Quote du jour - E.M. Forster

On Virginia Woolf's birthday, here are some words about her written by E.M. Forster.

Real food is necessary, and this, in fiction as in her home, she knew how to provide. Food with her was not a literary device put in to make the book [To the Lighthouse] seem real. She put it in because she tasted it, because she saw pictures, because she smelt flowers, because she heard Bach, because her senses were both exquisite and catholic, and were always bringing her first-hand news of the outside world.

Bloomsbury at Home by Pamela Todd

Bloomsbury at Home

by Pamela Todd

nonfiction 1999

print

finished 1/18/16

This book was given to me a few years ago by a woman who reads my letters and knows how I love Virginia Woolf and everything Bloomsbury. Such a kind and generous thing to do. 

I began reading it last year in January. For various reasons, I didn't get to finish so I put in a bookmark with a little note to myself to pick up the book again this year. 

When their father died in 1904, Virginia and Vanessa Stephen and their brothers, Adrian and Thoby, moved to unfashionable Bloomsbury.

Clive [Bell] was one of Thoby’s Cambridge friends and part of the set that began, from about the middle of March 1905, to drop by after dinner on Thursday evenings. Vanessa and Virginia had heard a great deal about these young men from Thoby so that ‘when the bell rang and these astonishing fellows came in, Vanessa and I were in a twitter of excitement. It was late at night; the room was full of smoke; buns, coffee, and whisky were strewn about; … Thoby went to open the door; in came Sydney-Turner; in came Bell; in came Strachey.'

There was little on offer besides a thrilling new kind of conversation which relied not on the usual party small talk but on ‘difficult’ silences which gave way to soaring intellectual discussions on large abstract ideas. The social conventions were ignored. These young men had no ‘manners’ in the Hyde Park Gate [the place they all grew up] sense. Instead of complimenting Virginia on her dress, they were more likely to praise (or criticise) the way in which she phrased her argument. This she found deeply satisfying. 

The scene reminds me of a Bob Dylan song, Bob Dylan's Dream.

While riding on a train goin’ west

I fell asleep for to take my rest

I dreamed a dream that made me sad

Concerning myself and the first few friends I had

With half-damp eyes I stared to the room

Where my friends and I spent many an afternoon

Where we together weathered many a storm

Laughin’ and singin’ till the early hours of the morn

By the old wooden stove where our hats was hung

Our words were told, our songs were sung

Where we longed for nothin’ and were quite satisfied

Talkin’ and a-jokin’ about the world outside

With haunted hearts through the heat and cold

We never thought we could ever get old

We thought we could sit forever in fun

But our chances really was a million to one

As easy it was to tell black from white

It was all that easy to tell wrong from right

And our choices were few and the thought never hit

That the one road we traveled would ever shatter and split

How many a year has passed and gone

And many a gamble has been lost and won

And many a road taken by many a friend

And each one I’ve never seen again

I wish, I wish, I wish in vain

That we could sit simply in that room again

Ten thousand dollars at the drop of a hat

I’d give it all gladly if our lives could be like that

I think, if we’re lucky, there is a time in our lives when we do engage in conversation late into the night, forgetting there is a world outside. All is there within a room. I’ve never had the particular kind of relationships and conversations as happened when I was in my early twenties. Of all those people, only one is still a friend. Two of the young men died too young. The others have scattered and ‘grown up.’ But I remember those times with much affection, and even longing. It is a time and place which has never been repeated.

In the case of the Bloomsbury people it continued throughout their lives. From this core group, many others came along and fit right in. At the beginning of the book the author offers:

In addition to the little biographies there are also lists of the various places people lived:

These are so very helpful to the reader. Whether you know a lot or a little about these people there is a great deal of information to keep straight and it is wonderful to be able to check back to see who was who, and who was with whom! If you know a bit about the Bloomsbury people, you will know this story but it bears repeating even if you've heard it before. Okay, stay with me here... Vanessa was married to Clive Bell, but loved Duncan Grant all her life. Duncan Grant was in a relationship with David 'Bunny' Garnett. Vanessa got pregnant by Duncan and had a daughter Angelica. Well, all that is pretty amazing in itself, but it gets better!

