Mailbox Monday

Mailbox Monday is hosted by Marcia at The Printed Page. Mailbox Monday is the gathering place for readers to share the books that came into their house last week (checked out library books don’t count, eBooks & audio books do). Warning: Mailbox Monday can lead to envy, toppling TBR piles and humongous wish lists.

I only had one addition again this week:

The Sum of His Syndromes sent to me by Academy Chicago Publishers.

My Books to Review list is starting to get a little high so I better get cracking!

Sunday Salon

Kristen from BookNAround posed and interesting question:

Do you have reading obligations?

I'm not really sure what she means by that but I'm going to take a stab at it.
I suppose that if I wanted to think of reading, any reading, as an obligation, then yes I do. I have received several free books (see the widget to the right for reviews) which I feel I should review in return for the book. However, technically, I don't think that they are going to arrest me if I don't review the book but they probably won't give me any more free books if I don't.

I have found that reviewing a book settles it more in my own mind, so even if a book is not one of the freebies, I still review it. So the obligation really doesn't drive me to read the book. I want to read all the books that I have and all the books that are on my wishlist and new ones that I find out about. My problem is not an obligation to read, but figuring out in what order to read them. So a better question would be, how do you decide which book is the next to be read?
Chèli

The CAPTIVE HEART by Bertrice Small

Read: Aug 29 - 30
Category: Favorite Author
Pages: 402

Alix Givet is the daughter of Queen Margaret's physician and as they are fleeing the Yorkists, the band of refugees seek shelter with Sir Udolf Watteson. Her father, ill, can go no farther, so a bargain is made where Alix will marry his son Hayle and the two will remain. However, Hayle doesn't want a bride, he only wants his mistress, so he mistreats Alix for the entire time that they are wed. Her father agonizes over her situation but dies before she is freed when Hayle's mistress dies and he kills himself, Alix is forced to flee when her father-in-law decides that he will marry her because he now needs an heir.

Setting off on foot by herself, Alix crosses the border to Scotland where she is found near dead and taken to the keep of a brooding border lord. The Love story that follows twists and turns to an unusual ending.

This was not one of Bertrice Small's better books. I saw a re-write of Skye O'Malley at the beginning and some of her other themes in the middle. The writing was a bit staid in this one, and the characters were not as well defined as normal. Normally, Small gets 4 stars from me, but this one is only a 3.

Weekend Wonderings

I have been trying to complete a challenge by the end of this month and got to thinking, Is it really worth it to rush through a book just to meet a deadline?

Feel free to play along, just post a link to your blog or comment here and we can all wonder together.


For me, the answer is a definite NO.

The entire reason for me to read a book is to enjoy the words, emotions, ideas that the writer is trying to communicate to me as the reader, so rushing just to be able to say it is finished, defeats that purpose. I want to savor the book and try to understand everything that the writer is saying, so if it takes a little bit longer, so be it. I will enjoy the journey that much longer.

The Lucky One by Nicholas Sparks

Read: Aug 18 - 27
Category: Favorite Author
Pages: 534

Have you ever held on to something simply because you thought it brought you good luck?

Logan Thibault was a marine in Iraq when he found a picture of a young woman wearing a T-shirt with the slogan Lucky Lady across her chest. He tried to find who it belong to, but when no one claimed it, he put it in his pocket. His luck began to change. He survived 3 tours in Iraq before he went home. His buddy from the marines felt that the picture had kept Logan safe and when his buddy was killed in a fishing accident in the boat right next to him, Logan began to think that he needed to find the girl.

Logan left his home in Colorado and starting walking… ending up in Hampton, NC. Along with his dog, Zeus, Logan not only found the girl, the reason that he was meant to find her.
I've read nearly all of Nicholas Sparks' books. I liked the idea of this one, but the beginning was slow and sometimes it was too wordy. I liked it, but not as well as some of his others.

GUILTY PLEASURES by Laura Lee Guhrke

Read: Aug 25 - 28
Category: Book Finds
Pages: 384

This is the story of an orphan woman, Daphne Wade, who presents herself to the Duke of Tremore in place of her father to catalog and repair ancient artifacts that are being unearthed on his estate. Daphne falls in love at first sight but the Duke doesn't even register that he is a woman.
The story is a typical romance and proceeds as the reader would expect. Nothing to write home about but entertaining in the normal romance genre way.

Friday Finds

Over Sea, Under Stone
I had seen this one mentioned several places at LT and when I saw it on the shelf at the library and read the summary, it sounded interesting so I picked it up.

Mister Monday - first of the Keys to the Kingdom
I saw this and the description reminded me a bit of Harry Potter so I thought I'd try it out.

