Familyhistorian Takes Her Reading into 2020 - part 12

Discussão75 Books Challenge for 2020

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Familyhistorian Takes Her Reading into 2020 - part 12

1Familyhistorian
Editado: Dez 22, 2020, 1:39 am

2Familyhistorian
Editado: Dez 22, 2020, 12:35 am

Hi, I’m Meg and I read lots of mysteries and histories and other stuff too. Last year I aimed to read more of my own books and failed miserably. This year I aim to do more of the same (the actually reading of my own tomes, not the failing miserably part.) We’ll see how that goes.

In 2019 I read 200 books, the high point in my reading numbers. In 2020 I want to spend more time on my writing. It is time to add fiction to the other writing that I do. Most of my writing is related to my love of history and genealogy which is why my blog’s title is A Genealogist’s Path to History and why I contribute to my genealogy society’s monthly newsletter and quarterly journal.

I also like to travel but that’s out for this year. I miss those wonderful meet ups that I’ve had over the past while but I’m manage to keep busy at home. Should be interesting to see how this year plays out. We are definitely in uncharted territory these days and getting stranger all the time.

3Familyhistorian
Editado: Dez 26, 2020, 4:20 pm

BLOG



Christmas greetings and the end of the year wrap up will grace my blog for the end of 2020. You can see my latest blog posts at: A Genealogist’s Path to History

4Familyhistorian
Editado: Dez 26, 2020, 4:19 pm



Little Free Library

Books culled in 2020

January - 5

February - 3

March - 3

April - Little free library currently closed due to pandemic

May - 2 - given to a friend

June - 3 - given to a friend

July - 0 - the stack of books to be given away is getting higher

August - 0

September -20

October - 4

November - 2


5Familyhistorian
Editado: Dez 30, 2020, 6:46 pm

Challenges

Reading Through Time

Quarterly

January-March 2020 – Prehistory - Before the Dawn: Recovering the Lost History of Our Ancestors by Nicholas Wade - DONE
April-June 2020 – Ancient and Biblical Times
July-September 2020 – Arthurian Britain - The Crystal Cave by Mary Stewart - DONE
October-December 2020 – Middle Ages Plus Vikings

Monthly

January: 19th Century Ireland - The Famine Plot: England's Role in Ireland's Greatest Tragedy by Tim Pat Coogan - DONE
February: Crime & Mystery - The Cold Cold Ground by Adrian McKinty - DONE - Absolution by Murder by Peter Tremayne - DONE - The Axeman's Jazz by Ray Celestin - DONE
March: Mothers and Daughters - The Hundred Year House by Rebecca Makkai - DONE
April: Off With Her Head! - The Boleyn Inheritance by Phillipa Gregory - DONE
May: Explorers - The Remarkable World of Frances Barkley 1769-1845 by Beth Hill - DONE
June: Get thee to a nunnery (or a monastery)! - Monk's Hood by Ellis Peters - DONE
July: On the shore - Lincoln's Greatest Case: The River, the Bridge, and the Making of America by Brian McGinty - DONE
August: Epidemics, Famine and Other Health Disasters - In the Wake of the Plague: The Black Death & the World It Made by Noman F. Cantor
September: I’ll Trade You (Economics in a wide sense) - The Coffee Trader by David Liss - DONE
October: Deception: All Is Not as It Seems - The Secret Life of Violet Grant by Beatriz Williams
November: Author Biographies - Duchess of Death by Richard Hack - DONE
December: Predicting the Future - Hamnet and Judith by Maggie O'Farrell - DONE - Killer Insight by Victoria Laurie - DONE

2020 Nonfiction Challenge

January: Prizewinners - From Hell by Alan Moore - DONE - The Swerve: How the World Became Modern by Stephen Greenblatt - DONE
February: Heroes and Villains - The Tartan Pimpernel by Donald Caskie - DONE
March: Food, Glorious Food! - An Edible History of Humanity by Tom Standage - DONE
April: Migration, Nationalism and Identity - The Emigrant's Guide to North America by Robert MacDougall - DONE
May: Comfort Reading in May - Daughters of Chivalry by Kelcy Wilson-Lee - DONE
June: Books by Journalists - Death in the Air: The True Story of a Serial Killer, the Great London Smog, and the Strangling of a City by Kate Winkler Dawson - DONE
July: The Long 18th Century (1688 – 1815) - Stability and Strife: England, 1714-1760 by W.A. Speck - DONE
August: Books about Books (and Words, and Language, and Libraries) - The Meaning of Everything: The Story of the Oxford English Dictionary by Simon Winchester - DONE
September: Science and Technology: From medicine to Galileo. History or breakthroughs/research. - Junk DNA: A Journey Through the Dark Matter of the Genome by Nessa Carey - DONE
October: The Byzantines, the Ottomans and their empire(s) - Sailing from Byzantium: How a Lost Empire Shaped the World by Colin Wells - DONE
November: Group Biography
December: As you like it - Catch and Kill: Lies, Spies, and a Conspiracy to Protect Predators by Ronan Farrow - DONE The Milkman's Son by Randy Lindsay - DONE