That Christmas Day, watching Angelica being weighed in a shoe box on the kitchen scales, Bunny marvelled at her perfection. 'Its beauty is the remarkable thing about it,' he wrote to Lytton, adding prophetically, 'I think of marrying it; when she is twenty I shall be 46 - will it be scandalous?' 

In 1942, though Vanessa was opposed, Bunny and Angelica did indeed marry. She was 24 and he was 50. They had four daughters.

I've yet to read Angelica's book Deceived With Kindness: A Bloomsbury Childhood, but I've ordered a copy. The deceit here is that she was told she was Clive's daughter for a long time.

Bloomsbury at Home is full of terrific details about the various places everyone lived. Almost every page has a painting or photograph.

And here is the table of contents:

In a little over 180 pages, you can learn so much about these individuals. It is a great place to begin if you are not familiar with them, and an excellent resource if you already know a fair bit. Now that I've read it in its entirety, I expect I will be dipping into it for the rest of my reading life. It is scholarly and fun at the same time. It is a joyous exploration of some of the most interesting and artistic people the world has ever known. I loved, loved, loved this book!

Name change

Traditionally, it falls to the first grandchild to name the grandparents. Tom, the first grandchild of his mother's parents, named his grandparents Gamy and Gampa. Our Margaret is the first grandchild of Tom's mother, who wanted to be called Nana. When little Margaret said it, it came out ‘Nina.' The whole family calls her Nina now, and that's where Hazel's middle name comes from.

Since our grandchildren have been born, we've called ourselves Grammy and Grampy. Now that Hazel Nina has begun talking, she loves naming everyone (and everything) but she couldn’t say those words. Tom and I tried to come up with easier alternatives. Nana seemed the obvious choice for me! Tom's mother called his grandfather ‘Pop' and he liked the name. Hazel repeated Pop and Nana perfectly the first time she heard them. So we are now and forever Pop and Nana! We love our new names.

Call the Midwife

If you haven't heard of Call the Midwife, you may go to Netflix Instant and see the first four seasons. I'm not sure there has ever been a more wonderful television program. Because I have Tunnelbear I just saw the first episode of season 5. It deals with a baby born with truncated limbs. I expect you have heard of thalidomide, and season 5 is going to address the subject. I cannot praise this show highly enough.

Today's picture - wood buddy

Lucy the Labrador is wild about wood! Tom piles it and she very carefully chooses pieces to pull off. She might pull one off the top, or pull one out that is five layers down. Sometimes there are up to ten pieces around the yard. It is just the funniest thing, as you can see from Tom's laughter. How we love this dog!

