Keeping Me Up Late

While the City Sleeps MugI collected my commemorative mug (shown at right) from the Plaza Branch of the Kansas City Public Library this past Monday, the 4th of February.  I completed the reading log form via the ‘While the City Sleeps’ web page, noting that three of the five books I’ve read in 2013 were suggested readings for the Library’s adult winter reading program.  I surprised myself because I liked all three and gave each one a four star rating at GoodReads.

When I first reviewed the suggested readings list, I didn’t see anything that jumped out at me.  I found three or four titles that might work so I placed them on hold in various formats.

I didn’t have to wait for one title, Dark Night of the Soul by St. John of the Cross.  I found it available immediately as an audiobook via the Library’s Overdrive website.  I checked it out and downloaded it to my new smartphone.  One of the nice features of the Overdrive Android application is a sleep timer.  I set the playback with a thirty minute timer and dozed off each evening to the soothing voice of the reader, extolling me with theology while providing a healing blessing to ease my trials and sufferings.  None of the local book clubs opted to discuss Dark Night of the Soul, but one enterprising library technician is posting daily Lenten observances at his blog, All-Soulo.

The library didn’t own an electronic or audio version of Lost Moon, so I requested the print edition.  I picked up the book on Friday, the 25th of January, and started reading it on Sunday, finishing it the following Friday.  Even though I’ve seen the movie, Apollo 13, many times, I still found myself compelled to read way past my bedtime.  I tried to limit myself to one chapter a night and refrained from carrying the hardcover edition back-and-forth to work.  Truth is not only stranger than fiction, it’s definitely more riveting.  I hope to attend the ‘Read It/Watch It’ event on Sunday afternoon, March 3, 2013.  I’m looking forward to lively conversation led by Katie Stover, Director of Readers’ Services, at the Waldo Branch.  I will resist the urge to pull out my own DVD from my personal video library.

Concurrently, I listened to the audiobook of The Night Circus by Erin Morgenstern as read by Jim Dale, known in other circles as the ‘voice’ of Harry Potter (winning numerous awards, including two Grammys).  I’ve heard him read before (via one of the Potter books) and he is a delight to listen to.  Even  more delightful than Jim’s exceptional characterizations was the enthralling tale told by Morgenstern in The Night Circus.  I found myself looking for excuses to continue listening, even though I wasn’t driving, or walking the dog, or cleaning house, or doing laundry.  Of all the suggested readings, this one hit the spot perfectly.  I highly recommend it.  In less than a week, I will join the Women Who Dare Book Group at the Central Library for one of the three book discussions scheduled in February and March for The Night Circus.

I convinced my husband to read one of the books along with me.  He prefers non-fiction titles, so I snagged a copy of Stiff: The Curious Lives of Human Cadavers from my local library while waiting for the hold I placed at the Plaza branch to come through.  He’s already into the fourth chapter, while I have yet to start reading it. We both plan to attend the discussion for the newly formed Stranger Than Fiction book group, meeting for the first time on February 27th at 7:00 p.m. at the Plaza Branch. When I mention this book to friends and acquaintances, I hear nothing but good things.  I should begin my cadaverous journey tomorrow evening while my husband is otherwise occupied with his band mates during band practice.

That leaves just one book on my hold list.  Well, actually on two hold lists.  I requested a print edition of Kansas City Noir, as well as the ebook edition.  I’ve been waiting several days and I hope I get one of the editions checked out before the last book discussion arrives on March 9th.  That’s when I plan to join the Heat of the Night book group at the Bluford Branch to discuss this anthology of ‘hard-used heroes and heroines [who] seem to live a lifetime in the stories…Each one seems almost novelistic in scope. Half novels-in-waiting, half journalistic anecdotes that are equally likely to appeal to Kansas City boosters and strangers.’ –Kirkus Reviews

And so I wrap up my winter reads like I wrap up in my favorite worn hand-me-down quilt: relaxed, satisfied and not too terribly sleep deprived, but still awake enough to enjoy some fresh brewed tea in a treasured mug memento.