6Familyhistorian
Editado: Dez 22, 2020, 12:44 am

Books read in 2020



Books acquired in 2020


7Familyhistorian
Editado: Dez 22, 2020, 12:55 am

Books read in 2020

First quarter

January

The Second Sleep by Robert Harris
Gods and Beasts by Denise Mina
Small Game Hunting at the Local Coward Gun Club by Megan Gail Coles
Sorry I’m Late: I Didn’t Want to Come by Jessica Pan
Five Days Gone: The Mystery of My Mother’s Disappearance as a Child by Laura Cumming
A Useful Woman by Darcie Wilde
From Hell by Alan Moore
Lumberjanes: Beware the Kitten Holy by Shannon Waters, Grace Ellis, Noelle Stevenson & Brooke Allen
Finding Lady Enderly by Joanna Davidson Politano
A Perilous Undertaking by Deanna Raybourn
Whose Body? by Dorothy L. Sayers
The Great Believers by Rebecca Makkai
An Unhallowed Grave by Kate Ellis
The Swerve: How the World Became Modern by Stephen Greenblatt
Connections in Death by J.D. Robb
A Dedicated Man by Peter Robinson
The Devil in the Marshalsea by Antonia Hodgson
Catfishing on Catnet by Naomi Kritzer
Clue by Paul Allor
Investing in Murder by EJ Lister
The Famine Plot: England’s Role in Ireland's Greatest Tragedy by Tim Pat Coogan
It Began with a Page: How Gyo Fujikawa Drew the Way by Kyo Maclear and Julie Morstad
Harley Quinn: Breaking Glass by Steve Pugh
The Gold Pawn by L.A. Chandlar
Silent Melody by Mary Balogh

February

The Tatooist of Auschwitz by Heather Morris
Don’t You Forget About Me by Mhairi McFarlane
Still Waters by Viveca Stein
The Cold Cold Ground by Adrian McKinty
Maggy Garrisson by Lewis Trondhei and Stephanie Oiry
Clouds of Witness by Dorothy L. Sayers
Night Boat to Tangier by Kevin Barry
A Necessary End by Peter Robinson
The Withdrawing Room by Charlotte MacLeod
Real Tigers by Mick Herron
Dreams from My Father by Barack Obama
A Perfect Match by Jill McGown
Paper Girls by Brian K. Vaughan
Poppy Harmon Investigates by Lee Hollis
Red at the Bone by Jacqueline Woodson
Absolution by Murder by Peter Tremayne
They Called Us Enemy by George Takei
The Axeman’s Jazz by Ray Celestin
The Tartan Pimpernel by Donald Caskie

March

The Hanging Valley by Peter Robinson
Fighting Churchill, Appeasing Hitler: Neville Chamberlain, Sir Horace Wilson & Britain’s Plight of Appeasement: 1937-1939 by Adrian Phillips
Olive, Again by Elizabeth Strout
The Long Call by Ann Cleeves
Quiet Girl in a Noisy World: An Introvert’s Story by Debbie Tung
Late Breaking by K.D. Miller
Muddy: The Story of Blues Legend Muddy Waters by Michael Mahin and Evan Turk
Commute: An Illustrated Memoir of Female Shame by Erin Williams
She Said: Breaking the Sexual Harassment Story That Helped Ignite a Movement by Jodi Kantor & Megan Twohey
Disasterama: Adventures in the Queer Underground 1977-1997 by Alvin Orloff
The Irish Inheritance by M J Lee
I Hear the Sirens in the Street by Adrian McKinty
The Italian Cure by Melodie Campbell
Laura Dean Keeps Breaking Up With Me by Mariko Tamaki and Rosemary Valero-O’Connell
Unnatural Death by Dorothy L. Sayers
Murder by the Book by Claire Harman
Before the Dawn: Recovering the Lost History of Our Ancestors by Nicholas Wade
A Purely Private Matter by Darcie Wilde
The Lovely Bones by Alice Sebold
An Edible History of Humanity by Tom Standage
The Hundred Year House by Rebecca Makkai