The Doll People
Whisper1 of LT had recommended this book and I finally found it.

Déjà Dead by Kathy Reichs

Read: Aug 19 - 25
Category: Mystery
Pages: 411

This book, set in Montreal, Canada, centers around the efforts of Temperance Brennan to solve the brutal murders of 5 woman. It probably would have been easier for her if the Quebec police, namely Luc Claudel, believed her when she pointed out that there was a serial murderer on the lose. But since she is just an anthropologist and a woman to boot, she has a hard time showing them the connections that her instincts tell her are there.

It was thrilling to go with Tempe as she struggled to find all the connections of the different victims, so that she could finally give these women and their families peace found in the criminal being brought to justice, however, she may need to rethink her process in the future.

The characterizations are interesting, showing a previous existence which expands the readers knowledge of the characters, but doesn't get in the way while enhancing the plot. We see the strengths of the Temperance as well as her weaknesses which only make you more interested as she battles to protect herself and those she loves.

The details that are used throughout this book are extensive but sometimes feel a bit overwhelming. Constantly relating street after street didn't improve the story, but got to a point where it drove this reader a bit nuts, some editing here could have helped. I liked the way that French was interspersed (never overdone) with the English, giving it a nice French feel, or should I say Quebec feel.

Today’s MUSING MONDAYS post is about book series…

Do you prefer to read stand-alone books, or books in series? Do you stick with a series the whole way through or stop after the first installment? Are there any particular series you enjoy?(question courtesy of Elena)

I have to admit that I am a series junkie. I love to read books that continue on with the same characters so that instead of wondering what would have happened to them, you actually find out. But don't think that I won't read a stand alone book, far from it. Series or Stand alone - they're all good to me!

This year I have read over 30 1st in a series books (there was only one I didn't care for), but I have also continued ongoing series. My favorites are the Mary Russell series by Laurie R. King, the Goldy Catering series by Diane Mott Davidson and the Anna Pigeon Series by Nevada Barr. I also really enjoy the Hannah Swensen series by Joanne Fluke and the Alexandra Cooper series by Linda Fairstein. I could go on and on. If you want to see what I mean, click on the labels for 1st in a series and ongoing series at the end of this message.

Mailbox Monday

Mailbox Monday is hosted by Marcia at The Printed Page.
Mailbox Monday is the gathering place for readers to share the books that came into their house last week (checked out library books don’t count, eBooks & audio books do). Warning: Mailbox Monday can lead to envy, toppling TBR piles and humongous wish lists.

I only had one addition

True Colors by Kristin Hannah portrait of the delicate and enduring bonds of sisterhood

Having 3 sisters of my own, I am very grateful to Authors on the Web for the opportunity to read this book.

The Edge of Desire by Stephanie Laurens

Read: Aug 6 - 22
Category: Romance
Pages: 648

The Bastion Club is a series of romances revolving around aristocratic men who served in the special services during the Napoleonic wars and have returned to their "normal" lives and are settling down to love and marriage. This is the seventh installment and centers on Christian Allardyce, the 6th Marquess of Dearne and his lost love Lady Letitia Vaux Randall.
Letitia's husband George Randall is murdered and her brother Justin is the prime suspect, so She sends to her former lover for assistance in clearing his name. They haven't been together for 12 years but the sparks are still there and Christian is determined to discover not only the murderer but the reason why Lady Randall married her husband in the first place.
What surprised me about this book is that normally Ms Laurens writes a romance with a bit of intrigue, but this book has a full-blown mystery which she leads you through along with the characters, revealing the clues to you at the same time as the characters receive them. The reader searches at the same pace as Christian and Letitia not just for love and forgiveness but for resolution of the problem that keep them apart.
However, I do feel that Ms Laurens, in this book, seems to be stretching out the love scenes a bit too long. They are as steamy and sensuous as always, but drag in certain places. That doesn't mean that I'm not reading them, I am.
Can’t wait for the last of this series.

Weekend Wonderings

I was processing the books that I picked up at the library and realized that I chose three books that were in the Juvenile shelves. It got me to thinking - why are books classified the way they are by age?
Feel free to play along, just post a link to your blog or comment here and we can all wonder together.


I understand some books are not appropriate for young readers but why would we adults tend to skip over those books and not even venture into that area of the shelves?

I, personally, had challenged myself to broaden my reading to other areas, so this year I have ventured into the juvenile realm on occasion. After all, I love Harry Potter, why wouldn't I like other books that are geared to the younger generations?

I read the A Bad Beginning (liked it) , read The Scarecrow and His servant (liked that too), listened to The Alchemyst: The secrets of the Immortal Nicholas Flamel (ditto), and I loved Black Beauty. I may not have small children around, but that doesn't mean, I can't enjoy these books.