Not Your Average Library Book Checkout

I started October a week behind in my re-reading schedule of the Wheel of Time series.  I started the seventh novel, A Crown of Swords on the 8th, but managed to finish it early on the 22nd, leaving me almost ten days to get some non-WoT reading squeezed in before I set out on the Path of Daggers in November.

Just in case you missed it, after I reported the Prologue for A Memory of Light released early in late September, Tor also released the first chapter , “Eastward the Wind Blew” a few days later.  Last week, in late October, Tor released an audio version of chapter two, which I have yet to finish listening to.  I’ve completed the first section of ‘The Choice of Ajah” prior to writing this blog and will listen to the rest later today.

DemolishedManByBester-LeatherboundCollectorsEdition-Spine
I reviewed all my neglected book clubs and found several great books in the line up for next month, including the Demolished Man by Alfred Bester for the Beyond Reality group at GoodReads.  These days, I prefer to read ebooks as much as possible, since I can tote around my entire library wherever I go on my Nook Color.  However, this classic science fiction novel, written by Alfred Bester in 1953, just isn’t available in electronic format yet (and may not be any time soon).  In fact, it was last published by Gollanz in 1999 in paperback format and is not currently in print, so only used copies are available to buy.

So, I went searching for a copy at my favorite library, the Kansas City Public Library.  The reason this is my favorite library, aside from the fact that a branch is located in my office building, is they have a large, extensive catalog that rarely disappoints.  The Demolished Man failed to make the cut, though, and no amount of tweaking my search criteria could get this book to magically appear in the search results.

DemolishedManByBester-LeatherboundCollectorsEdition
The Demolished Man by Alfred Bester in the leather-bound collector’s edition published by the Easton Press in 1986

I sighed.  My fallback library resides in my almost hometown of Leavenworth.  I hopped on their website and searched their catalog and found a copy available on the shelf.  I placed a hold, requesting pickup at the Leavenworth Public Library.  A day or so later, I received an e-mail telling me my reservation was ready for pickup.  Saturday afternoon, I stopped by and checked out the book you see in the photo to the right.  I couldn’t believe what I was holding in my hands.  A near pristine leather-bound collector’s edition of the classic.  It even sported a gold satin bookmark!  As far as I could tell, no one had read it since it was published in the early 80s.  While I enjoy the ease and convenience of ebooks, limited editions or collector’s editions of hardcover novels are just plain cool.

I flipped through the book once I got it home and found illustrations placed sporadically throughout the book.  Here are three examples:

DemolishedManByBester-LeatherboundCollectorsEdition-Illustration01

DemolishedManByBester-LeatherboundCollectorsEdition-Illustration02

DemolishedManByBester-LeatherboundCollectorsEdition-Illustration03

And a shot of the title page and bookmark:

DemolishedManByBester-LeatherboundCollectorsEdition-TitlePage

I’m looking forward to reading this novel, and not just because I lucked into checking out a collector’s edition from my local library. Here are some blurbs and the synopsis from GoodReads:

“One of the all-time classics of science fiction.” – Isaac Asimov

“A masterful compounding of science and detective fiction.”  – The Magazine of Fantasy & Science Fiction

“A magnificent novel… as fascinating a study of character as I have ever read.” – Groff Conklin in Galaxy Science fiction

In a world policed by telepaths, Ben Reich plans to commit a crime that hasn’t been heard of in 70 years: murder. That’s the only option left for Reich, whose company is losing a 10-year death struggle with rival D’Courtney Enterprises. Terrorized in his dreams by The Man With No Face & driven to the edge after D’Courtney refuses a merger offer, Reich murders his rival & bribes a high-ranking telepath to help him cover his tracks. But while police prefect Lincoln Powell knows Reich is guilty, his telepath’s knowledge is a far cry from admissible evidence

Blast from the Past: A Glimpse Into Rare Science Book Collection

My dad and I attended the general meeting of the Astronomical Society of Kansas City yesterday evening.  We arrived earlier enough to also attend the Astro 101 class.  The topic happened to be on binoculars, although I vaguely remembered it advertised as astrophotography.  Next month, perhaps, provided the speaker doesn’t postpone for the third time this year.  Nevertheless, we learned quite a bit about binoculars and the handout included a dozen or so winter observing targets.

