The Girdle of Melian

is for the List of 180 and the Library in English. For this year's A to Z I'm featuring books I've read based on the Reading Challenge . Today's book is a book you own but have never read. I recently blogged about the (mostly) failure to read, by 2015, 180 books I own but hadn't read, since most of the books are now in storage. In our new place I already have 70 books to read - actually, it's down to 65 now. I'm making a dent in the pile! Mainly because there's a book fair coming up! The Library in English in Geneva is having its biannual book sale at the end of the month. Which books do you think I should get?

is for Steinbeck. Yes, it is. It has to be, because I need an excuse to blab about The Grapes of Wrath . For this year's A to Z I'm featuring books I've read based on the Reading Challenge . Today's book is based on a true story. The Grapes of Wrath is set in the 1930s and relates in a very personal and individual way the migration of farmers from states such as Oklahoma to California, seeking work and basic sustenance for their families. I learned afterwards that Steinbeck based a lot of his notes for the book on research conducted by Sanora Babb , so now her novel Whose Names Are Unknown is on my wishlist. I've read other Steinbeck before, but hadn't read his books on the migrations. In Dubious Battle is up next. I couldn't find the time to enter into a detailed discussion of the book on the Compuserve Books and Writers Community, so I tweeted some of my initial reactions. Here are a few of the conversations: Let me see if...

is for Jacob Two-Two. For this year's A to Z I'm featuring books I've read based on the Reading Challenge . Today's book is a book that takes place in your hometown. Jacob Two-Two is the main character in three books for children written by Montreal author Mordecai Richler (of The Apprenticeship of Duddy Kravitz and many other books and essays). They're snarky and funny and have all sorts of tongue-in-cheek references to Canadian politicians and other authority figures. Jacob Two-Two gets his name from the fact that because he's the youngest child in a large family, he has to keep repeating himself in order to be heard. I was lucky enough to attend a book signing by Mordecai Richler before he passed away and even got a photo! But it's in storage back in Montreal, and I haven't scanned it, unfortunately. Here are the three books: Jacob Two-Two Meets the Hooded Fang Jacob Two-Two and the Dinosaur Jacob Two-Two's First Spy ...

is for Kindle for iPad. For this year's A to Z I'm featuring books I've read based on the Reading Challenge . Today's book is supposed to be a book at the bottom of my to-read list. Except that there's a problem. My to-read list has no bottom. It's nearly as deep as the Mariana Trench. I own about 200 books in storage that I haven't read yet, have about 400 on my wishlist, am staring down 70 unread in our new house (coming up in a future post), plus there at least 200 .pdf books and downloaded Gutenberg files and so on in my e-mails and on my laptop. Today, then, I shall feature my Kindle for iPad collection, which I'm finally starting to make a dent in (the ones with check marks are the ones I've already read): Round 2 of A Round of Words in 80 Days has already begun! My goals for this round are: 1. Keep up with the A to Z! 2. Finish the latest batch of Wallace letters 3. Type up some more of Larksong (I went ...

is for Hercule! For this year's A to Z I'm featuring books I've read based on the Reading Challenge . Today's book is a book set during Christmas. For this one, I'm going back to one of my favourite authors to reread (sometimes I even forget whodunit and am pleasantly surprised all over again!), Agatha Christie. There are two I can think of that relate to Christmas: the novel Hercule Poirot's Christmas and the short story collection Hercule Poirot and the Adventure of the Christmas Pudding . I like this line from the Guardian review quoted in Wikipedia: "In this kind of detective novel, depending almost entirely for its interest on accuracy of logical deduction from recorded fact and yet with the drama played out by recognisable human beings, Mrs. Christie remains supreme." Do you reread books? What's your favourite not-necessarily-Christmas-but-set-at-that-time story?

is for guide... For this year's A to Z I'm featuring books I've read based on the Reading Challenge . Today's book is a book your mom loves: The Guide to Mediterranean Plants Unfortunately I can't find information about the book online. It was published in the 1960s or so and is a small hardcover with illustrations on the right-hand side of plants and animals, and short descriptions on the left. It was very useful for research when I was drafting my three 15th Century romances set in the Mediterranean. Instead, here are a few of the plants my mother's featured on her The Nature of My Memories blog: Canerik Cherry and almond blossoms Cypress tree Meander plain   Silver berry Which flowers and blossoms do you look for when spring comes?

is for #ForumitesRule! For this year's A to Z I'm featuring books I've read based on the Reading Challenge . Today's books are by female authors, who also happen to be Forumites, that is, members of the Compuserve Books and Writers Community ! Hélène Boudreau Linda Gerber Joanna Bourne Zan Marie Steadham Marte Brengle kc dyer Diana Gabaldon  (I never would have discovered the Forum if it wasn't for her!) Jennifer Hendren Lynne Sears Williams Deborah Kerbel Darlene Marshall Vicki Pettersson Barbara Rogan Marsha Skrypuch Carol Spradling Kristen Callihan Lara Lacombe And finally... Linda Grimes ! Who happens to have a new short story coming soon: Pre-Fix: A Ciel Halligan Short Story "Meet Ciel Halligan, aura adaptor extraordinaire, in this charming introduction to Linda Grimes ' 'sparkling series' (Publishers Weekly). A genetic quirk means Ciel can take on the appearance of anyone she meets ...