I wonder, do other people limit themselves to certain areas because of age or some other reasons?

Library Loot

What great books do you find at the Library?

Here's ones I picked up today.

Hardly Knew Her by Laura Lippman an Anthology of stories set in Baltimore

Over Sea, Under Stone I had seen this one mentioned several places at LT and thought I'd pick it up.

Mister Monday - first of the Keys to the kingdom I saw this and the descrioption reminded me a bit of Harry Potter so I thought I'd try it out.

The Doll People - Whisper1 of LT had recommended this book and I finally found it.

What mystery series would you like to see?

I was browsing the book blogs that I follow and got to Between the Covers and thought I'd check out the Memes. She had an interesting question....

If you were to be given special TV or movie producing powers, which mystery novel character(s) would you create a TV series or movie for? Who would you cast in the major roles?

I think that I would have to choose the Goldy Schulz culinary mysteries by Diane Mott Davidson.
Part of the question answered but then who do we cast as Goldy and Tom Schulz? What about Marla and the Jerk?
Here are my nominees:
Goldy : Christina Ricci (she'd need to add a few pounds)
Tom: Nathan Fillion
Marla: Kristie Alley
The Jerk: Hugh Laurie

That's my idea. What's yours?

Firday Finds

What great books did you hear about / discover this past week? Share with us your FRIDAY FINDS!

The Lightning Thief - I saw the promo of the movie when I went to see Harry Potter and the Half Blood Prince, so I ordered it from the library and now I'm looking forward to a bit of fantasy.

Deja Dead - I finally started this book and can definitely understand why there is a TV series spun off from it, very engrossing!

Friday FInds is hosted by ShouldBeReading. Check out other Finds there.

Hist-Fic_Chick Giveaway

Allie at Hist-Fic Chick is holding a big giveaway of a autographed copy of either The Heretic Queen or Cleopatra's Daughter both by Michelle Moran.

Check it out!

What’s the best book you’ve read recently?

I think that the one that pleased me the most was Black Beauty, mainly because I had been searching for a Classic that I would enjoy and it was the one I found.

As for the best book, I think I have to say The Language of Bees (that was several weeks ago). I love the stories that Laurie King gives me of the continuation of Sherlock Holmes and Mary Russell.

CARBS AND CADAVERS by J. B Stanley

Read: Aug 17 - 19
Category: Cozy Mystery
Pages: 257

The Supper Club Mysteries starts with this book and is extremely entertaining. The entire premise, and one I find hits too close to home, is a group of "fatties" joining together to support each other as they try to lose weight. They title themselves the FLAB FIVE.

James Henry, the main character, is a divorced former professor from Wm & Mary who has an addiction to Cheese puffs and is carrying 50 lbs. of extra weight. He has returned home to Quincy Gap to care for his elderly father after his mother's death. James gets a job as a librarian and settles into what he considers a boring life which only drives him to his addiction more often than not. He feels friendless and alone so when the opportunity to make new friends and lose a few extra pounds is presented to him, he jumps at the chance not knowing what he is getting himself into.

At their first meeting, they are all distracted by sirens (one member works for the local sheriff) and plunge themselves into an investigation of the murder. Working together to both solve the mystery and lose weight, the dieters are melded together into close friends and band together to catch the killer.

The story is well-written and highly amusing with tales of diet cheating and buttons popping. I was completely engrossed in the story so I didn’t have to work about a “Cheese Puff Attack”. As a fellow dieter, my interest was held as to their progress and their setbacks along with the mystery. I look forward to a second helping - pun intended.

Death Qualified: A Mystery of Chaos by Kate Wilhelm

Read: Aug 4 - 18
Category: Mystery
Pages: 438

Lucas Kendricks disappeared 7 years ago. Suddenly he's back after escaping a nightmare where he was "Tom" where he hadn't remembered his family in Oregon but before he has a chance to start his life over, he's dead and his wife is charged with his murder.
Barbara Holloway is in Arizona trying to live the simple life when she receives a phone call from her father and is dragged back into the legal world that she had left 5 years before in disgust, unable to agree with the bargains and compromises of defenders and prosecutors.
This book starts off in chaos and only seems to come together when the courtroom drama begins. There is way too much emphasis on the "chaos theory and psychological research" than a normal reader would want to know. This diversion encompasses most of the book but doesn't stop the reader from foretelling the conclusion. There are a few events at the end that re somewhat predictable.
The courtroom portion of the book was excellent, but the beginning and end left something to be desired.

Library Loot

What did you find from at the library this week?