With just five minutes to spare, Dad and I changed lecture halls in Royall Hall, walking across to the larger one where the general meetings are held.  Jay Manifold and Rick Henderson made several announcements.  Another club member, Bob Sandy, gave a brief ten to fifteen minutes demonstration of his equipment used to videotape the Transit of Venus, including the video from that event and also a separate one of the re-appearance of the asteroid Ceres from behind the Moon.

Jay introduced our guest speaker, Bruce Bradley Librarian for History of Science at the Linda Hall Library of Science, Engineering and Technology, who spoke about the library’s rare books on astronomy. The Linda Hall Library, located just two hundred yards west of Royall Hall, is the world’s foremost independent research library devoted to science, engineering and technology.

Title Page of Starry Messenger by Gallileo

The collection Mr. Bradley oversees is kept in the Helen Foresman Spencer Rare Book Room in the History of Science Center at the library which is open to the public Monday through Friday from 9:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. An appointment is not necessary for individual readers and visitors, but groups are advised to make an appointment in advance of a proposed visit.

In February of 2004, several ASKC members visited and marveled at these well preserved treasures:

  • The oldest book in the place printed by Nicolas Jenson in Venice in 1472, Pliny the Elder’s (23-79 AD) Naturalis Historiae Liber open to a section entitled”CAII PLYNII SECVNDI NATURALIS HISTORIAE LIBER X,” subtitled”De Natura auium Cap. i.” Beginning with a beautifully illuminated capital S in blue, red, green and gold, the colors appeared to have barely faded in 532 years.
  • Tycho Brahe’s Astronomiae Instauratae Progymnasmata from 1602 open to a star map showing the location of the supernova
    of 1572 in Cassiopeia.
  • Galileo’s Dialogo, printed in Florence,”Per Gio: Batista Landini,” 1632., displaying a Copernican diagram of the Solar System showing orbits of the planets, the Moon and the four large moons of Jupiter that Galileo discovered.
  • A handwritten observational journal of William Herschel open to a section containing observations of Saturn with drawings, formulas and figures.
  • A very large format book with a full-color, two-page drawing of Tycho’s observatory, labeled Stellaeburgum (also called Uraniborg) as it appeared in 1558.
On of Galileo’s illustrations/engravings of the Moon

At the October general meeting, Mr. Bradley started with a history of the founding of the library.  He then showed us many images taken of the rare books in the collection.  He also related interesting and intriguing stories about the men who wrote these early science books.  We even got a crash course in the Gutenberg printing process, right down to the materials used for the bindings, the paper and the ink.  Mr. Bradley spent quite a bit of time paging through a couple of Galileo‘s books (see excerpt at right) and explaining the challenges Galileo and his printer faced in publishing his ground-breaking astronomical observations and conclusions confirming Copernicus‘ theory of a sun-centered universe (solar system).

He concluded his talk with a question and answer session and an invitation to the Library to see these treasures first hand. I plan to make a trip during lunch to the Linda Hall library’s current exhibit, called ‘On Time: The Question for Precision‘ featuring revolutions in time keeping within the next week or so.

Product/Service Review: OverDrive Media Console Nook App (Released 9/27/2012)

I can probably retire the post I wrote several months ago.  The one that included a flowchart of how to transfer a library ebook from your computer to your Nook.  I received so many calls from fellow Nook owners about how to do this process, that I felt compelled to break it down into bite-size easily digested pieces, with pictures to aid memory retention, and post it here at my blog.  Thankfully, Barnes & Noble released, this morning, the long overdue OverDrive app, making that flowchart, at least the library lending portion of it, obsolete.   Being a fool who rushes in where app angels fear to tread, I downloaded it to my Nook over lunch.

From the OverDrive main menu, I tapped the App Settings icon, where  I activated my Nook device via my existing Adobe Digital Editions account.  I reviewed but did not change any of the other settings.  I returned to the Bookshelf home page, and tapped the Get Books icon from the main menu.  At the bottom of the screen on this page, there is a large ‘Add a Library’ button, which I pressed.  I typed in the name of the Kansas City Public Library and pressed the Search button.  I added my favourite local (literally in the same building) library from the search results. I made sure to star it and save it for future use.

