown in for good measure. I know you are responsible for at least one of those Irish folks. Nope, 2, because I'm pretty sure the other would be Caimh McDonnell, and although I don't remember who first praised him to me, I know that your word carried a lot of weight.

>19 MrsLee:
Between his Caimh McDonnell and C.K. McDonnell personae I read six of this books in 2023. His work is quite addictive.

I enjoyed looking at your statistics. I see we share the same views when picking books, i.e. we ignore the gender of the author.

>18 fuzzi: I am glad you enjoyed my daughter's term for boxed wine.

I was recently diagnosed with Type 2 Diabetes. The medical experts gave me links to on-line books for diet and other things I have to get used to and change. Amidst all the new material coming along, which I interpreted as meaning as long as I do not eat or drink anything I like I should be fine, two friends recommended The Hairy Biker's recipe book, Eat to Beat Type 2 Diabetes. Tonight I tried my first dish from the book, Turkey Chilli. It was delicious. I was amazed how a squeeze of lime added a whole new dimension to the taste.

Will I be eating more recipes from this book?
Most definitely.

Would I recommend this book?
Most definitely.

To whom would I recommend it?
Any one who likes tasty, easy to prepare meals, regardless of having Type 2 Diabetes or not.

Did this book inspire me to do anything?
Yes. Make the dishes.

The Hairy Bikers have added colour to my diet.

>21 pgmcc: That's a bit of an embuggerance, Peter! I hope your acquaintance with Guinness won't suffer too much. But it seems there are compensations. And we know about the Hairy Bikers, having watched quite a few of their shows. Good stuff.

>22 haydninvienna: There are certain protocols for drinking alcohol; they range from "don't" to "no more than 17 units a week". Also, if drinking alcohol, do it with a meal.

A friend who has also had a recent diagnosis informed me that his goto drink now is Guinness 0.0. I must investigate this abomination, i.e. alcohol free beer.

>21 pgmcc: That is the way to go about a diagnosis like that! Meet it head on and throw a cookbook in its face. I know you will find that you will soon have many new favorite foods, and some of your old favorites will taste new again with some moderations.

>20 pgmcc: I too was amused when I saw your comments on your stats, since I had just typed them myself and I knew you hadn't seen mine yet. Great minds!

>21 pgmcc: Oh my... my condolences. Well, I'm pretty sure you can still eat all the cheese you want! Most of the sugars are already digested by bacteria during the fermentation process. You might have to switch to gin. Also, no carbs. I make what I call a light martini, which is a lot of ice, seltzer, an olive and just a splash of gin.

That cookbook looks great!

A great and wonderful year to you! Happy new reading thread.

>23 pgmcc: I have had to become accustomed to that abomination, since I'm now invariably the designated driver. It's ... not wonderful. The local "James Squire" brand has some fine real-beer brews, but they also make something called "Squire Zero" which is now my drink on a night out. Not quite ugh, and better than Claytons tonic and soda, but not wonderful.

>21 pgmcc: I know you will adapt with your usual resiliency. Turkey chili used to be my go-to lunch at the cafeteria at work, they actually did a decent job with it.

>21 pgmcc: I'm sorry to hear of your diagnosis. I hope that you discover many delicious new dishes that you can eat.

>24 MrsLee:
You are correct in everything you say about my diagnosis and how I should treat it. It is merely an inconvenience compared to the problems some people have. Your comment about finding new favourite foods and old favourites tasting new again with some moderations, is very pertinent. Many of the dishes I would have cooked previously would be no-nos under my new recommended regime. Some of the recipes I can modify and convert to be friendly to my new diet parameters. Thanks to the likes of The Hairy Bikers I will try new dishes and pick up new ideas. This has become an opportunity rather than something to be annoyed about. I hesitate to quote Mary Poppins and the use of a spoonful-of-sugar to help the medicine go down as said spoonful-of-sugar is an absolute no-no now.

As you say, "Great minds". It is not the first time when we have had very similar, if not exactly the same, views about issues or concepts.

>25 clamairy: You might have to switch to gin.
Funny you should say that. I had a spare lime sitting around after making and eating the turkey chilli; the chilli tastes great with a squeeze of lime juice over it. I was amazed at how much the lime juice affected the flavour.

Any way, that spare lime had me thinking and so I had a couple of G&Ts yesterday evening, just to use up the lime of course. It would be a shame to let the lime go off and have to be thrown out.

I am well pleased with the cookbook. There will be many of their recipes that I will be trying. Two friends recommended the book when they heard of my diagnosis and I am very grateful to them. Have you ever seen andy of The Hair Biker TV shows? They are quite entertaining and some of their food looks great.