2016 book facts

December - 3

mystery - 3

publication dates:
1920s - 1
1930s - 1
2011-2019 - 1

kindle - 3

by women - 2
by men - 1


November - 5

mystery - 4
nonfiction - 1

publication dates:
2011-2019 - 5

kindle - 4
print - 1

by women - 2
by men - 2
both a man and a woman - 1

October - 7

mystery - 6
nonfiction - 1

publication dates:
2000-2010 - 1
2011-2019 - 6

kindle - 6
print - 1

by women - 4
by men - 3

September - 3

mystery - 3

publication dates:
2000-2010 - 2
2011-2019 - 1

kindle - 3

by women - 3

August - 5 books

mystery - 2
nonfiction - 2
short story collection - 1

publication dates: 
2000-2010 - 2
2011-2019 - 3

kindle - 2
print - 3

by women - 5 

July - 9 books

fiction - 4
mystery - 3
nonfiction - 1
children's - 1

Publication dates:
1950s - 3
1960s - 2
1970s - 1
1990s - 1
2000-2010 - 2

kindle - 7
print - 2

by men - 2
by women - 7

June - 5 books

fiction - 2
mystery - 2
nonfiction - 1

Publication dates:
1940s - 1
1950s - 1
1990s - 2
2011-2019 - 1

kindle - 4
print - 1

by women - 5

May - 3 books

mystery - 3

Publication dates:
1990s - 3

kindle - 3

by women - 3

April - 4 books

mystery - 4

Publication dates:
1980s - 1
1990s - 2
2011-2019 - 1

kindle - 4

by women - 4

March - 6 books

mystery - 6

Publication dates: 
1960s - 1
1970s - 2
1980s - 3

kindle - 6

by women - 6

February - 4 books

mystery - 3
fiction - 1

Publication dates:
1930s - 3
2000-2010 - 1

kindle - 3print - 1

by men - 3
by woman - 1

January - 5 books

mystery - 3
fiction - 1
nonfiction - 1

Publication dates:
1930s - 3
1990s - 1
2011-2019 - 1

kindle - 3
print - 2

by men - 4
by women - 1

The Unexpected Inheritance of Inspector Chopra by Vaseem Khan

The Unexpected Inheritance of Inspector Chopra - book 1 in the Baby Ganesh Agency Investigation

by Vaseem Khan

mystery 2015

kindle

finished 1/13/16

I can’t praise this book enough. I loved every minute of my time with Inspector Chopra (Retd). He is still a relatively young man who must retire from the police force in Mumbai because of a recent heart attack. We meet him on his last day of work. He comes upon a case of a young man found dead. It is deemed an accidental death and the police do not intend to spend any time on it. But Inspector Ashwin Chopra hears the boy’s mother say that her son’s death is being neglected because he is only a poor boy. Because Chopra is a good man, an honest man, and a caring man he takes her words to heart and begins his own investigation though he is not an official police inspector anymore. 

Along with being involved in this case, he has a surprise inheritance from his uncle, whom he hasn’t seen for years. His uncle Bansi was quite a magical fellow who had a kind of Dr. Doolittle relationship with animals. A baby elephant arrives with a letter:

It is my request that you take in and care for this elephant. It is a newborn, not yet a year old. If I were to tell you the circumstances by which this elephant entered the world you would not believe me, at least not yet. Let me say only this to you: this is no ordinary elephant. Remember what is real and what is illusion is only a matter of perspective.

Can you imagine such a thing?! Mumbai is not a verdant, rural retreat. This is a city teeming with people everywhere. Chopra’s home is an apartment on the 15th floor. For the time being, the elephant named Ganesh is hitched outdoors near the hut of the security person. Chopra has a wife called Poppy. Her mother also lives with them. There are no children which is a great sadness to Poppy. 

Vaseem Khan brings the city of Mumbai to life. The reader can feel the heat and the rain and the smells; the poverty and the richness and the corruption and the wonder of this place. Although I’m unlikely to ever go there, India holds a place in my heart like no other. 

This is just a wonderful book, and I and have pre-ordered the next one which is due out in the US this summer. The characters are so appealing, the elephant is a delight, the mystery a good one. Really a perfect book for me. Highly recommended.

Greengates by RC Sherriff

Greengates

by RC Sherriff

fiction 1936

print

finished 1/2/16

When I read Persephone Books' description of Greengates here, I bought it immediately. I thought that this would be an interesting take on a time of life that I am in just now - retirement of a husband, and how it affects the wife. Tom Baldwin is retiring at 59 years old, and comes up with first one scheme and then another to make this a terrific new page in his life’s book, but each of them fails and he falls into despair. In the meantime, his wife Edith misses her daily routines. When Tom decides to spend an hour every day reading in the drawing room it disrupts Edith’s much-loved nap. They find they have nothing to say to each another. When he worked they would talk about their separate days. Now there are no stories to relate. Edith does try to encourage and support him, but the situation feels hopeless. They have disagreements. Tom gets angry with their old maid. We get glimpses of their fond feelings for one another, but the times are fleeting.

As I write this, it sounds bleak. And it is. Until a beautiful fall day.

Saturday, the 28th October: a date that Tom and Edith Baldwin were to remember with feelings close to reverence: a date of deliverance.