When I clicked on the link to the KC Public Library, I was taken to the Nook’s web browser and the mobile website for the library’s OverDrive system.  I entered my library card and pin number, telling the Nook to remember that information for future visits.  I clicked on the My Wish List link under the Your Account tab and checked out an ebook I had waiting there (Cat’s Cradle in this instance).  I selected the ePub version and pressed the Download button.  Success!  No USB cable necessary.  All done in seconds, wirelessly.

The OverDrive reader software is different from the Nook Color’s primary reading application, and it seems a bit slower.  I will need to review the pop-up quick reference guide more closely to see if I’m missing any gestures or configuration settings to tweak performance.

B&N also released a similar app from 3M, which I also downloaded and installed to my Nook. However, my other local library does not use that service, so I may archive that app.

Sixteen or seventeen months after I received my Nook Color, one hurdle to simpler ebook lending achieved.  Now, if publishers and libraries could just reach a compromise in their disagreement.  Have you read the recently published open letter from the ALA and the response by the Big Six (through the AAP)?  The digital divide is widening daily.

Sweet Sixteen – KC Library’s Booketology and HBP’s Tournament of Villains

Round 3 (Sweet Sixteen) - Polls Close Midnight, Sunday, March 25, 2012

Booketology Round 2 Results & Round 3 Bracket | Kansas City Public Library.

Oh, the agony … of defeat.  Last round, in the Science Fiction category, The Hunger Games bit the dust before the unstoppable Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy.  But at least my personal pick for all time greatest epic fantasy novel ever written didn’t fall to mere rabbits.  This round, however, The Lord of the Rings faces very stiff competition from that upstart Harry Potter.

And it remains a mystery (at least until Monday morning and the votes are tabulated), whether Sherlock Holmes or Hercule Poirot will solve the Case of the Sweet Sixteen Surprise.

Cast your votes now and be entered in a drawing for a Booketology Prize Pack of one copy of each of the eight books that advance to the Elite 8 round, plus a basketball autographed by Kansas City author Whitney Terrell. (Click here for rules and details).

HPB's Tournament of Villians

And just in case you weren’t having enough fun already voting for your favorite books, stop by Half Price Books Tournament of Villains, also in the Sweet Sixteen of the third round.  Polls close in a few minutes, at 2:00 p.m. Central.

Book Review: The Poisonwood Bible by Kingsolver

The Poisonwood Bible by Barbara Kingsolver

My rating: 4 of 5 stars

I would never have read this book without the nudging of my local library. The Poisonwood Bible hit my radar via the suggested reading list for the adult winter reading program, Destination: Anywhere, sponsored by the Kansas City Public Library. I don’t normally read this flavor of historical fiction, but once I got into the heads of all five women, I stayed the course and finished the book. Not quite in time for the book discussion held by the Trailblazers book club, but far enough along that I could fully participate in the discussion.

Synopsis from KC Library:

When a white preacher from Georgia uproots his family and replants them amid a jungle in the Belgian Congo, the scene is set for a life-threatening culture clash. Kingsolver tells this story from the revolving point-of-view of the wife and daughters of Nathan Price as they observe his repeated frustrations, such as local aversion to baptisms in the nearby river. The Price women watch with growing alarm as the consequences of political instability – involving the CIA – creep ever-closer. But politics never subsume this survival story that describes the toll of danger and decay, while exalting the healing that Africa promises.

Notes from book club discussion:

Most of the readers loved the book (I liked it, but didn’t absolutely love it). The discussion leader remarked it took nearly fifty pages before she really got into it. Many of us agreed it was a long book to attempt in a month (although I read nearly all 400+ pages in two days since the ebook only became available for checkout on the Thursday before the Saturday discussion).

Our leader also remarked she came from a Fundamentalist background and she had met many men similar to the Father portrayed by the four Price girls. Another reader felt the entire book encompassed guilt, especially the older twin, Leah. I remarked that of the four daughters and the mother, the character I identified with most was Adah.