By the way, I have to be very picky about which cheeses I eat. So far I have avoided checking up on the status of my favourite cheeses lest I learn they are on the naughty list.

Carbs are an interesting point. The recommendation is that I reduce my intake of carbs but that I include some in every meal. The diabetes medical people are saying cutting carbs out completely can help you lose weight very quickly but it can cause other problems.

>26 Meredy:
Thank you very much. If my reading in 2024 is as good as my reading in 2023 I will be well pleased.

>27 haydninvienna:
I have always felt the concept of alcohol free beer was a bit of a waste of effort. The concept leaves me thinking, "Why bother?" However, the alternative is sparkling water or rock shandies (a bottle of fizzy orange and a bottle of fizzy lemon mixed together in a pint glass with lots of ice), and these are either boring or absolute sugary no-nos respectively.

>28 Karlstar:
I am trying to adapt as you suggest. Not wanting to boast, but I think I made a decent job of it too. :-) I certainly enjoyed eating it, as did my wife and youngest offspring.

>29 Sakerfalcon:
I am very positive about things. All my monitored parameters are going the right direction and I have the support of what I consider to be a brilliant GP.

Many of my new dishes are likely to be vegetarian or even vegan, not through any conviction to that that route, but because such dishes fit more readily into the dietary parameters I am supposed to work within.

Reading news:

As I have mentioned elsewhere, I am working my way slowly through Hogfather. I am enjoying the characters and the clever and astute observations.

Earlier today I had a few moment so spare but did not have Hogfather to hand. I started thinking about what I might read next and with that thought in mind I picked up my Kindle and went to the library page. Scrolling through the books available I happened to see If on a Winter's Night a Traveller by Italo Calvino and thought I should really read it soon, and so I started to read the first page. I am hooked. I am now reading Hogfather to get it finished so that I can get on with If on a Winter's Night a Traveller. The meta novel style and the breaking of fourth-wall grabbed me and made me smile. Calvino's teasing the reader, leading the reader, foreshadowing the reader's thoughts and perceptions, fascinates me. I am looking forward to spending more time with this book.

>36 pgmcc: I have heard of this one before, but I will await your verdict before deciding whether or not to add it to my teetering virtual stacks.

I had not heard of the Hairy Bikers before, but I am always trying to cut out the unhealthy carbs.

>34 pgmcc: Between memories of my old lunches and your making it, I'm considering trying to make turkey chili. However, we also really enjoy 'white' chicken chili with white beans, so maybe we'll just go that route soon.

>38 Karlstar:
White chicken would be just as good. My diet suggests I avoid red meat, so poultry and fish are regarded as good. Whatever I eat, is should be lean. If I have chicken or turkey I should avoid eating the skin. I think this is the medical people acknowledging how great I am and they are insisting I should only be served the best of the best.

It is nice being a legend in my own mind.

>37 clamairy:
I first came across this book around the time it was first published in 1979. It had quite a bit of publicity and was being spoken of as a great book. I remember looking at it in a bookshop at the time. My memory does not allow me to know if I bought it at the time or if I left it on the shelf. Anyway, I believe I have a physical copy somewhere that has never been read. I think it was last year that I picked up the Kindle edition so that I could get to it without a major search.

As a thought on beverages (this is a challenge for me because I don't drink soda pops or anything with sugar in them, but water and tea become a drag on the stomach); I have enjoyed some of the flavored vinegars, maybe a tablespoon, with carbonated water. It is enough to change the flavor. Of course lemon and lime are good, too. Various herbs can make a nice change of flavor as well.

>36 pgmcc: On this, we part ways. Almost everything you mention that you enjoy about this book, I found highly annoying. LOL. I'm just old and cranky though.

>31 pgmcc: Come to think of it, I have gin and limes .... Must pick up some decent tonic water next time I'm at the supermarket. But why gin specifically? I thought any spirit would have done as well. Liqueurs are a different matter, of course. Limes do go off fairly quickly if you don't use them.

I had a colleague once who had Type 2 and he used to get through enormous amounts of pasta, allegedly on his doctor's advice, but that was 30 years ago and I imagine medical times have changed.

The Hairy Bikers can be very amusing and some of their food does look good.

>36 pgmcc: I have a copy (in a box, of course) and have actually read it, but only once. Invisible Cities is much more to my taste. >41 MrsLee: I'm a bit old and cranky too, but that sort of thing doesn't annoy me. OTOH, the hyping of it by the chattering classes does annoy me.