Edith suggests they take a walk they haven’t done since before the war. They both remember it fondly, and so they do it. When they come to the little village, they see a new road and houses being built. At first they are chagrined. They fear the beautiful countryside will be ruined. Then they are coaxed into visiting one of the houses by an eager agent who is new to the job. They both fall in love with it. It is clean and bright and cheerful and welcoming; everything their house in London is not. They begin to look at their home with new eyes. They see how dingy and uncomfortable and old-fashioned it is. Tom connects it with themselves. They are older and need a fresh start.

The book proceeds to show all the work involved in making this happen. They don’t want any of their old furniture in a beautiful new house. They must sell it, and the house, and there is concern there won’t be enough money. But it all works out, and the house of their dreams is built on a few acres, and in sight of the footpath they walked upon to reach it. The author does a wonderful job of getting inside Tom and Edith’s heads to show us the excitement, worries, enthusiasm, and fears that accompany their big decision. 

On their first evening in Weldon Close, Tom meets a man in the neighborhood who wants the homeowners to build a clubhouse that will offer activities for the residents. The man is a most disagreeable sort (and racist, the reader recognizes), though Tom doesn’t see this at first because their evening is spent in the warm glow from whisky, and all things seem possible. Again, Sherriff shows us all the emotions that are stirring around in Tom’s head. He concurs with Mr. van Doon about some ideas but has his own notions that he wants to put forward. 

At nearly the end of this fine, wise book a couple in what is now known as the ‘third age’ begins a most agreeable, pleasant, and worthwhile life. The last part is told by a visitor who used to work with Tom, and I found it a lovely way to tell the readers what had happened in the ten years since Tom and Edith arrived. Greengates offers hope to the reader. It shows that older age does not have to be lonely and without purpose. 

It may seem as if I’ve told you the whole story, but really this is just the bones of the tale. RC Sherriff is a master of showing the lives of ordinary people. His characters are as real as if they lived next door. I enjoyed reading it, but I didn't love it as I did Sherriff's The Fortnight in September (which I wrote about here). Though I identify with the couple's stage of life, they are very different from Tom and me. Retirement for him has been getting to the things around the farm that he didn't have time for when he was working. And we have children and grandchildren so we luckily and happily don't lack for companionship. We would never be part of a club, and would rather read than participate in a round of social activities. 

Before Persephone, I had never heard of this author, and I am so grateful they have brought his books to modern readers.

Today's picture - eating Windy Poplars Farm eggs

Lucky thirteen list of 2015 favorite books

Starting in December and going back to January 2015, here are my top favorites of last year. 

The Shepherd, the Angel, and Walter the Christmas Miracle Dog

by Dave Barry

fiction 2006

reread

print

finished 12/10/15

The Woman Who Walked in Sunshine - book 16 in the No. 1 Ladies' Detective Agency

by Alexander McCall Smith

fiction 2015

kindle

finished 11/10/15

Stranger in the House

by Julie Summers

nonfiction 2008

print

finished 11/7/15

To Dwell in Darkness - book 16 in the Duncan Kincaid/Gemma James series

by Deborah Crombie

mystery 2014

kindle

finished 10/22/15

The Housekeeper and the Professor (also called The Gift of Numbers)

by Yoko Ogawa

translated from Japanese by Stephen Snyder

fiction 2003; 2009 in English translation

print

finished 10/13/15

The Complete Inspector Morse

by David Bishop

nonfiction first published 2002 - this updated edition published 2011

print

finished 9/21/15

Cutting for Stone

by Abraham Verghese

fiction 2009

kindle

library book

finished 9/5/15

In the Garden with The Totterings - a Tottering-By-Gently collection

by Annie Tempest

graphic novel 2011

print

finished 8/22/15

The Novel Habits of Happiness - book 10 in the Isabel Dalhousie series

by Alexander McCall Smith

fiction 2015

kindle

finished 7/27/15

A Spy Among Friends: Kim Philby and the Great Betrayal

by Ben Macintyre

nonfiction 2014

kindle

finished 7/20/15

Can't we talk about something more PLEASANT?

by Roz Chast

graphic nonfiction 2014

print

finished 7/19/15

Essays After Eighty

by Donald Hall

nonfiction 2014

print

finished 5/1/15

Howards End is on the Landing

by Susan Hill

nonfiction 2009

print

reread

finished 2/14/15

Although I love the Arthur Upfield ‘Bony’ series, I couldn’t come up with just one. Two rereads in the group. 6 nonfiction, 7 fiction, 1 mystery. Every one was published in the 2000s. 6 by women, 7 by men. 8 print, 5 kindle. 1 library book.