We discussed the political situation in Africa and the Belgian Congo in particular in the late 1950s and early 1960s. We talked about the return of the mother to Africa searching for Ruth Ann’s grave and Adah’s question to her mother about why she saved her later at the river (but not on the night of the ant invasion).

The discussion leader posed the question ‘Is this a woman’s book?’ to which we generally agreed. Written by a woman and featuring the thoughts and recollections of five women, how could it be anything else?

A reader commented how she always tries to find the connection between the title of a book and it’s contents. She struggled somewhat with it, but the discussion leader remarked that things in Africa will bite you and poison you, just like the poisonwood tree did to the Father, even after he was warned by the locals to steer very clear of it. Another reader likened the Bible of the Father to his dissemination of poison to his family and Congonese congregation through his blind faith and intolerant uncompromising adherence to a strict literal interpretation of the Bible. We discussed the differences we see now in modern missions to third world countries, which practice more respect for local customs and preach through service, not shouted espousals and condemnations.

We continued our discussion, moving on to the theme of the novel, proposed by our leader as being only a person born in Africa can truly understand it. We talked about the grandchildren’s visit to Atlanta and their wonder and amazement by the grocery store, filled with many things no one needs. Compared to the subsistence near-starvation standard of living back ‘home’ in Africa, the grandchildren could not fathom the overabundance sprawling across the store shelves.

We wrapped up the discussion with the leader asking us if we had difficulty following the shifting timelines and points of view. I commented that I had no trouble keeping track, but also mentioned that I routinely read epic fantasy which excels at sprawl, large casts of characters, myriad subplots and unexpected shifts in place and time.

My Final Thoughts:

Before I read the last few pages of The Poisonwood Bible, I had decided I would only alot three stars to my rating. At that point, I liked the book, but I didn’t love it. However, with the return of a long silent voice whispering grace and peace to her mother, I resolved to increase the rating to four stars. Officially, I’d still give it a 3.5, but I’m rounding up for the tears I shed on the last paragraph of the last page of The Poisonwood Bible.

Quotes/Highlights Marked While Reading eBook:

*** Warning:  Spoilers Below ***

‘I could never work out whether we were to view religion as a life-insurance policy or a life sentence.’ Orleanna, Book Two, p. 79

‘Oh, and the camel. Was it a camel that could pass through the eye of a needle more easily than a rich man? Or a coarse piece of yarn? The Hebrew words are the same, but which one did they mean? If it’s a camel, the rich man might as well not even try. But if it’s the yarn, he might well succeed with a lot of effort, you see?’ Rachel quoting Brother Fowles, Book Three, p. 189

‘God doesn’t need to punish us. He just grants us a long enough life to punish ourselves.’ Leah, Book Four, p. 244

‘I’m sure Father resented his own daughter being such a distraction. It’s just lucky for Father he never had any sons. he might have been forced to respect them.’ Rachel on Leah joining the hunting party, Book Four, p. 252

‘In organic chemistry, invertebrate zoology, and the inspired symmetry of Mendelian genetics, I have found a religion that serves. I recite the Periodic Table of Elements like a prayer. I take my examinations as Holy Communion, and the pass of the first semester was a sacrament. My mind is crowded with a forest of facts. Between the trees lie wide-open plains of despair. I skirt around them. I stick to the woods.’ Adah, Book Five, p. 303

‘I learned the balance of power in one long Congolese night, when the drive ants came: Out into the moonlight where the ground boild and there stood Mother like a tree rooted motionless in the middle of a storm. Mother staring at me, holding Ruth May in her arms, weighing the two of us against one another. The sweet intact child with golden ringlets and perfectly paired strong legs, or the dark mute adolescent dragging a stubborn half-body. Which? After hesitating only a second, she choose to save perfection and leave the damaged. Everyone must choose.’ Adah, Book Five, p. 306

‘It’s the only time I get homesick, when America lands on my doorstep in a missionary guise. … They’re so unlike Father. As I bear the emptiness of life without God, it’s a comfort to know these soft-spoken men who organize hospitals under thatched roofs, or stoop alongside village mamas to plant soybeans, or rig up electrical generators for a school. They’ve risked … every imaginable parasite in the backwater places where children were left to die or endure when the Underdowns and their ilk fled the country. As Brother Fowles told us long ago: there are Christians, and there are Christians.’ Leah, Book Five, p. 324