8Familyhistorian
Editado: Dez 22, 2020, 1:03 am

Books read in 2020

Second quarter

April

A Mask of Shadows by Oscar de Muriel
Paper Girls 2 by Brian K. Vaughan
Curious Toys by Elizabeth Hand
Bloodlust & Bonnets by Emily McGovern
Fever Year: The Killer Flu of 1918 by Don Brown
The Triple Tree: Newgate, Tyburn and Old Bailey by Donald Rumbelow
Irresistible by Mary Balogh
Me: The Elton John Official Autobiography by Elton John
Britt-Marie Was Here by Fredrik Backman
My Life in Black and White by Kim Izzo
A Necessary Murder by M.J. Tjia
Park Avenue Summer by Renee Rosen
Murder in Greenwich Village by Liz Freeland
Targeted: The Cambridge Analytica Whistleblower’s Inside Story of How Big Data and Facebook Broke Democracy and How It Can Happen Again by Brittany Kaiser
The Boleyn Inheritance by Philippa Gregory
It Begins in Betrayal by Iona Whishaw
The Emigrant’s Guide to North America by Robert MacDougall

May

The Mitford Murders by Jessica Fellowes
Lady Maggie’s Secret Scandal by Grace Burrowes
The Yellow House by Sarah M. Broom
An Unfinished Murder by Ann Granger
The Dark Fantastic: Race and the Imagination from Harry Potter to the Hunger Games by Ebony Elizabeth Thomas
Warlight by Michael Ondaatje
Daughters of Chivalry by Kelcey Wilson-Lee
The Damascened Blade by Barbara Cleverly
Scammed by Carol Higgins Clark
The Skeleton Road by Val McDermid
Without a Trace by Nora Roberts
The America Ground by Nathan Dylan Goodwin
The Remarkable World of Frances Barkley 1769-1845 by Beth Hill and Cathy Converse
Night Whispers by Judith McNaught

June

No Man’s Mistress by Mary Balough
Privy to the Dead by Sheila Connolly
A Nearly Normal Family by M.T. Evardsson
Murdered Midas: A Millionaire, His Gold Mine, and a Strange Death on an Island Paradise by Charlotte Gray
A Share in Death by Deborah Crombie
Death in the Air: The True Story of a Serial Killer, the Great London Smog, and the Strangling of a City by Kate Winkler Dawson
Death of a God by S.T. Haymon
Strong Poison by Dorothy L. Sayers
Monk’s Head by Ellis Peters
Plague by C.C. Humphreys
The Girl from the Savoy by Hazel Gaynor
What I Did for a Duke by Julie Anne Long

9Familyhistorian
Editado: Dez 22, 2020, 1:14 am

Books read in 2020

Third quarter

July

The Red Road by Denise Mina
Mud, Muck and Dead Things by Ann Granger
The Crime at Black Dudley by Margery Allingham
Alone Beneath the Heaven by Rita Bradshaw
The Devil’s Hook by Pearl R Meaker
The Key to Everything by Valerie Fraser Luesse
When in Doubt, Add Butter by Beth Harbison
The Ten Thousand Doors of January by Alix E. Harrow
The Seven or Eight Deaths of Stella Fortuna by Juliet Grames
When Maidens Mourn by C.S. Harris
Pride, Prejudice, and Other Flavors by Sonali Dev
Five Red Herrings by Dorothy L. Sayers
Blackout by Ragnar Jonasson
The Unpleasantness at the Bellona Club by Dorothy L. Sayers
Remarkable Creatures by Tracy Chevalier
A Dangerous Fiction by Barbara Rogan