New book about Clementine Churchill

I just read this at: http://www.npr.org/2015/12/31/461480007/how-clementine-churchill-wielded-influence-as-winstons-wife

A book I cannot wait to read, and have indeed ordered. (I copied and pasted from the page, and this is the way the font came through.)

Lady Churchill in April 1965

Keystone-France/Gamma-Keystone via Getty Images

At the outset, biographer Sonia Purnell didn't know much about Clementine Churchill. "I confess, like millions of others, I had absolutely no idea who Winston Churchill's wife was," Purnell tells NPR's Steve Inskeep.

She once said early in life she would have loved to have been a statesman in her own right if only she had been born with trousers rather than petticoats.

Sonia Purnell, biographer of Clementine Churchill

But then Purnell stumbled onto a letter from 1940, when Winston Churchill had just become prime minister. It was the middle of World War II, and England was in a very bad state.

"She realized that he was in danger of losing support of the very people he needed most," Purnell says. "He was being brusque and rude and rather overbearing. So, she wrote him this letter. And it just tells him how he needs to bring people alongside him, to make them love him. His behavior changed as a result of this. And people changed their minds about him."

After reading that letter, Purnell had to find out more about the woman who influenced England — and her statesman husband — through two world wars. The result is Clementine: The Life of Mrs. Winston Churchill. Purnell talks with Inskeep about Clementine Churchill's background, her ambition, and what she'd be doing if she were alive today.

---

Interview Highlights

Clementine

The Life of Mrs. Winston Churchill

by Sonia Purnell

Hardcover, 436 pages

purchase

On how Clementine "threw herself into" being Churchill's wife

I think she realized she couldn't be the ordinary wife. She would lose Winston. She would never see him. So really from very, very early on, she threw herself into making herself the right sort of woman for him. She wanted to prove that she was up to it. A lot of people thought she wasn't when she first married him. She'd come from this rackety background. She was quite shy. And so she pushed herself to become this incredibly wise, measured, knowledgeable, well-read person.

On her background

She was the granddaughter of a Scottish earl. But her mother was something of a Victorian wild child: Lady Blanche. She was married off, and it was a pretty loveless match. He didn't want children. She did. She went about this with some enthusiasm, shall we say ... without him! ... She had up to 10 lovers on the go at once. As a result of this, her mother was shunned by polite society, had very little money. They kept having to move house. Her putative father, [Sir Henry] Hozier, tried to kidnap her. She managed to escape. But none of this was the sort of life you would normally expect of the granddaughter of a Scottish earl.

On what attracted Winston to her

I think because of her rackety background — she had no money, she was making her own living — she wasn't like the normal society women that he'd met, who were interested in frocks and balls and not much else. So, suddenly here was a woman who was interested in what he had to say about all sorts of things, and he found that thrilling. She found it rapturous that here was someone prepared to talk about great and exciting world events — events which she wished she could be a part of.

The Churchills — Winston, Clementine and two of the their children, Sarah and Randolph — head to the House of Commons on Budget Day, April 15, 1929.

Topical Press Agency/Hulton Archive/Getty Images

On how Clementine helped her husband rebuild his career after some disastrous mistakes

I think he always wanted to be prime minister. She always wanted him to be prime minister, too. I think the difference she made was that earlier in his career, he made countless mistakes. Take the Dardanelles [and the Gallipoli Campaign], for instance, in the first world war — disastrous military campaign. ... And for many Empire troops, this was something that has, you know, stayed in history as a military disaster. You might argue it wasn't really Churchill's fault ... you might argue it was. In any case, he got the blame. ...

His career was completely shot. And she saw that the way back — he had to redeem himself. And if by volunteering to fight in the trenches at the Western Front, he could show people that he wasn't this hothead. He wasn't just all about him.