‘What I carried out of Congo on my crooked little back is a ferocious uncertainty about the worth of a life. And now I am becoming a doctor. How very sensible of me.’ Adah, Book Five, p. 331

‘I called her. It was the dead-flat middle of the night. The night before Christmas and all through the house I am Adah who expects no gifts, Adah who does not need or care what others say. Yet I woke up my mother and finally asked her why she choose me, that day at the Kwenge River. Mother hesitated, understanding that there were many wrong answers. I did not want to hear that the others could take care of themselves, nor that she felt she had no other choice. Finally she said, “After Ruth May you were my youngest, Adah. When push comes to shove, a mother takes care of her children from the bottom up.” … I find this remarkably comforting. I have decided to live with it.’ Adah, Book Five, p. 331-2

‘Adah got a very strange look and said, “He got The Verse. … the last one. Old Testament. Second Maccabees 13:4 … I must have gotten that one fifty times. It’s the final ‘The Verse’ in the Old Testament … One-hundred-count from the end. If you include the Apocrypha, which of course he always did. … the Closing statement of the Old Testament: ‘So this will be the end.'” Rachel quoting Adah as they discuss their Father’s demise in a blaze of glory, Book Five, p. 370

‘There is not justice in this world. Father, forgive me wherever you are, but this world has brought one vile abomination after another down on the heads of the gentle, and I’ll not live to see the meek inherit anything. What there is in this world, I think, is a tendency for human errors to level themselves like water throughout their sphere of influence. … There’s the possibility of balance. Unbearable burdens that the world somehow does bear with a certain grace.’ Leah, Book Six, p. 395

‘When Albert Schweizter walked into the jungle, bless his heart, he carried antibacterials and a potent, altogether new conviction that no one should die young. He meant to save every child, thinking Africa would then learn how to have fewer children. But when families have spent a million years making nine in the hope of saving one, they cannot stop making nine. Culture is a slingshot moved by the force of its past. when the strap lets go, what flies forward will not be family planning, it will be the small, hard head of a child. Over-population has deforested three-quarters of Africa, yielding drought, famine, and the probable extinction of all animals most beloved by children and zoos. … No other continent has endured such an unspeakably bizarre combination of foreign thievery and foreign goodwill.’ Adah, Book Six, p. 400

‘Mother, you can still hold on but forgive, forgive and give for long as long as we both shall live I forgive you, Mother. You are afraid you might forget, but you never will. You will forgive and remember. Think of the vine that curls from the small square plot that was once my heart. That is the only marker you need. Move on. Walk forward into the light.’ Ruth May, Book Seven, p. 412

View all my reviews

Destination: Anywhere Midpoint Travelogue

I began my Destination: Anywhere journey in mid-January, transporting myself back in time and halfway across the globe, watching the Suez Canal crisis bubble and boil and heat up the cold war and the Eisenhower Administration’s efforts to avoid World War III.  As soon as I finished Eisenhower: 1956, I coordinated a day trip to the Eisenhower Presidential Library in Abilene, Kansas, taking advantage of some very unseasonably warm weather for January.  I plan to return later this year to spend more quality time in the museum and help celebrate the fiftieth anniversary of the Library.

My next stop took me even further back in time (by at least fifty or sixty years) to late 19th century Chicago.  My second non-fiction book of the year, The Devil in the White City, explored the creation, construction, execution and destruction of the World Colombian Exhibition with a side of dastardly serial killing to spice up the event.  I attended the Common Grounds book club discussion at the Central branch of the Kansas City Public Library in late January, since this book happened to be on the suggested reading list for the Destination: Anywhere adult winter reading program.

I decided I’d had enough of living in the past and caught a hyperspeed transport out to Manticoran space to catch up with Honor Harrington in Honor Among Enemies.  This is the sixth installment in the series I’m reading with the Beyond Reality group at GoodReads.  I welcomed the switch from hard copy to ebook, since the former requires a reading light which doesn’t automatically turn itself off when I nod off in bed.  And I love being able to adjust the text size on my Nook Color and instantly look up words or names with the touch of a finger.