August

Lincoln’s Greatest Case: The River, the Bridge, and the Making of America by Brian McGinty
Past Reason Hated by Peter Robinson
Aggie Morton, Mystery Queen: The Body Under the Piano by Marthe Jocelyn
Rack, Ruin and Murder by Ann Granger
Death at Whitewater Church by Andrea Carter
All Shall Be Well by Deborah Crombie
Stability and Strife: England, 1714-1760 by W.A. Speck
In the Bleak Midwinter by Julia Spencer-Fleming
This Must Be the Place by Maggie O’Farrell
The Hunting Accident: A True Story of Crime and Poetry by David. L Carlson and Landis Blair
Lord Peter Views the Body by Dorothy L. Sayers
The Corpse with the Golden Nose by Cathy Ace
Between the Devil and Ian Eversea by Julie Anne Long
Have His Carcase by Dorothy L. Sayers
Missing, Presumed by Susie Steiner
The Meaning of Everything by Simon Winchester
In the Wake of the Plague: The Black Death and the World It Made by Norman F. Cantor

September

Treacherous Strand by Andrea Carter
The Skin We’re In: A Year of Black Resistance and Power by Desmond Cole
Now May You Weep by Deborah Crombie
The Bachelor List by Jane Feather
Miss Pym Disposes by Josephine Tey
Knots and Crosses by Ian Rankin
The Crystal Cave by Mary Stewart
The Secret Loves of Geek Girls edited by Hope Nicholson
The Souls of Black Folk by W.E.B. Du Bois
The Familiars by Stacey Halls
Guiltless by Viveca Stein
Murder in Thrall by Anne Cleeland
What Darkness Brings by C.S. Harris
Closed Circles by Viveca Sten
Almost American Girl by Robin Ha
Hangman’s Holiday by Dorothy L. Sayers
Tonight You’re Dead by Viveca Sten

10Familyhistorian
Editado: Dez 22, 2020, 1:32 am

Books read in 2020

Fourth quarter

October

Wednesday’s Child by Peter Robinson
Why I Read: The Serious Pleasure of Books by Wendy Lesser
The Funeral Boat by Kate Ellis
Mother Finds a Body by Gypsy Rose Lee
The Lacemakers of Glenmara by Heather Barbieri
Insurgent Empire: Anticolonial Resistance and British Dissent by Priyamvada Gopal
Murder Must Advertise by Dorothy L. Sayers
The Right Sort of Man by Allison Montclair
Wednesday’s Child by Peter Robinson
Why I Read: The Serious Pleasure of Books by Wendy Lesser
The Funeral Boat by Kate Ellis
Mother Finds a Body by Gypsy Rose Lee
The Lacemakers of Glenmara by Heather Barbieri
Insurgent Empire: Anticolonial Resistance and British Dissent by Priyamvada Gopal
Murder Must Advertise by Dorothy L. Sayers
The Right Sort of Man by Allison Montclair
Persons Unknown by Susie Steiner
Murder in Retribution by Anne Cleeland
In the Heat of the Moment by Viveca Sten
Making Friends with Alice Dyson by Poppy Nwosu
Junk DNA: A Journey Through the Dark Matter of the Genome by Nessa Carey
The Girls in the Garden by Lisa Jewell
Underland by Robert Macfarlane
Sensuous Knowledge: A Black Feminist Approach for Everyone by Minna Salami
Bringing Down the Duke by Evie Dunmore

November

Sailing from Byzantium: How a Lost Empire Shaped the World by Colin Wells
The Giver of Stars by Jojo Moyes
The Secret Life of Violet Grant by Beatriz Williams
Mistress of My Fate by Hallie Robenhold
The Wicked Girls by Alex Marwood
Bush Runner by Mark Bourrie
The Secret Life of Anna Blanc by Jennifer Kincheloe
Who is Alex Trebek by Lisa Rogak
The Coffee Trader by David Liss
The Witch Boy by Molly Knox Ostertag
Hide and Seek by Ian Rankin
The Art of Dying by Ambrose Perry
Actress by Anne Enright
The Edge of Belonging by Amanda Cox
Duchess of Death by Robert Hack

December

Waiting for Wednesday by Nicci French
The Pull of the Stars by Emma Donoghue
Writers and Lovers by Lilly King
A Royal Affair by Allison Montclair
Hamnet and Judith by Maggie O’Farrell
To Calais, In Ordinary Time by James Meek
Killer Insight by Victoria Laurie
A Drink Before the War by Dennis Lehane
Second Sight by Amanda Quick
Catch and Kill: Lies, Spies, and a Conspiracy to Protect Predators by Ronan Farrow
The Thursday Murder Club by Richard Osman