>35 pgmcc: I have a coworker who went vegan a few years ago due to health issues. He gets his recipes from The NY Times. I’ve learned a lot about healthier ways of eating from him the last few years. I hope you have many culinary adventures.

I have just realised something shocking. I have not bought a book all year.

>45 pgmcc: Oh, no! This is really shocking. Are you going to do something about it? :)

If it makes you feel any better, Better Half's brother was diagnosed with (type 1) diabetes when he was about 7; the doctors
assured his parents that he would not make his 50th birthday. Last year he celebrated his 80th. So it seems you have a long, enjoyable and productive life ahead of you.

>46 Alexandra_book_life:
I am currently standing in Chapters Bookshop and have so far picked two books. Fear not, I am addressing this terrible scenario.

>47 hfglen:
Thank you, Hugh.

>48 pgmcc: Good to know. I am relieved!

>50 Alexandra_book_life:
I ended up buying three books, so disaster averted at least until tomorrow.

>51 pgmcc: Now you can sit in your nicely warmed* home and enjoy them.

*Glad you got your heating fixed for the cold snap!

>52 clamairy:
Today is the coldest day so far this year, so it is definitely beneficial to have the heating working.

Details of purchased books and reasoning for their acquisition to be reported shortly.

So glad you averted disaster! That was a close one!

>45 pgmcc: My dear man, how could you have fallen into such ways? No books purchased in 2024! And I'm not sure that the fact you picked up only three today gets you off the hook. How hard did you look for a fourth?

Life has its challenges (diabetes, book-buying binges or the lack thereof, etc.). But you cannot give into them.

Saturday, 6th January, 2024: Acquisitions Report

Full disclosure: My daughter gave me a book token for Chapters Bookshop as a Christmas present. These books were acquired using that book token, hence their acquisition was totally guilt free.



Barnaby Rudge is a Dickens novel that I have not yet read and that I did not possess a copy of before today. On entering Chapters Bookshop I was confronted with a table of "Classics" and, as usual, I had a quick look over them. I picked up Barnaby Rudge and read the blurb on the back. It is a political novel about the "No Popery" riots in 1780's London. The book is about the type of politicians or other troublemakers who stir up trouble and feed populist bigotry and prejudice to bolster their own image and power. Who could resist such a book?



I have enjoyed several Philip Kerr books and was happy to pick up another book by this author.



I became aware of Maurice Leblanc's "Lupin" during the summer when in France. My wife and a friend found a patisserie they liked and I was brought along. It was only when I was at the till paying for our coffee and croissants that I noticed a book propped up beside the till. The book was one of Leblanc's Arsène Lupin novels. Looking at the front of the establishment I discovered it was named after Lupin. After having coffee we visited a bookshop across the road. I discovered a whole shelf of Lupin books. My curiosity prompted Google searches to learn about Lupin. I read enough to know my wife might like to read some of his stories, and I would probably not be averse to reading them either. On that basis I bought my wife a book of Lupin stories for Christmas.

In addition, someone here, I am not sure if it was MrsLee or not, told me they had been watching a Netflix series called "Lupin". I am watching that series now and enjoying it. It is about a modern day gentleman thief who is a great fan of Arsène Lupin.

With that much Lupin about it was only natural that I should pick up a copy of another book by Leblanc featuring Lupin.

Now you have the backstory to my purchases this morning.

>21 pgmcc: Your dietary requirements sound a lot like those that I have with my low-oxalate diet (to prevent further kidney issues). When someone asks me what I can't have, I tell them anything I like. Among the main no-nos are nuts, chocolate, sweet potatoes, and spinach. But somehow I go on living. Your attitude about all this sounds very, um, healthy.

>56 pgmcc: Not guilty on the Lupin recommendation. I don't have Netflix, but it sounds like something I would like!

>56 pgmcc: A very nice selection of books! I read some Arsène Lupin stories with my book club in 2022. They were enjoyable.

>56 pgmcc: I mentioned the Lupin series after you posted about picking up the Lupin collection last year. Glad you're enjoying it.

>60 AHS-Wolfy:
Yes, I got it ostensibly for my wife. I am that person who buys books that I want to read as gifts for other people. As it happens my wife might be interested in the stories too. :-)

Thanks for the pointer to the Netflix series. I have just come to the end of season two which is the end of the first storry. The point where the bad billionaire was arrested at the concert.

I'm glad to see that you have started your book acquisitions for the year. Better late than never!

>36 pgmcc: I am one of those who loved If on a winter's night a traveller, although like haydninvienna I slightly prefer Invisible cities.

Calvino was my favorite author in high school and college. I have less patience for his meta writing style now, but I still count him as one of my favorites. Happy reading in 2024!