Here's what I picked up!

Martin Van Buren and the Romantic Age of American Politics

The Petticoat Affair: Manners, Mutiny, and Sex in Andrew Jackson's White House

The Lightning Thief: Percy Jackson and the Olympians

2 books for my President's Challenge and 1 for entertainment!

Mailbox Monday

How Mailbox Monday works: hosted by The Printed Page

1. Every week we'll post about what books we have received that week (via your mailbox/library/store bought)!

2. Everyone that agrees to participate will try to visit each other's list and leave comments!

3. Everyone is welcome to join! You can join at anytime and you DO NOT have to participate every week.

Here's what came to me this week!

Only You by Deborah Grace Staley A charming romance set in a small Tennessee town
The Summer Kitchen by Karen Weinreb Story of a woman who must defend her family in hard times
The Lost Throne by Chris Kuzneski Thrilling treasure hunt set in 1890

Thyme of Death by Susan Wittig Albert

Category: Coy Mystery
Pages: 308
Read: August 12 - 16

This book is the first in the China Bayles series. China is an attorney who has given up the high paced legal jungle to pursue the quiet town living of an herbalist. That's what she says, but she gets caught up in the investigation of a murder which the police see as a suicide of one of her best friends.
The story is well woven around the characters in the small town of Pecan Springs, TX. What amazes me is the way the writer leads the reader down a path leaving subtle clues but misdirecting you in other areas so that when the resolution comes to light, you say to yourself - DAH! I should have seen that, but everything points that other way. Definitely a series I want to continue.

BBAW

Book Blogger Appreciation Week is September 14th - 18th but nominations are due tomorrow.
All you have to do is submit these 3 little questions the website with the button above and you can nominate your favorite blogger!

1) What has been one of the highlights of blogging for you?
The opportunity to see what other book bloggers are reading and books they are talking about. Of course, the giveaways aren't bad either!
2) What blogger has helped you out with your blog by answering questions, linking to you, or inspiring you? Actually there are two, J Kaye at http://j-kaye-book-blog.blogspot.com/ and Tina at http://tutus2cents.blogspot.com/
3) What one question do you have about BBAW that someone who participated last year could answer What's the difference this year?

Library Loot

What did you find from at the library this week?

Here's what I picked up!

The Lucky One - by Nicholas Sparks
His Majesty's dragon by Naomi Novik
State of the onion by Julie Hyzy
A rule against murder by Louise Penny

Booking through Thursday

What’s the worst book you’ve read recently?

I have to admit there are two tied for worst.
The first was Grandma Gets laid, an ER book that I got in February - it was so horrendous that I refuse to post my review on my blog just so you can see it. This book is full of all the typical stereotypes and it has no life to it. The title suggests something fun but doesn't live up to it. I can forgive this one since it was an ER and I believe a first novel of the author.

The other book is Notes From a Small Island by Bill Bryson. I had heard so many good things about this author and I was SOOOOOOOOOOO disappointed. I had tried one of his other books and thought maybe it was just the subject matter, but nope I couldn't stand this one either. Other people rave about it, not me.

BLACK BEAUTY BY Anna Sewell

Read : Aug 4-11
Category : Classics
Pages : 275

I have to admit that in my youth I never read Black Beauty. I wish I had. The style of this book, written in the first person, telling how the life of a horse can be pleasurable or miserable was truly delightful. It may me stop to think that it is a shame that so many people don't take into consideration an animal's feelings. Maybe if it was made mandatory reading for children, we wouldn't have mistreated animals in this world.

THE SILVER NEEDLE MURDER by Laura Childs

Read : Aug 8-9
Category : Favorites Author's books I haven't read yet!
Pages : 260

This was the 9th installment of the India Tea Shop Mysteries and my first disappointment from the author, Laura Childs. I love this series but not this book. I still have questions even though I have finished and re-read the ending, I still have questions.

First of all, I knew who the killer was at page 100 simply because this person kept popping up without any need to be there. Second, there were numerous incidents throughout that were not explained at the end and the motive was definitely not clear. So all in all, even though I enjoyed the story, I didn't like to the book.

Weekend wonderings

Do you ever see a book or hear a title and wonder - Why haven't I read that book? So I decided I'd start a new meme - WEEKEND WONDERINGS – which simply answers some hypothetical questions about you, your books and your reading habits. Something to make you stop and think about what, where, when, and why you read what you do.
Feel free to play along, just post a link to your blog or comment here and we can all wonder together.

This week I got to thinking about how well read I am.