11Familyhistorian
Editado: Dez 22, 2020, 1:38 am

Books acquired in 2020




November 2020

Revenge in Rubies by A.M. Stuart
If I Knew Then by Jann Arden
The Heroine's Journey: Woman's Quest for Wholeness by Maureen Murdock
On the Way to the Wedding by Julia Quinn
A Lady's Guide to Mischief and Mayhem by Manda Collins
Invisible Girl by Lisa Jewell
The Nature of Things: Essays of a Tapestry Weaver by Tommye McClure Scanlin
Understanding Show, Don't Tell by Janice Hardy
The Writer's Lexicon by Kathy Steinemann
Westwind by Ian Rankin
British Columbia in Flames: Stories from a Blazing Summer by Claudia Cornwall
The Killings at Kingfisher Hill by Sophie Hannah

12Familyhistorian
Editado: Dez 22, 2020, 1:44 am

I thought that my last thread might do until the end of the year but it kept growing. Welcome to my new thread.

13PaulCranswick
Dez 22, 2020, 1:09 am

Hope I am not to early to wish you a happy new thread, Meg.

14Familyhistorian
Dez 22, 2020, 1:15 am

>13 PaulCranswick: Never too early, Paul. I'm just fighting with the touchstones or else the thread would be done now.

15quondame
Dez 22, 2020, 1:20 am

Happy new thread!

16Familyhistorian
Editado: Dez 22, 2020, 1:45 am

>15 quondame: Thanks Susan!

17jessibud2
Dez 22, 2020, 7:13 am

Happy new thread, Meg!

18msf59
Dez 22, 2020, 7:29 am

Happy New Thread, Meg. I really like the topper. You captured that nicely.

19figsfromthistle
Dez 22, 2020, 7:31 am

Happy new one!

May you have a wonderful holiday week ahead.

20karenmarie
Editado: Dez 22, 2020, 8:37 am

Hi Meg, and happy new thread!

>3 Familyhistorian: I was a bit behind on your blog. Love your Christmas tree and book shelves. I also love your post about Harold Chambers and the railway connection because it reminded me that one of my g-grandfathers was a “R.R. Agent” in the 1900 and 1910 censuses. I also like your comment "When did your family come to Canada?" I sometimes answered, "Which time?" Substitute United States for Canada, and that’s me, too.


... and here's to a better 2021!

21SandyAMcPherson
Dez 22, 2020, 8:48 am

Hi Meg, I hope you enjoy your last thread of the year. I know there are challenges for you, not the least of which is having to move.

I guess you came in for the soggy wet snow yesterday, huh? I heard it really came down heavily up the valley but hopefully tapered off on the lower levels of Coquitlam.

On the ancestry or more to the point, the immigration front, do you know whether the big influx of Norwegians in the 1860's-70's was due to poverty or would they have arrived with much of their goods and chattels?

22katiekrug
Dez 22, 2020, 8:55 am

Happy new thread, Meg. The light in your topper photo is lovely.

23drneutron
Dez 22, 2020, 9:16 am

Happy new thread!

24thornton37814
Dez 22, 2020, 1:25 pm

Happy new thread! I know what you mean about threads getting too long with little time in the year remaining. In my experience, we all get lots of messages in the last few days of the month so it's probably a good thing to go ahead and create it.

25johnsimpson
Dez 22, 2020, 3:35 pm

Hi Meg my dear, Happy New Thread dear friend.

26johnsimpson
Dez 22, 2020, 4:06 pm

27jessibud2
Dez 22, 2020, 4:37 pm

Happy everything, Meg. Here's to good health, above all, and of course, good books.

28Familyhistorian
Dez 22, 2020, 8:06 pm

>17 jessibud2: Thanks Shelley!

>18 msf59: Hi Mark, thanks. I had to capture that scene. It was the first sun I'd seen in a while and, of course, it was still raining.

>19 figsfromthistle: Thanks Anita, all the best for the holiday weekend to you too!

29Familyhistorian
Dez 22, 2020, 8:10 pm

>20 karenmarie: Hi Karen, thanks re the thread and the blog. Were different family lines immigrating to the US at different times or were some bouncing back and forth? I have both going on in my family and I'm an immigrant to Canada myself.

30Familyhistorian
Dez 22, 2020, 8:19 pm

>21 SandyAMcPherson: Hi Sandy, the prediction for the lower part of Coquitlam was rain so I was surprised to look out and see the snow coming down. There was no precipitation today and it was cold (cold for here cold not like the stuff you get - I can say that 'cause I spent a winter in Calgary). My parking spot doesn't get any sun and the snow is now hard.