My head is hung in shame. I visited two bookshops today and am now heading home with no new books in my possession. All the books that attracted my attention are books I have but have not read yet.

>62 Sakerfalcon:
I have Invisible Cities awaiting attention. I want to read If on a Winter’s Night a Traveller first.

>63 libraryperilous:
Thank you. Happy 2024 reading to you to.

>64 pgmcc: This used to happen to me ALL OF THE TIME! Actually, it still does. Only now I don't own physical copies, I own the ebooks of the titles I find myself oggling in the bookstore.

>65 pgmcc: That is a good plan.

>64 pgmcc: that happens to me, too. Especially with a couple of the smaller bookstores in town. It’s hard because one leaves without a book. It’s nice because it does give a feeling of accomplishment and job well done. :)

>64 pgmcc: Sometimes finding new books is difficult when you own all the books! :)

My ninth book of my "book a month for a year" retirement gift arrived today:

Baumgartner



Auster is an author whose work I have had the intention to read, so now I have one of his books I might actually read him. (I actually have a copy of his New York trilogy sitting on my shelf for quite some time.)

>69 catzteach:, >70 Karlstar: This is true! I feel bad leaving an independent bookshop without buying anything because I want to support them - but I do need to stay solvent myself too!

>72 Sakerfalcon: It's all about balancing. And accurately working out what your mood is in selecting your next read. It's no use buying a Raymond Chandler novel if you're really more in the mood for Victoria Goddard.

>72 Sakerfalcon: Me too, I feel like I have to find something when I go into one.

>73 jillmwo: This is true. However, I do buy books that I know I will want to read in future even if not at that particular moment. Which is why my flat is full of piles of unread books ...

The annual Young Scientist Competition has been running in Ireland for 60 years. Many of the Irish winners have gone on to win the European Young Scientist Competition and some have become rich by commercialising their ideas.

Tonight the winner of this year's competition was announced. His project is aimed at identifying where an AI has used an author's work to produce its output. This is coming at a great time as authors are finding their works being pirated by AIs.



https://www.rte.ie/news/2024/0112/1426246-young-scientist-winner/?fbclid=IwAR3Dk...

>76 pgmcc: That's a great project.

>36 pgmcc: >41 MrsLee: Any idea why it has to have such an annoying title?

>78 Meredy: Maybe I'm not the one to ask, that was the least annoying part of the book for me.

>78 Meredy:
The original title in italian is "Se una notte d'inverno un viaggiatore", which Google Translate translates as "If a Traveller on a Winter's Night", which does not help you very much. I can say the book starts by discussing a passenger experience in a train station, so the traveller part is clear.

I have only read the first few pages, so I cannot give you a very informed opinion. All I know is that I enjoyed the first few pages and am looking forward to getting to it soon.

Relight My Fire is the fourth book in C. K. McDonnell's Stranger Times series. It is being released here on 25th January.

C. K. McDonnell also writes under Caimh McDonnell. He uses C. K. McDonnell for The Stranger Times series because he was getting fed up explaining to non-Irish people how to pronounce Caimh.

>76 pgmcc: This is going to be vital, sadly. Good for him!

>82 clamairy:
Cweeev

Hard C, like Qweeev.

>83 pgmcc: Ooo! Ooo! I knew that answer! But only because he explained it in one of the first emails he sent when I signed up.

>84 MrsLee:
I see your enthusiasm to answer questions. I think we might call you Hermione from here on.

>83 pgmcc: Thanks for letting us know how to say his name. I really make an effort to say people’s names correctly. It’s the polite thing to do. And Irish pronunciations fascinate me.

And I really need to get the Stranger Times books!

>85 pgmcc: I LOVE answering questions. Especially if I know the answer. :) I never understood in the classroom why no one wanted to raise their hands to answer a question even for the simplest of answers. Why prolong a painful class with painful silence when it is clear that most know the answer? Of course their reluctance intimidated me into silence as well, as no one wants to be the one to answer all the questions. Stupid kids.

I'm the same in work meetings. When a question is asked, and everyone seems reluctant to answer, I pop it out there because why would anyone want a meeting to drag on unnecessarily? This has not always made me popular. Happily, at my age now, I don't give a sh*t. :P I also don't attend classes or meetings anymore.

I do blame part of the above silence dilemma on the teachers/meeting leaders. Why ask questions everyone knows the answer to?

>87 MrsLee:
I enjoyed the last few years at work. All senior managers were sent on (I say "sent on" figuratively as everything was on-line due to COVID) leadership courses. One course was two full days a month for six months. The first two day session was introducing the programme, getting to know you sessions, and general presentations on the purpose and nature of leadership. I upset the course lead instructor by summarising everything he said over the two day session as, "So, if I understand everything you have said, leadership is the art of manipulating people and making them feel good about the experience."