On how, when he went to fight with the British army on the Western Front, Clementine warned him not to come back too soon

Yes, can you imagine? ... A wicked bullet could find him at any moment. But she wanted people to want him to come back. She knew that if he just came back, people would say, "Oh, it's the same old Winston. He's not learned." If he stayed out there long enough that people realize that he was needed, then that would be different.

On how Clementine took action on her own

She saw that all Britain had in 1940-1941 was a collective spirit, and that had to be fostered and nurtured and protected. And yet, people were discontented. The air raid shortages and the Blitz — they were pretty horrible. They were cold; they were dark; they were scary. And so she went about ordering all the government ministers around:Please put heating in there. Please make sure there's a fire exit there. Please manufacture 2 million new beds so people can sleep alongside their children during the raids to stop them from becoming too frightened. She saw that by dealing with these problems, you would foster that incredible Blitz spirit that people still talk about now.

On how researching Clementine affected the way Purnell views political couples today

Eleanor Roosevelt (left) and Clementine Churchill pose for photographers shortly before making an address over the CBC network in 1944.

PhotoQuest/Getty Images

Sometimes I look at some of the political spouses today and I wonder where their ambition is. I mean, obviously times are different now. But in Britain, you very rarely hear anything about the prime minister's wife apart from what frock she's wearing or where she went on holiday. I'm amazed, really, that we're still in that position where we don't celebrate the fact that in many ways we get two for the price of one, because with the Churchills, we did.

On what Clementine might have done had she been born in a different time

She once said early in life she would have loved to have been a statesman in her own right if only she had been born with trousers rather than petticoats. I think if she were alive today, I suspect very much that she would be in the British Cabinet. She would certainly be an MP, and maybe, who knows, she might've gone for the prime minister's job herself.

Read an excerpt of Clementine

Tom's 2016 Reads

11 in all.

November - 1

11. The Bat - book 1 in the Harry Hole series
by Jo Nesbo
mystery 1997 (in English 2012)
library book
print
finished 11/25/16

October - 1

10. The Devil's Star - book 5 in the Harry Hole series
by Jo Nesbo
mystery 2005
library book
print
finished (approximately) 10/15/16


September -1

9. Border Angels  - book 2 in the Inspector Celcius Day series
by Anthony J. Quinn
mystery 2013
kindle
finished 9/12/16

May - 3

8. A Conversation About Happiness
The Story of a Lost Childhood
by Mikey Cuddihy
nonfiction 2014
print
finished 5/18/16

7. Roseanna by Maj Sjowall and Per Wahloo - book 1 in the Martin Beck series
translated from the Swedish by Lois Roth
mystery 1965
print
finished 5/8/16

6. The Far Country
by Nevil Shute
fiction 1952
kindle
finished 5/6/16

March - 2

5. Essays After Eighty
by Donald Hall
nonfiction 2014
finished 3/29/16

4. Norwegian Wood
Chopping, Stacking, and Drying Wood the Scandinavian Way
by Lars Mytting
translated from the Norwegian by Robert Ferguson
nonfiction first published 2011; 2015 this edition
print
finished 3/6/16

February - 1

3. Driving Home
An American Journey
by Jonathan Raban
nonfiction 2010
print
finished 2/24/16

January - 2

2. On What Grounds - book 1 in the Coffeehouse series
by Cleo Coyle
mystery 2003
kindle
finished 1/25/16

1. 1776
by David McCullough
nonfiction 2005
print (his father's book)
finished 1/18/16

Books Read in 2016

December - 3

59. A Shilling for Candles - book 1 in the Alan Grant series
by Josephine Tey
mystery 1936
kindle
finished 12/27/16

58. The Man in the Queue - book 1 in the Alan Grant series
by Josephine Tey
mystery 1929
kindle
finished 12/15/16

57. The Case of the Love Commandos - book 4 in the Vish Puri, Most Private Investigator series
by Tarquin Hall
mystery 2013
kindle
finished 12/2/16