I don't know about the Norwegian immigration in the 1860's and 70's. Sometimes we assume poverty but unless there was assisted passage most had to have the wherewithal to pay for their own passage and to support themselves in a new land until their crop came in or until they found a job. What place did they immigrate to and what did they do when they got there?

31Familyhistorian
Dez 22, 2020, 8:21 pm

>22 katiekrug: Thanks re the thread and the topper, Katie. The light is sun through rain, not that uncommon in these parts.

>23 drneutron: Thanks Jim!

32Familyhistorian
Dez 22, 2020, 8:23 pm

>24 thornton37814: Hi Lori, it did seem a little long when I looked at the books that I still had to post about and thought about the flurry of posts around the holidays. Hopefully I'll get caught up on a few threads as well.

33Familyhistorian
Dez 22, 2020, 8:24 pm

>25 johnsimpson: >26 johnsimpson: Thanks re the new thread and for the Christmas greetings, John. I hope all is going well for you and Karen.

34Familyhistorian
Dez 22, 2020, 8:25 pm

>27 jessibud2: Thanks Shelley, a very appropriate holiday greeting but that bare shelf space looks like a bit of a challenge!

35Familyhistorian
Dez 22, 2020, 8:29 pm

My son will be staying over one night for Christmas and when he moved out he left a bunch of stuff for me to clean up, once a mum, I guess. Anyway, I'd just like to say that whoever came up with the "eco-friendly" idea of disintegrating plastic bags should have their heads examined!

36Familyhistorian
Dez 22, 2020, 8:52 pm

202. The Nine Tailors by Dorothy L. Sayers

It was good to see Lord Peter Wimsey in action in The Nine Tailors. This time the action revolved around an English village where many of the community were involved with the church. The vicar was a friendly, if absent minded man who was very much into bell ringing. They were one man short to make up the number for a special bell ringing event and because Peter had some previous experience with bells he was recruited. While he was on the scene an extra body was found in a grave which put him on the case.

It was an interesting Wimsey mystery. I’m sure I would have enjoyed it better if I knew something about bell ringing or could have understood what was written about it.

37quondame
Editado: Dez 23, 2020, 1:28 am

>21 SandyAMcPherson: I don't know any details about conditions in Norway in the 1860s but I have strong memories of the movie The Emigrants which has a family moving to the US Midwest from Sweden.
There are also mentions in the Laura Ingalls Wilder biography Prairie Fires of the farms owned by large families from Scandinavia which worked because they had enough labor within their families to run several homesteads which worked much better than a couple with one holding expecting extras like pretty mares.

38Familyhistorian
Dez 23, 2020, 1:18 am

>37 quondame: Those sound like good leads, Susan.

39msf59
Editado: Dez 24, 2020, 8:04 am



Merry Christmas, Meg! Hoping for a better 2021!

40karenmarie
Dez 23, 2020, 10:19 am

>29 Familyhistorian: I have not dug into my earliest arrivals to the US in detail, but have at least 9 families that were here in the 1600s, most from England, one from Ireland. Another family came to Vermont by 1821 when my g-g-grandfather was born. My mother’s family, from Bohemia, were late arrivals, coming to the US in the 1850s and 1860s. I don’t know of any to-ing and fro-ing back to Europe.

>36 Familyhistorian: The bell ringing fascinated me, Meg, because of the mathematics involved. In my most recent re-read of TNT, I looked at a lot of YouTube videos of bellringing.

41charl08
Dez 23, 2020, 10:28 am

>36 Familyhistorian: HelenLiz over on the category challenge is a bell ringer. I think she read this one too fairly recently. I do remember thinking there was an awful lot about peals (and a lot more than I was interested in).

Happy new thread!

42FAMeulstee
Dez 23, 2020, 4:23 pm

Belated happy last 2020 thread, Meg!

43BLBera
Dez 23, 2020, 9:36 pm

Happy new thread, Meg, and Merry Christmas.

44Familyhistorian
Dez 24, 2020, 1:03 am

>39 msf59: Very seasonal colours in that greeting, Mark. Thanks.

45Familyhistorian
Dez 24, 2020, 1:12 am

>40 karenmarie: Yes, the early ancestors that came in the 1600s. One has to wonder why. I too have one of those that immigrated to Boston around 1630 and then over to Rhode Island which was at least a little more tolerant. The latest immigrants came over in the 1950s, which was me and my parents, well my father actually, as my mother was born in Canada. She was part of the to and froing crowd. So we've been immigrating to this continent for over 300 years.