After reading the biography of John Quincy Adams who had nearly 4000 books in his library at one time, I wondered how well read I was. So I googled out to the Internet and found a list of the top 100 Novels according to Time. (I thought they would be a good judge.) I'm not very well read, according to this list because I've only read 1 - Gone with the Wind.

http://www.time.com/time/2005/100books/the_complete_list.html

How do you fair against this list?

MURDER ON ASTOR PLACE by Victoria Thompson

Read : Aug 7 - 8
Category : Books I found out about on the Internet (LT)
Pages : 278

This is the first in the Gaslight Mysteries set in turn of the Century(1900) New York City. The central character is Sarah Brandt, a midwife who was born to the aristocracy but married "beneath her station" and now that she s widowed must earn her way in the world.
The mystery centers around a young woman who is strangled in a boardinghouse. Our heroine's involvement is that she recognizes the victim as being the sister of an acquaintance of her youth. Sarah makes every effort to assist Detective Sega rent Malloy in apprehending the murderer.
The twisting and turns which reveal social taboos of the day lead to a gruesome ending but not something that is surprising. IMHO, not a great mystery but readable.

FRIDAY FINDS

What great books did you hear about / discover this past week? Share with us your FRIDAY FINDS!

State of the Onion

Through a glass, deadly

Pane of Death

Murder by the Glass

Booking through Thursday

The question this week is:

What’s the most serious book you’ve read recently?

John Quincy Adams: A Public Life, A Private Life review follows

JOHN QUINCY ADAMS; A PUBLIC LIFE, A PRIVATE LIFE by Paul Nagel

Read : June 28 - Aug 6
Category : US Presidents, Histories, Biographies
Pages : 420

I have to admit that I knew hardly anything about John Quincy Adams (JQA) before I read this book. All I knew was that he was the 6th President of the United States and the son of John Adams, the 2nd President. I can no longer say that. This book was absolutely tremendous in telling the reader about the man, statesman, politician, son, husband, father, grandfather.

I won't try to convey all the information that Paul Nagel, the author, tries to give the reader. It would be impossible. What I will tell you is that this book tells you the history of man, who was brilliant, strove for perfection in himself, was ambitious yet scholarly and poetic, who wanted only the best for the nation that his father helped to birth.What I will you is that there were so many moments in history that he touched and was part of and never received the credit that I think he deserved if what is in this book is true. I say that because most of the book is based on JQA's papers, journals, etc. and could be biased.

Did you know that he was part of the commission that handled the negotiations for the Louisiana Purchase, or that he headed the diplomatic corps that negotiated the treaty that ended the War of 1812? Did you know that he was Secretary of State at the time that Monroe Doctrine was issued (I believe he was the one that put the bug in Monroe's ear)?

All this said, I don't believe that he was meant to be President. Not that he wasn't qualified, he didn't have the temperament for the political side of the job and the manner of his election (through the House of Representatives) didn't make it easier. After he was defeated for reelection by Andrew Jackson, he went on to a brilliant career in the House and was responsible for the protection of the Smithson bequest to the United States which we now have as the Smithsonian Institute.

As for the book, it was tremendously informative but it got weighed down by too many excerpts from his journal and sometimes there was too much detail. All in all, I'd read it again if I knew nothing about the man, but now I think, I may know too much.

A SERPENT'S TALE by Ariana Franklin

Read : July 20 -Aug 3
Pages : 567
After reading the Mistress of the Art of Death, I had high expectations of The Serpent's Tale, the sequel. Ariana Franklin lived up to those expectations and a bit more.
The story is set approximately 2 years after the end of Mistress, and there are numerous changes that effect this story. When the King’s paramour, Rosamund Clifford, dies supposedly by poison, Henry is suspicious of his estranged wife Eleanor of Aquitaine and sends his dependable Bishop of St. Albans, Rowley Picot to commandeer Adelia's services and determine exactly how his lover died. Only with clear evidence can civil war be averted and Adelia is the "man" for the job. Adelia's emotions are in the forefront when the Bishop arrives because Rowley's apparently moved on in his life after she had refused his marriage proposal while she has not been allowed to return to her home in Salerno.After being persuaded that the king's wishes must be obeyed, Adelia (along with Glytha, the baby, and Mansur) accompanies Rowley to the nunnery at Godstow. Upon their arrival they are greeted with a dead body on the bridge which starts the unusual events that surround this mystery.
Rowley takes Adelia to the location of Rosamund's body but first they must traverse through the walled labyrinth which guards the tower. However, it is soon determined that it is not a labyrinth but a Maze and that the contingency that is there to examine the body cannot gain the tower without a guide. Finally reaching the tower, Adelia is beginning the examination of the body and surrounding area when Queen Eleanor appears so that she may gloat over her rival's demise while unknown to everyone, the victim's maid has been waiting in a hidden chamber to reek revenge. Adelia manages to save the queen's life, who promptly envelopes Adelia into her entourage while capturing Rowley and preventing his communications with the king.
Rowley escapes but we are not sure if dead or alive, and Adelia is taken along with the Queen back to the nunnery where after being snowed in, she proceeds to unwind all the threads of the mystery.
The mixture of medical science of the day, observations, and political intrigue along with startling subplots and historical flavor make this as enjoyable a read as the first. I'm definitely glad that I've already got my copy of #3 from the library in hand.