My next destination vibrated with supernatural and musical overtones yet I couldn’t quite decide whether Archangel aspired to be a fantasy or a science fiction novel.  Beyond Reality offered it up as the science fiction selection for February 2012 and I have since learned, through the online discussions there, that this novel and the sequels do belong in that genre.  As soon as I finished the novel, I fired off a book recommendation to my daughter, Rachelle, mostly because the protagonist, also named Rachel, saved the day with vocal performance precision and excellence.

The other selection for February from Beyond Reality took me back to the Dragaeran Empire and the introduction of the fabled Vlad Taltos in Jhereg.  A fun, fast fantasy jaunt full of intrigue, witchcraft, sorcery, sword fights, attempted assassinations and witty repartee.  Since the edition I checked out from the Kansas City Public Library happened to be an omnibus of the first three Vlad Taltos novels, I plan to read at least the next two in the series and will eventually read all his Dragaeran books.  As an added bonus, the author, Steven Brust, agreed to answer posted questions as part of our group discussion.   So please stop by and join in the discussion and ask that burning question you’ve always wanted to ask.

Winter Reading mug new additionHaving reached five novels read by the first week of February, I filled out my Destination: Anywhere reading log (online of course) and printed my receipt.  I took the short trip from the 9th floor to the lobby to hand in my receipt at the Plaza branch and receive my third adult winter reading program mug (see photo to the left for entire collection, including last winter’s Altered States mug).  But have no fear!  I am not stopping here!  There’s still plenty to read on the Destination: Anywhere suggested reading list.

Tomorrow I will download my first borrowed ebook from the Kansas City Public Library.  I received an email alert yesterday informing me that The Poisonwood Bible had finally become available for checkout.  I may have to stop reading everything else in order to finish it before the book discussion scheduled for this Saturday at 2:00 pm to be held at Trails West branch and led by Nancy Oelke.  I will read as much as I can before attending the discussion.  Many of my GoodReads friends give this novel favorable ratings but no written reviews (beyond a sentence or two).  I will definitely write up any of my reactions and observations and any notes I take at the discussion when I finish the book.  Update (2/16/2012): I successfully downloaded the ebook from the KC Public Library’s Overdrive web site this morning and transferred it to my Nook Color.  I started reading it over lunch and find myself catching my breath with the Price family upon their arrival in the Belgian Congo on the African continent at the close of the 1950s.  Update (2/22/2012):  I composed my review and posted it here.

I took a side-trip away from the Destination: Anywhere suggested readings, but followed on the heels of my early Eisenhower expedition, by starting Crusade in Europe in early February.  As of the writing of this blog post, the Allies had successfully advance across North Africa, capturing Tunisia, and are preparing to invade Sicily and eventually Italy.  The more I learn about World War II, the more I realize how much I have yet to learn and understand.  Eisenhower’s ‘big picture’ personal account of his experiences during the war keeps me riveted and turning the pages.  Keeping myself to just one chapter per day can be tough, but my February reads require me to limit my non-book club reading.

Since January fizzled without providing much if any wintery precipitation or chilly wind or freezing temperatures, I opted for an arctic expedition aboard the HMS Terror, the dark fantasy themed selection this month for the GoodReads Science Fiction and Fantasy book club.  So far, for this year (and the year is still young), this is the longest (768 pages) and heaviest (I think it’s close to five pounds) hardcover book I have picked up from the library.  I end up shivering as I huddle at the kitchen table reading about frostbite and disease among the crew and the extremely harsh conditions these men faced in the 1840s as they sought the fabled Northwest Passage to Asia.  If early indications prove correct, subzero temperatures are not the only potentially fatal thing they need to worry about.

My final stop, on the other side of the doomed Northwest Passage expedition, takes me to China.  Wild Swans: Three Daughters of China relates an epic family history, following three women from successive generations as they are buffeted by changes brought by the modernization in China. I am looking forward to reading this selection, but am slightly disappointed that no book discussion was coordinated by the library as part of the Destination: Anywhere winter reading program.  Perhaps I’ll start one online at the Library’s GoodReads community of readers group.