The bell ringing involved math? That's probably why I didn't take to it which is the same reason it attracted you, Karen.

46Familyhistorian
Dez 24, 2020, 1:14 am

>41 charl08: I read Helen's posts on your thread, Charlotte and it sounded like she really knew her stuff when it came to the bell ringing. My mind decided it didn't want to be bothered and glossed over that part of the book.

47Familyhistorian
Dez 24, 2020, 1:16 am

>42 FAMeulstee: Thanks Anita! I really should visit your thread. It's been ages since I did.

>43 BLBera: Thanks Beth and a Merry Christmas to you too!

48SandDune
Dez 24, 2020, 3:27 am



Or in other words, Happy Christmas! And have a great New Year as well. Here’s hoping 2021 is an improvement on 2020.

49lkernagh
Dez 24, 2020, 12:48 pm

Hi Meg. Wishing you peace, joy and happiness this holiday season and best wishes for the New Year!

50Berly
Dez 24, 2020, 6:10 pm



Wishing you and yours a very Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year.
May 2021 bring you less need for masks, loads of peace and joy, good health and, of course, books!

51SandyAMcPherson
Dez 24, 2020, 9:19 pm

>30 Familyhistorian: >37 quondame: , I was not expressing myself at all clearly at #21, so I'll try to do better ~

My curiosity stems from having very old Christmas ornaments originally belonging to my Great-grandmother. The ornaments are not all fragile pieces, a few being small cotton wool St. Nicholas' figures. This G-grandmother emigrated (from Norway) sometime between 1850-1860 (married and no children at that time, afaik).

There is claim by relatives that some of these ornaments (and some china pieces) came in their luggage. But it seems tremendously impractical to give room to ornaments.

The reason behind my question related to "would they have arrived with much of their goods and chattels?"
If the immigrant family was poor, they would have arrived with next to nothing.
If they arrived with goods, would special china and glass items have made the journey?

Earlier this year, thanks to Meg's recommendation, I was looking at books with Scottish and English immigration details in the 1770's and read some commentary about passenger baggage. Probably passenger manifests were not that detailed (who would need to officially to itemize the goods?)

I don't know anything about Norwegian immigration conditions. There is a sad lack of knowledge (by my more immediate family) of any record preservation in my Norwegian relatives. They settled (ultimately) in the North Dakota area. I assume that would be a farming community.

Pretty frivolous question, but you never know who is out there that can contribute their piece of the puzzle. Knowing that these were probably acquired in North America (which is what I believe) might settle the family question of whether these items are a piece of family history that are the only remnants of that emigration.

52Familyhistorian
Dez 25, 2020, 1:06 am

>48 SandDune: Thanks Rhian. I hope you have a Happy Christmas and a better 2021 too!

>49 lkernagh: The best of the Holiday Season to you Lori!

>50 Berly: All the best to you and your family for this Holiday Season, Kim!

53quondame
Dez 25, 2020, 1:12 am

Happy Holidays Meg!

54quondame
Dez 25, 2020, 1:16 am

>51 SandyAMcPherson: If I tell my daughter that something belonged to my grandmother, then it's as good as, as far as she and her unlikely descendants are concerned until she takes it to antiques roadshow, and only then if it wasn't something grandma could have owned. In some circles status was enhanced by claiming inherited furnishings or even blood lines, so a bit of skepticism is probably best.

55Familyhistorian
Dez 25, 2020, 1:18 am

>51 SandyAMcPherson: I'm not sure what they would have carried with them, Sandy. But I would imagine they would have taken a lot of their household goods because they were moving to a country where they were scarce. I remember advice about what to bring in The Emigrant's Guide to North America.

Even if they didn't take the items on the journey with them those items could have been sent along later like my parents' dining room set. My parents and us kids came in the 1950s by air and our household goods followed most likely by ship as the goods came from England and ended up in our house in the suburbs of Montreal.

56Familyhistorian
Dez 25, 2020, 1:19 am

>53 quondame: Thanks Susan. Have a wonderful Holiday Season!

57PaulCranswick
Dez 25, 2020, 3:24 am



I hope you get some of those at least, Meg, as we all look forward to a better 2021.