MONDAY MUSINGS

Today’s MUSING MONDAYS post is a library habits meme…

This week we have a library meme courtesy of MizB:

Library Habits meme:
1) If you don't frequent your local library, why not? ALL THE TIME
2) If you do visit the library, how often do you go? 2 or 3 times a week
3) Do you have a favorite section that you always head to first, or do you just randomly peruse the shelves? both, I start at the new Large print books, move on to CD books, and then on to mysteries and romances, finally the histories
4) How many books are you allowed to check out at one time? 100 Do you take advantage of this? the most I have ever had out at one time is 30
5) How long are you allowed to have the books checked out? 3 weeks
6) How many times are you allowed to renew your check-outs, if at all? 2 renewal periods if no one else wants them
7) What do you love best about your particular library? ability to reserve books online
8) What is one thing you wish your library did differently? wish list online
9) Do you request your books via an online catalogue, or through the librarian at your branch? online
10) Have you ever chosen a book on impulse (from the online catalogue OR the shelves) and had it turn out to be totally amazing? yes If so, what book was it, and why did you love it? The Quilter's Apprentice because of the reminders of how our own errors can effect our lives.

PLEASE LEAVE A COMMENT with either the link to your own Musing Mondays post, or share your opinion in a comment here (if you don’t have a blog). Thanks.

Check out the giveaways!

Be sure to check out the giveaways at BOOKGIVEAWAYS and TRYING TO STAY CALM!
Click on the links to the right or below!
Good luck!

LIBRARY LOOT

When you go to the Library, do you find anything surprising?What kind of Loot did you come home with?

Through a Glass, deadly
Pane of Death
The Sugar Queen
Murder by the glass

A TALE OF TWO CITIES by Charles Dickens

Read : July 18-Aug 1
Category : Classics
Pages : 544

Dickens style of comparing the opposites is the theme throughout this classic. His contrasts of the "best "and "worst "of times, "Light "and "Darkness, "and "hope "and "despair" mirror good and evil that will persist throughout the novel in characters and situations. Resurrection of the physical person of Dr. Manette and the spiritual of Sydney Carton by his personal sacrifice reflect this as well.
The full story runs a little slow for me but as Classic go IMHO, it is better than most.

Weekend Wonderings

Do you ever see a book or hear a title and wonder - Why haven't I read that book?
So I decide I'd start a new meme - WEEKEND WONDERINGS

Have you read more than 6 of these books?
The BBC believes most people will have read only 6 of the 100 books here. How do your reading habits stack up?

Instructions: Copy this into your NOTES. Look at the list and put an 'x' after those you have read. Tag other book nerds. Tag me as well so i can see your responses!
*This is a quiz I saw over at http://alexia561.blogspot.com/ . She'd read 23.