I like to stir it a bit.

>88 pgmcc: LOL Yes!

>88 pgmcc: That reminds me of Quentin Crisp’s definition of manners: how to get what you want without being an absolute swine.

>88 pgmcc: I used to love to do that sort of thing too. Isn't it fun?

>91 Jim53: I love the look of panic on their faces and then their scrambling to make arguments that counter your statement. By that time they have lost it and the crowd is with you.

Hogfather by Terry Pratchett is my first book completed in 2024. I started reading it on 19th December 2023. While I enjoyed the book it did not call to me to be picked up and read constantly. The book is enjoyable, and Pratchett has included many little social observations that have meaning in real life, but I did not find myself making excuses to pick it up and read it. I even found myself falling asleep while reading it.

My lethargy could be a result of various things that have happened over the past three months just sapping my reading energy. Here's hoping I can get more enthusiastic about my next book.

I have finished the first chapter of If on a Winter’s Night a Traveller. I am hooked.

I can understand how this book can annoy people, but I love the novel (see what I did there?) approach.

>93 pgmcc: I understand completely. Pratchett's style of humor is weird (interesting) that way. There are times when I find it hilarious, and times when I can only take it in small doses.

>95 clamairy:
I like his sense of humour and I burst out laughing several times, but I kept dozing off and not feeling compelled to pick the book up. His sociological observations were great, e.g. his analysis of King Wenceslas's self-serving charity on one day of the year only.

Perhaps I have just become a grumpy old man. :-)

If on a Winter's Night a Traveller is appealing to my sense of the weird and disturbed. The author is in constant contact with the reader, is telling the reader what images and thoughts they are having about the book, and then informing the reader that their assumptions about the characters are based on the most limited amount of information and that there are many interpretations that could be put on the information revealed so far. I find it to be an analysis of the readers reading habits and demonstrates how a reader builds an understanding of the story and how flawed that understanding may be. All the time, in chapter one anyway, he is telling an actual story.

Chapter two throws a real spanner in the works.

An article about how people arrange their books.

https://www.theguardian.com/lifeandstyle/2024/jan/17/shelf-absorbed-nine-ways-to...

An anti-Marie Kondo article:

https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2023/jul/28/book-hoarding-storage-book...

>97 pgmcc: what a maroon.

Books don't need to be reread?

Author sounds like he's shelf-obsessed.

And he left out number 5, duh.

>99 fuzzi: I'm with you there.

>97 pgmcc: >99 fuzzi: I was wondering, was that article meant to be humorous?

>97 pgmcc: We should write our own article. I could devote a paragraph or two just on the books piled under the living room furniture.

>97 pgmcc: & >98 pgmcc:
When both articles are read, one can see the first one is clearly tongue in cheek, poking fun at himself and others who plant themselves in front of their books for Zoom meetings. In the second article he clearly mentions rereading and dipping in and out of his extensive book collection. He sure knew how to rile up readers though, didn't he? :D

Well, if the first article above was not written tongue-in-cheek I certainly hope this one was:

https://www.homesandgardens.com/interior-design/what-to-know-about-the-bookshelf...

A key paragraph for me:
By holding on to the books and objects that mean the most to you, your bookshelf styling will transform alongside you. And the inherent clutter and imperfections that come with the passage of time will appear too, bringing hard-won character.

Of the styling gurus quoted only one mentions the idea that the books may actually be used and that someone may actually want to find a specific book.

It these styling gurus are for real I would suggest they are not frequent readers. It all strikes me as stylists looking for a way to manufacture a concept from nothing.

"Bookshelf Wealth" is a concept I will cherish as I trip on piles of books as I reach over them to get a book in one of the overflowing bookshelves behind the artistically stacked, floor mounted tomes in my collection.

These articles on "Bookshelf Wealth" have triggered my thinking. The result of these thoughts is presented below.

The concept of “Bookshelf Wealth” has me thinking about its various aspects. If there is Bookshelf Wealth does this imply, or necessitate, or even bring into existence, the concept of Bookshelf Poverty?

Looking at my bookshelves, my boxes, and my piles of books on the floor, I can certainly see a whole range of wealth states. I have the wealthy tomes, nicely placed on shelves side-by-side with equally wealthy tomes in their nice bindings and artistic symmetry.

There are, of course, shelves that would be considered the “lower end of the parish”, overcrowding, books squeezed in here and there, and some waifs straggling around the edges.