November - 5

56. The Case of the Deadly Butter Chicken - book 3 in the Vish Puri, Most Private Investigator series
by Tarquin Hall
mystery 2012
kindle
finished 11/23/16

55. Murder at the House of Rooster Happiness - book 1 in the Ethical Chiang Mai Detective Agency series
by David Casarett
mystery 2016
kindle
finished 11/14/16

54. A Frightfully English Execution - book 7 in the Inspector Singh Investigates series
by Shamini Flint
mystery 2016
kindle
finished 11/4/16

53. A Calamitous Chinese Killing - book 6 in the Inspector Singh Investigates series
by Shamini Flint
mystery 2013
kindle
finished 11/2/16

52. Elle & Coach
by Stefany Shaheen (with Mark Dagostino)
nonfiction 2015
print
finished 11/1/16

October - 7

51. A Curious Indian Cadaver - book 5 in the Inspector Singh Investigates series
by Shamini Flint
mystery 2012
kindle
finished 10/31/16

50. The Pawnbroker's Daughter
A Memoir
by Maxine Kumin
nonfiction 2015 (published posthumously)
print
finished 10/26/16

49. Precious and Grace - book 17 in the No. 1 Ladies' Detective Agency series
by Alexander McCall Smith
mystery 2016
kindle
finished 10/22/16

48. A Deadly Cambodian Crime Spree - book 4 in the Inspector Singh Investigates series
by Shamini Flint
mystery 2011
kindle
finished 10/20/16 

47. The Merry Misogynist - book 6 in the Dr. Siri Paiboun series
by Colin Cotterill
mystery 2009
library book
kindle
finished 10/14/16

46. The Perplexing Theft of the Jewel in the Crown - book 2 in the Baby Ganesh Agency Investigation series
by Vaseem Khan
mystery 2016
kindle
finished 10/8/16

45. Death Runs Adrift - book 6 in the Gray Whale Inn Mystery series
by Karen MacInerney
mystery 2014
kindle
finished 10/3/16

September - 3

44. Brush With Death - book 5 in the Gray Whale Inn Mystery series
by Karen MacInerney
mystery 2013
kindle
finished 9/25/16

43. The Singapore School of Villainy - book 3 in the Inspector Singh Investigates series
by Shamini Flint
mystery 2010
kindle
finished 9/21/16

42. A Bali Conspiracy Most Foul - book 2 in the Inspector Singh Investigates series
by Shamini Flint
mystery 2009
kindle
finished 9/8/16

August - 5

41. Kick: The True Story of JFK's Sister and the Heir to Chatsworth
by Paula Byrne
nonfiction 2016
print
finished 8/30/16

40. A Most Peculiar Malaysian Mystery - book 1 in the Inspector Singh Investigates series
by Shamini Flint
mystery 2009
kindle
finished 8/30/16

39. Berried to the Hilt - book 4 in the Gray Whale Inn Mystery series
by Karen MacInerney
mystery 2010
kindle
finished 8/16/16

38. The Smartest Woman I Know
by Ilene Beckerman
nonfiction 2011
print
finished 8/11/16

37. Half Wild
by Robin MacArthur
short stories 2016
print
finished 8/9/16

July - 9

36. Six Impossible Things - book 3 (last) in the Waynes of Wood Mount series
by Elizabeth Cadell
fiction 1961
kindle
finished 7/29/16

35. The Blue Sky of Spring - book 2 in the Waynes of Wood Mount series
by Elizabeth Cadell
fiction 1956
kindle
finished 7/26/16

34. The Lark Shall Sing - book 1 in the Waynes of Wood Mount series
by Elizabeth Cadell
fiction 1955
kindle
finished 7/22/16

33. Ox-Cart Man 
by Donald Hall
pictures by Barbara Cooney
children's book 1979
reread
print
finished 7/19/16

32. Deep in the Green
by Anne Raver
nonfiction 1995
print
finished 7/18/16

31. The Escher Twist - book 16 in the Homer Kelly series
by Jane Langton
mystery 2002
kindle
finished 7/15/16

30. Picture Miss Seeton - book 1 in the Miss Seeton series
by Heron Carvic
mystery 1968
kindle 
finished 7/13/16

29. Shoulder the Sky (also known as Wind and Rough Weather) - book 3 in the Drumberley series
by D.E. Stevenson
fiction 1951
kindle
finished 7/8/16