1 Pride and Prejudice - Jane Austen (X)
2 The Lord of the Rings - JRR Tolkien ()
3 Jane Eyre - Charlotte Bronte (X)
4 Harry Potter series - JK Rowling (X) definitely!
5 To Kill a Mockingbird - Harper Lee ()
6 The Bible (X)
7 Wuthering Heights - Emily Bronte () own
8 Nineteen Eighty Four - George Orwell ()
9 His Dark Materials - Philip Pullman ()
10 Great Expectations - Charles Dickens ()
11 Little Women - Louisa M Alcott (X)
12 Tess of the D’Urbervilles - Thomas Hardy ()
13 Catch 22 - Joseph Heller ()
14 Complete Works of Shakespeare (X)
15 Rebecca - Daphne Du Maurier()
16 The Hobbit - JRR Tolkien ()
17 Birdsong - Sebastian Faulk ()
18 Catcher in the Rye - JD Salinger ()
19 The Time Traveler’s Wife - Audrey Niffenegger (X)
20 Middlemarch - George Eliot ()
21 Gone With The Wind - Margaret Mitchell (X)
22 The Great Gatsby - F Scott Fitzgerald ()
23 Bleak House - Charles Dickens ()
24 War and Peace - Leo Tolstoy ()
25 The Hitch Hiker’s Guide to the Galaxy - Douglas Adams ()
26 The Sun Also Rises - Ernest Hemingway ()
27 Crime and Punishment - Fyodor Dostoyevsky ()
28 Grapes of Wrath - John Steinbeck ()
29 Alice in Wonderland - Lewis Carroll (X)
30 The Wind in the Willows - Kenneth Grahame ()
31 Anna Karenina - Leo Tolstoy ()
32 David Copperfield - Charles Dickens ()
33 Chronicles of Narnia - CS Lewis (X)
34 Emma - Jane Austen ()
35 Persuasion - Jane Austen (X)
36 The Lion, The Witch and The Wardrobe - CS Lewis (X)
37 The Kite Runner - Khaled Hossein ()
38 Captain Corelli’s Mandolin - Louis De Bernieres ()
39 Memoirs of a Geisha - Arthur Golden ()
40 Winnie the Pooh - AA Milne ()
41 Animal Farm - George Orwell ()
42 The Da Vinci Code - Dan Brown (X)
43 One Hundred Years of Solitude - Gabriel Garcia Marquez ()
44 A Prayer for Owen Meaney - John Irving ()
45 The Woman in White - Wilkie Collins ()
46 Anne of Green Gables - LM Montgomery ()
47 Far From The Madding Crowd - Thomas Hardy ()
48 The Handmaid’s Tale - Margaret Atwood ()
49 Lord of the Flies - William Golding ()
50 Atonement - Ian McEwan ()
51 Life of Pi - Yann Martel ()
52 Dune - Frank Herbert ()
53 Cold Comfort Farm ()
54 Sense and Sensibility - Jane Austen (X)
55 A Suitable Boy - Vikram Seth ()
56 The Shadow of the Wind - Carlos Ruiz Zafon ()
57 A Tale Of Two Cities - Charles Dickens (X)
58 Brave New World - Aldous Huxley ()
59 The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night - Mark Haddon ()
60 Love In The Time Of Cholera - Gabriel Garcia Marquez ()
61 Of Mice and Men - John Steinbeck ()
62 Lolita - Vladimir Nabokov ()
63 The Secret History - Donna Tartt ()
64 The Lovely Bones - Alice Sebold ()
65 Count of Monte Cristo - Alexandre Dumas () own
66 On The Road - Jack Kerouac ()
67 Jude the Obscure - Thomas Hardy ()
68 Bridget Jones’s Diary - Helen Fielding ()
69 Midnight’s Children - Salman Rushdie ()
70 Moby Dick - Herman Melville ()
71 Oliver Twist - Charles Dickens ()
72 Dracula - Bram Stoker ()
73 The Secret Garden - Frances Hodgson Burnett ()
74 Notes From A Small Island - Bill Bryson (X)
75 Ulysses - James Joyce ()
76 The Inferno – Dante (X)
77 Swallows and Amazons - Arthur Ransome ()
78 Germinal - Emile Zola ()
79 Vanity Fair - William Makepeace Thackeray () own
80 Possession - AS Byatt ()
81 A Christmas Carol - Charles Dickens (X)
82 Cloud Atlas - David Mitchell ()
83 The Color Purple - Alice Walker ()
84 The Remains of the Day - Kazuo Ishiguro ()
85 Madame Bovary - Gustave Flaubert () own
86 A Fine Balance - Rohinton Mistry ()
87 Charlotte’s Web - EB White ()
88 The Five People You Meet In Heaven - Mitch Albom ()
89 Adventures of Sherlock Holmes - Sir Arthur Conan Doyle (X)
90 The Faraway Tree Collection - Enid Blyton ()
91 Heart of Darkness - Joseph Conrad ()
92 The Little Prince - Antoine De Saint-Exupery ()
93 The Wasp Factory - Iain Banks ()
94 Watership Down - Richard Adams () own
95 A Confederacy of Dunces - John Kennedy Toole ()
96 A Town Like Alice - Nevil Shute ()
97 The Three Musketeers - Alexandre Dumas () own
98 Hamlet - William Shakespeare (X)
99 Charlie and the Chocolate Factory - Roald Dahl ()
100 Les Miserables - Victor Hugo ()

If I counted correctly, that makes 19 out of 100. And if you add the 6 books that I own but haven't read yet, that brings it up to 25. Have read parts of the Bible, so that makes...25 1/2? Much better than the 6 expected!

So, how many have you read?