And, naturally enough we have the middle class books grouped roughly by genre and even showing some attempt at alphabetisation by author, organisation by publisher, or arrangement by colour of cover.

Of course, there are the emergency housed books occupying boxes placed as out of the way and out of sight as possible.

Then we have the homeless volumes who reside on the floor, often living on top of one another in an attempt to survive in this bookshelf shortage world.

I think if these bookshelf wealth design gurus were to create a design suitable for my library, they would need to provide me with a house at least three times the size of my current abode to accommodate the necessary shelf space. They would also have to install an extending annex to accommodate new acquisitions as they arrive. Only in this way can they bring all my books to a similar level of wealth vis-à-vis their shelf accommodation, improve the books' shelf-respect and sense of shelf-worth. As Sean Connery would have said, "I blame my shelf."

>101 Karlstar: Tim Dowling is a regular columnist for the Guardian and his tone is generally humorous and self-deprecating, so I think you are right.

>103 MrsLee: Yep, I agree!

>102 2wonderY: bwahaha!

>103 MrsLee: I dislike people who enjoy "yanking chains". Whatajerk (the author, not you).

>98 pgmcc: I like this particular closing quote: But what if I miss them when they’re gone, when I have that sense, like a nagging itch, of absolutely needing to reread that passage from a novel or that weird 1950s anthropology tome...

I mean, I pulled a novel off the shelf last night that I know for a fact has been sitting unread there for at least 10 (possibly 20) years.

I also agree with the observation in >105 pgmcc:. I think if these bookshelf wealth design gurus were to create a design suitable for my library, they would need to provide me with a house at least three times the size of my current abode to accommodate the necessary shelf space. They would also have to install an extending annex to accommodate new acquisitions as they arrive. . One more aspect to consider -- Invariably those design gurus include in their photos chairs that look comfy and substantial but which (after a few years of hard reading time) can be surprisingly difficult to emerge from. Just sayin'

>102 2wonderY: I think we are doing that right here, we just need more readers!

>105 pgmcc: I refer to this as the 'library wing'. I won't ever have one, but it is fun to think about.

>103 MrsLee: >106 Sakerfalcon: Thank you, I sometimes need a 2nd opinion before I get it.

>108 jillmwo: I need an eye-level book support on my chair, as looking down at a book has been aggravating my neck recently. I wonder, do they make those?

That's another reason I have been rehoming my hardcovers, they're getting difficult to read. :(

>110 fuzzi: A friend recommends this book stand that sets up next to her chair and swivels. They make a few different styles too. Shikha Book Stand

A nephew has just surfaced an old image from the 1970s.



Talk about cool dudes.

This is terrific! Who are these fabulous fellows?

>112 pgmcc: fat ties...early 70s?

My yearbook is full of guys wearing polyester leisure suits! 🫣

>111 Darth-Heather: thanks, I'll check it out!

>105 pgmcc: I believe that for your books the concept has already been described and designed, it is called "L Space." What you need is for someone to create it in our dimension.

Just one more thing. Recently in one the "house improvement" groups I follow, there was a post asking how to "design" her bookshelves so they had an eclectic collection of gewgaws, art, books, and empty space.

I was pleased with the amount of responders who said things like: " I don't understand the question." "What is empty space?" "Push all the books you think you won't need for awhile to the back, put more books in front. You will be surprised how fast you lose gewgaw/art space to books."

>115 MrsLee:
Lol

>116 MrsLee: "Push all the books you think you won't need for awhile to the back, put more books in front. You will be surprised how fast you lose gewgaw/art space to books."

This process has taken place and been completed in my house!

>116 MrsLee: Hahaha!

Today I booked a room for my son and myself for the Glasgow Worldcon taking place in August.

>120 pgmcc: Very Nice!

>120 pgmcc: You'll have a fabulous time!

>121 clamairy: & >122 jillmwo:
I think it will be nice to explore Glasgow. My son may be more interested in the Worldcon events over the five days of Worldcon, but I am seeing the stay as an opportunity to do some exploring. My wife will join me for a few days in Scotland at the end of the convention when my son has returned home. It will be fun.

>120 pgmcc: Congrats! Sounds like everyone will have the chance to do what they want.

>120 pgmcc: Congratulations! It sounds like a wonderful plan.

>123 pgmcc: Glasgow is a great city. The Kelvingrove museum is wonderful, a must-see.

>126 Sakerfalcon:
Thank you, Claire. I have been looking for places to visit. Your suggestion is much appreciated. So far my list includes Glasgow Cathedral, The Necropolis, The People’s Palace, and Waterstones. I will now add the museum. There also a great 48 ticket for the Glasgow hop-on-hop-off bus tour.