28. Murder at Monticello - book 15 in the Homer Kelly series
by Jane Langton
mystery 2001
kindle
finished 7/7/16

June - 5

27. On My Own
by Diane Rehm
nonfiction 2016
print
finished 6/30/16

26. Music in the Hills - book 2 in the Drumberley series
by D.E. Stevenson
fiction 1950
kindle 
finished 6/28/16

25. Vittoria Cottage - book 1 in the Drumberley series
by D.E. Stevenson
fiction 1949
kindle
finished 6/21/16

24. The Thief of Venice - book 14 in the Homer Kelly series
by Jane Langton
mystery 1999
kindle
finished 6/11/16

23. The Face On the Wall - book 13 in the Homer Kelly series
by Jane Langton
mystery 1998
kindle
finished 6/1/16

May - 3

22. Dead As A Dodo - book 12 in the Homer Kelly series
by Jane Langton
mystery 1996
kindel
finished 5/26/16

21. The Shortest Day - book 11 in the Homer Kelly series
by Jane Langton
mystery 1995
kindle 
finished 5/15/16

20. Divine Inspiration - book 10 in the Homer Kelly series
by Jane Langton
mystery 1993
kindle
finished 5/9/16

April - 4

19. God in Concord - book 9 in the Homer Kelly series
by Jane Langton
mystery 1992
kindle
finished 4/26/16

18. The Dante Game - book 8 in the Homer Kelly series
by Jane Langton
mystery 1991
kindle
finished 4/19/16

17. Murder at the Gardner - book 7 in the Homer Kelly series
by Jane Langton
mystery 1988
kindle
finished 4/10/16

16. Journey to Munich - book 12 in the Maisie Dobbs series
by Jacqueline Winspear
mystery 2016
kindle
finished 4/4/16

March - 6

15. Good and Dead - book 6 in the Homer Kelly series
by Jane Langton
mystery 1986
kindle
finished 3/29/16

14. Emily Dickinson is Dead - book 5 in the Homer Kelly series
by Jane Langton
mystery 1984
kindle
finished 3/25/16

13. Natural Enemy - book 4 in the Homer Kelly series
by Jane Langton
mystery 1982
kindle
finished 3/19/16

12. The Memorial Hall Murder - book 3 in the Homer Kelly series
by Jane Langton
mystery 1978
kindle
finished 3/16/16

11. Dark Nantucket Noon - book 2 in the Homer Kelly series
by Jane Langton
mystery 1975
kindle
finished 3/10/16

10. The Transcendental Murder - book 1 in the Homer Kelly series
by Jane Langton
mystery 1964
kindle
finished 3/3/16

February - 4

9. The Bath Mysteries - book 7 in the Bobby Owen series
by E. R. Punshon
mystery 1936
kindle
finished 2/29/16

8. Death Comes to Cambers - book 6 in the Bobby Owen series
by E.R. Punshon
mystery 1935
kindle
finished 2/14/16

7. Heroic Measures
by Jill Ciment
fiction 2009
print
finished 2/3/16

6. Death of a Beauty Queen - book 5 in the Bobby Owen series
by E.R. Punshon
mystery 1935
kindle
finished 2/1/16

January - 5

5. Crossword Mystery - book 3 in the Bobby Owen series
by E.R. Punshon
mystery 1934
kindle
finished 1/18/16

4. Bloomsbury at Home
by Pamela Todd
nonfiction 1999
print
finished 1/18/16

3. The Unexpected Inheritance of Inspector Chopra - book 1 in the Baby Ganesh Agency Investigation series
by Vaseem Khan
mystery 2015
kindle
finished 1/13/16

2. Death Among the Sunbathers - book 2 in the Bobby Owen series
by E.R. Punshon
mystery 1934
kindle
finished 1/5/16

1. Greengates
by R.C. Sherriff
fiction 1936
print
finished 1/2/16