Library Challenge Books

Patriarch

Benjamin Franklin Walter Isaacson

Mah-jongg: From Shanghai to Miami Beach by Anita Luu

John Adams Pulitzer Prize

Twelve Sharp

Lean Mean Thirteen

Northanger Abbey

Killer Heat

A magnificent catastrophe : the tumultuous election of 1800

Shoots to Kill

Fearless Fourteen

Thomas Jefferson:genius of liberty

Getting Old is Murder

The Templar Legacy

American Sphinx: The character of Thomas Jefferson

A short history of nearly Everything

Crocodile on the sandbank

Quidditch through the ages

The science of Harry Potter : how magic really works

My Man Jeeves

Notes from a Small Island

The inimitable Jeeves

The magical worlds of Harry Potter

Fantastic beasts and where to find them

Jefferson's Vendetta

Unraveled sleeve

Dead Heat

The Summer of 1787

Still Life - Louise Penny - Barry Award First Novel

Comfort Food Kate Jacobs

The Bad beginning

James Madison

Baltimore Blues (Laura Lippman) Anthony Award

The War of 1812

The Lost Art of Towel Origami

Charm City

Lethal Legacy

James Madison: A Biography

Shop Till You Drop (Elaine Viets)

Ladies of liberty : the women who shaped our nation

Jane Eyre

Who invited the dead man?

Sympathy for the Devil

The People's History of the Supreme Court

A Catered murder

Death at Le Fenice

Moving is Murder

Deal Breaker

Mistletoe Murder

A Clue for the Puzzle Lady

Winter Study

When did We Lose Harriet?

Candy Cane Murder

The Presidency of James Monroe

A Novena for Murder

The Time Traveller's Wife

The Maltese Falcon

Misery loves Cabernet

Cream Puff Murder

Her royal spyness

Don Quixote

Possible Side Effects

Scent to her grave

The Quilter's Apprentice

Grime & punishment

Blessed is the busybody

Dark Champion

Mistress of the Art of Death

The Quest for a National Identity

The Innocence of Father Brown

A funny thing happened on the way to the White House

Murder Uncorked

The Scarecrow and his Servant

Wedding of the waters : the Erie Canal

BUTCHER'S HILL

A Mind to Murder

Unnatural Causes

The Geography of Bliss

On Agate Hill

Fatally Flaky

The Kitchen God's Wife

My Sister's Keeper

A Blush with Death

Language of Bees

The Alchemyst: The Secrets of the Immortal Nicholas Flamel

Catch up with my Challenges

I thought that a quiet Saturday morning and the first of a month would be a good time to review my status for all of my challenges so that I made sure that I was in good shape to complete them all.

1st in a series - This challenge was to read 12 books that are 1st in a series. I've done that twice over so far with 25 so I'm marking that one complete.
Support the Library - For this challenge I signed on for 50 books from the library. So far I've read 83 and have another 51 ready to go. So I'm marking this on COMPLETED!
75 Book Challenge - I finished the first 75 and am 26 books into the second 75. COMPLETED
100 Book Challenge - Earlier this week I finished my 100th book - COMPLETED
Great Summer Readoff - I wanted to read 40 books - so far 2/3 in I've read 26 - need to get a move on for this one.
999 Challenge #1 - I have 12 books left and am aiming for the 9/9/09 completion date.
999 Challenge #2 - I have 48 books to go and think I can manage to complete this before the end of the year.
President's Challenge - To stay on target for the 4 year completion I need to read through President Polk by the end of the year. That means I need to finish JQA and read Jackson, Van Buren, WH Harrison, Tyler, and Polk. The book for Jackson is over 1000 pages but the others should be not to big. I'm keeping my fingers crossed because I don't want to fall behind since most of next year is designated as a history year concentrating on the Civil War and Pre and Post eras.

THE ALCHEMYST: The Secrets of the Immortal Nicholas Flamel

Author : Michael Scott
Read : July 30-31
Category : New Writer
Pages : 375

I found this book simply because the title caught my eye and the title character was mentioned in the 1st Harry Potter book. That said, I had no expectations as to what the story was.
Nicholas Flamel was born in 1330 and is living in San Francisco in the 21st century running a book store. No, that's not a typo...along with his wife, Perenelle, Nicholas Flamel has been the guardian for over 700 years of the Codex, a book which has been sought by John Dee (a historical figure who was an advisor on astrological and scientific matters for Elizabeth I) who seeks the Codex for the power and devastation that it can wield.
Needless to say, Dee is the bad guy who conjures zombies, skeletons, creatures made of mud, and undead to try to defeat Flamel, Scathach (a very old warrior creature that looks like a punk rocker) and his saviors (15 year old human twins) who appear in prophesies in the Codex. Dee kidnaps Perenelle and gains the book but is missing 2 vital pages. The ensuing pursuit and battle is entertaining and the ending leaves the reader wanting more.