My niece was married in the cathedral and I want my son to see the little basement chapel dedicated to Archbishop Blackadder. :-) I found it when there for the wedding.

Oh yes, I visited St Mungo's and the Necropolis too! And there is an Oxfam bookshop near the GoMA (also good to visit, and close to Charles Rennie Mackintosh's first building, The Lighthouse). You will have no shortage of things to do!

>127 pgmcc: The palaeobotany textbook we had in 3rd-year had as frontispiece a picture of a group of (fossil, Carboniferous) Stigmaria rootstocks that are preserved in situ, right way up, in the Fossil Grove, Victoria Park, Glasgow. I saw them almost 30 years ago, and found them even more impressive in real "life" than in the frontispiece. Unless they've cleaned the place up though, the lighting is awful. I would have loved to see Rennie Mackintosh's Willow Tea Room, but couldn't manage that.

>127 pgmcc: I want to hear more about Archbishop Blackadder. Is there any kind of a backstory? Or was he just your ordinary run-of-the-mill kind of guy?

>123 pgmcc: Looking forward to seeing photos of your trip. It sounds like a wonderful plan is coming together.

>129 hfglen:
That sounds interesting. I will look into finding the fossils. If I find them and manage to take a picture I will post it here.

>130 jillmwo:
I have not done any delving into his history, but I wiil.

>131 MrsLee:
I plan to take many pictures and you can be confident I will post images here.

>130 jillmwo:
By the way, T. J. and her husband are going too.

The House on the Strand is a new addition to my library. I bought it today in Hodges Figgis. It is a Book Bullet from Sakerfalcon. I have also ordered The Parasites from Hodges Figgis. It is also a Book Bullet from Sakerfalcon. Sakerfalcon is certainly chalking up the old BB hits.

>135 pgmcc: I am not surprised that they'll be there. (I'd be truly surprised if they had not registered to attend!)

>136 pgmcc: I hope you enjoy it. I read this one, back in my 30s. I believe I bought it at a used books sale because I had loved Rebecca and My Cousin Rachel so much. I didn't enjoy it as much as those two, because it didn't turn out to be what I expected. And I don't think I picked up another one of hers until I read The Scapegoat which I absolutely loved. I was able to get passed some issues I found incredible in that book, but I believe I couldn't get past them in The House on the Strand for some reason.

>138 clamairy:
Rebecca and My Cousin Rachel are her best in my opinion, so it is not surprising that her other books do not reach their standard.

I too loved The Scapegoat.

>139 pgmcc: The rating statistics on here have The Scapegoat only slightly ahead of The House on the Strand. So I suspect it was my state of mind and not the book itself. I do hope you enjoy it.

>140 clamairy:
There were a few things in The Scapegoat that you had to take with a grain of salt but ignore for the sake of the story.

>141 pgmcc: Yes, and I decided to just go with it. Sometimes that is much easier to do than others.

>136 pgmcc: I hope you enjoy it as much as I did! It's quite different to her greatest books, but has the same strong sense of place (Cornwall again) and psychological insight.

>138 clamairy: One thing that I did find credible in House on the Strand was that while Richard is under the influence of the drug, he doesn't physically transport into the past; instead he stumbles around aimlessly in the present, oblivious to everything around him. As I'm sure you remember, that causes one of the big plot twists in the book!

>143 Sakerfalcon: I honestly don't remember. I just remember that there was time travel, and that I was disappointed in it.LOL

Today's acquisitions:



C. K. McDonnell requires little if any introduction to people here. Also, I do not believe I need explain why I obtained this book. Today is the book's release date.



Anyone reading my posts about my current read, If on a Winter's Night a Traveller, will know that I am loving it. When I discussed IONAWNAT with friends on Tuesday night (over a pint of non-alcoholic Guinness*) one of them recommended these two books. He also recommended Into the War by Calvino, but Chapters Bookshop did not have it when I enquired.

>145 pgmcc: I should have that on my Kindle today also (the C.K. McDonnell). Now if I could only remember where my Kindle is.

I just had a look at The Guardian's 1,000 Everyone Must Read and a quick count indicates I have read 200 of them. Only another 800 to go.

>146 MrsLee:
I have a new pair of trousers. They were described as "work trousers" on the website I bought them from but I am using them as everyday trousers. Tuesday was the first day I wore them and I quickly discovered they are well equipped with pockets. At the front on either side there is a normal pocket that one would use. Also on each side there is another pocket that is like a flap over the normal pocket. My wife wondered what this could be used for and suggested I put my kindle in the one on the right. It fits snuggly and is not in the way. Now I have my kindle with me wherever I wear these trousers.

