:grouphug:

I say two thousand twelve, but twenty twelve also makes sense. Two thousand and twelve makes no sense to me, and sounds like it should be coming from a grizzled prospector or Abe Simpson with an onion in his belt. IMHO.

It does stain, and it's delicious. I use my the brown rice setting on my ancient electric rice cooker to prepare it, and corrals the mess nicely. People eating it, on the other hand...

Dang. I just ordered it this morning. I need less crushing in my life right now, so it doesn't sound like a good choice for me at the moment.

My first feedback is in July 1998. That's just scary. Not only did sellers once take checks, I frequently spoke both to buyers and sellers on my telephone, which was hard-wired into my wall. And my house had one phone jack.

Maybe it's just me. It's still a well-written book, and definitely worth your while if you like Alan Bradley's books and can get it from the library!

I never got around to posting last week, so am posting two weeks' worth today. I read A Red Herring Without Mustard and I Am Half-Sick of Shadows, both by Alan Bradley. I like the concept of these novels, but the first of the series, The Sweetness at the Bottom of the Pie, is still my favorite. They're getting a little too predictable for my taste. The books are still good reading, and just the thing while I was down with the flu. I loved Why Read Moby-Dick. I'm one who started Moby-Dick any number of times in my misspent youth and never finished it. It sounds so much more appealing now, and even more so after reading Philbrick's book. I have other things I need to read first, so I might not join the read-along, but Moby-Dick's definitely on my list to read soon. I'm reading Carlos Ruiz Zafón's The Angel's Game at the moment. It's very different from The Shadow of the Wind, but still wonderful. Currently reading: The Angel's Game Completed: 14. I am Half-Sick of Shadows 13. Why Read Moby-Dick 12. A Red Herring Without Mustard 11. The Prague Cemetery 10. Miss Peregrine's Home for Peculiar Children 9. Whiskey Breakfast: My Swedish Family, My American Life 8. The Shadow of the Wind 7. 13, rue Thérèse: A Novel 6. Meditation of Marcus Aurelius 5. Ahab's Wife 4. The Autobiography of an Execution 3. A Midsummer Night's Dream 2. The Palace of Illusions 1. Daughter of Smoke and Bone

Heaven's going to be an awfully lonely place for those folks. They'll be rolling around like a few cupcake sprinkles in an empty #10 can if it's that exclusive.

Yes, all the time, and not only when reading historical fiction. I find myself reading books and looking at Google Earth constantly, trying to figure out exactly where things happened. Glad I'm not the only one!

You're just lucky they didn't take the tray as well! The first and only time I did the realtor-recommended bread baking, the potential buyer took my bread and its pan out of the oven and took it home. I called the realtor, who said that she knew the buyer had taken it, but figured that it was worth a potential sale. I told her that I guess I should count myself lucky that I still seemed to have all my underwear. And, no, the thief did not buy my house.

Thank you, Stacia!

I read The Prague Cemetery and loved it. It was beautifully written and deliciously complex, and the translation was a lot less clunky than some of Eco's other novels. It was an amazing piece of conspiracy theory fiction, with a narrator who cannot find anything good to say about anyone, resulting in rants so over-the-top offensive that they are hilarious. There are double agents, triple agents, forgeries, and delicious recipes. It really was a treat. A number of books came in from the library at the same time, so I have quite a stack at the moment: two Alan Bradley novels (I Am Half Sick of Shadows and A Red Herring Without Mustard), Why Read Moby Dick, Imaginary Jesus, and The Angel's Game. I'm starting with A Red Herring Without Mustard and will figure the rest out as I go along. Currently reading: A Red Herring Without Mustard Completed: 11. The Prague Cemetery 10. Miss Peregrine's Home for Peculiar Children 9. Whiskey Breakfast: My Swedish Family, My American Life 8. The Shadow of the Wind 7. 13, rue Thérèse: A Novel 6. Meditation of Marcus Aurelius 5. Ahab's Wife 4. The Autobiography of an Execution 3. A Midsummer Night's Dream 2. The Palace of Illusions 1. Daughter of Smoke and Bone

I'm relieved that I wasn't the only one who thought Miss Peregrine's Home was a dud. :iagree: about A String in the Harp.