To complete the picture, further down the legs there is another pocket which has a velcro-secured flap over it. Each of these pockets has another small velcro-secured pocket for small items. There are also back pockets on either side. The material is very strong and waterproof, though not plastic like.

I am well pleased with these trousers. Also, being a curmudgeon I do not worry if anyone thinks it weird that I am wearing trousers that would look more appropriate on a tradesman, a truck driver, or a warehouse operative.

I hope you find your kindle quick and get to enjoy Relight my Fire.

>147 pgmcc: I have only read 33 of the books listed. Most I had never heard of.

>148 pgmcc: those trousers sound very handy! I love pockets! And to always have your Kindle. Perfection. :)

>148 pgmcc:. Also, being a curmudgeon. Really? Who knew? I think you're short-changing yourself. As a general rule of thumb, all of the Irish are charming.

(And as a postscript, why is it that no one understands the annoyance women feel when they can't get equally functional pants with pockets!!!)

>147 pgmcc: Oddly enough, considering your post number, I counted 147 of that list as read. I have a few of the unread ones on my shelves to try at some point, but I didn't see many that I would go out and buy that I haven't read. About the last four pages were total blanks for me. Hadn't read them, hadn't heard of most of them.

>150 jillmwo:
why is it that no one understands the annoyance women feel when they can't get equally functional pants with pockets!!!

Who says we do not understand? We understand alright; we just do not care. :-)

What did you say about being charming? :-)

Here are the trousers.


Here is the link: https://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/B07D5TT79C/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_asin_title_o06_s0...

>151 MrsLee:
I do not know how the books were sorted, but I have read 75 from the first page, 46 on the second, 26 on the third, 16 on the fourth, 19 on the fifth, 8 on the sixth, 6 on the seventh, 1 on both eighth and ninth, and 2 on the tenth. There are about another 60 in the list that I have not read but are on my shelves waiting patiently. There are also many I would never be interesting in reading.

One thing I noticed is that for an author like Dickens, there were several of his books listed of which I have read about half, but there are books by Dickens that I have read that are not on the list. :-(

>147 pgmcc: You are far ahead of me, my list shows only 48, but there are books on the list that I've read but do not own and at least one that I've read and do own, but isn't in my library yet. I have reading to do!

>152 pgmcc: Those would be a no-go in this household. Our kitchen cabinet handles delight in grabbing any pockets or loops or openings on robes, etc. That are below the waist. Yes, we could change the handles, but no, I won't. These are original to the house, copper and I love them; so I tell my husband to wear something else. :P

>150 jillmwo: Speaking under correction, I'm sure that the camping shop in the mall just up the road has ladies' trousers like that.

>155 MrsLee:. There have been occasions when the bannisters on the stairs have caught me that way. I'm very particular now about watching where clothing and bag handles hit. (And I love that you are committed to keeping the unique elements of the house in place.)

>156 hfglen: Well, at least some portion of the world population is allowed and/or encouraged to wear practical garments!!!

>148 pgmcc: All those pockets will come in very handy for carrying gadgets on your various missions, I am sure.

>158 Sakerfalcon:
Shshshsh! Not so loud.

>148 pgmcc: when I was in high school we wore something similar called painter's pants. When my children were in school they wore cargo pants, which were also very similar to what you've described here.

>150 jillmwo: and skirts with pockets.

We went to a school performance of "Hairspray: The Musical" tonight. It was tremendous. Our friend is the head mistress and invited us along to the show's final night.

In Irish schools pupils have an option after their Junior Certificate state examinations to do what is called Transition Year before starting their senior cycle for the Leaving Certificate state exams which will determine their points for third level education, and hence whether they get to the colleges and courses they want or not. Transition year is designed to give pupils of about 14 or 15 years of age some experience of different subjects, activities and the working life. Many schools use this year to put on a show with the transition year students. These shows can be really high calibre and the pupils learn a lot from putting on a full-scale musical. The show we attended tonight was one of those transition year shows. It was excellent.

>161 pgmcc: Oh, that's sounds wonderful. I'm glad you enjoyed it!

Like MrsLee, I am reading and enjoying Relight My Fire by C.K. McDonnell.

>155 MrsLee: We used bronze cleats--the type used on boats--for drawer and cabinet handles when we remodeled our kitchen. They look very cool, but I have learned to move carefully after catching pockets on them a few times.

I have finished Relight My Fire by C.K. McDonnell. Another great book in the Stranger Times series.

As this is post #165 I should probably start a new thread.