58Familyhistorian
Dez 25, 2020, 3:46 pm

>57 PaulCranswick: Thanks Paul. I hope you have a wonderful holiday season and I've got my fingers crossed for 2021!

59DeltaQueen50
Dez 25, 2020, 4:08 pm



Have a great holiday, Meg!

60cushlareads
Dez 25, 2020, 4:10 pm

Merry Christmas, Meg! I'm not even going to try to catch up on 11 threads from you since I was last here...but it looks like you've had another amazing reading year.

61Familyhistorian
Dez 26, 2020, 2:06 am

>59 DeltaQueen50: I hope that you had a Happy Christmas too, Judy! Not long until 2020 is over.

62Familyhistorian
Dez 26, 2020, 2:08 am

>60 cushlareads: Cushla, amazing to see you here. Thanks for the visit. I don't blame you for not wanting to catch up on all the threads. They all went crazy this year! I hope you and your family had a Happy Christmas.

63drneutron
Dez 26, 2020, 10:20 am

Wanna help me kick 202 to the curb? 2021 group is here

64Familyhistorian
Dez 26, 2020, 2:07 pm

>63 drneutron: Thanks Jim, I'll be there later today.

65Familyhistorian
Dez 26, 2020, 7:50 pm

203. Gaudy Night by Dorothy L. Sayers

Lord Peter Wimsey doesn’t take up most of the real estate in Gaudy Night. It was more Harriet Vane’s story; a partial revisiting of her past which started at Gaudy Night at her old Oxford college and continued as the Dean asked her to investigate a series of poison pen letters that had been showing up at the women’s college. The women felt very much on suffrage there as it they hadn’t had their own college at Oxford for very long so they didn’t want to make waves by admitting publicly that there was a problem.

I became aware of how long ago the story was written with a few references in the book. One where there was reference to the war as though there was only one and one where there was reference to Queen Elizabeth also as though there was only one. Indeed, the story was published in 1935 when there had only be one world war and one Queen Elizabeth. The second war and queen were yet to come.

It was a really good read. I’m just surprised that I never read Gaudy Night before and it feels like one that I will probably read again.

66karenmarie
Dez 27, 2020, 11:26 am

>65 Familyhistorian: I loved Gaudy Night, especially when Peter proposes to Harriet, and she finally succumbs.

Have you read Busman's Honeymoon before? It's the final in the 4-book Peter/Harriet storyline.

67Familyhistorian
Dez 27, 2020, 3:23 pm

>66 karenmarie: The scenes between Peter and Harriet were a highlight of Gaudy Night and I especially liked how young Saint George was kind of prodding them on through his actions.

I'm pretty sure I've read Busman's Honeymoon, at some point but don't really remember it.

68Familyhistorian
Dez 27, 2020, 4:11 pm

204. Never Going Back by Sam Wiebe



Alison had learned her lesson, time away in jail can do that. When she got out, she wanted to go straight. Her plans were to work with her brother Dean in his restaurant. But he wasn’t there to met her when she got out. In fact, the restaurant was closed and her brother tied up, literally.

It was the work of her old nemesis, Lisa Wan, the woman she suspected of setting her up to get caught the first time around. Lisa had one last job for her. How could she refuse with the life and livelihood of her brother at stake?

The action and the question of whether Alison would keep to her promise of Never Going Back kept me turning the pages of this novella.

69Familyhistorian
Dez 27, 2020, 8:15 pm

I'm spending the end of 2020 trying to catch up on the threads. I also have a list of other things that I want to get done by the end of the year and I'm starting to make progress on it.

70Familyhistorian
Dez 27, 2020, 8:34 pm

205. Five Ports to Danger by Vivian Connolly

You know a book is old when there is no ISBN code. The publication date was given in Roman numerals only. Goggle tells me it was 1980. That seemed about the right date for the characters all along for a Caribbean cruise in Five Ports to Danger.

There was a mystery and bodies which died conveniently off screen. The narrator, a writer sent on a cruise by his editor because he was in a rut (really) teamed up with Aunt Kathleen, a wise older woman, to solve the mystery of what was really going on.

71Familyhistorian
Dez 28, 2020, 12:59 am

206. The Milkman's Son. A Memoir of Family History. A DNA Mystery. A Story of Paternal Love by Randy Lindsay

DNA tests have ripped open a lot of family secrets. That was the case in the memoir of The Milkman’s Son when the author took his own DNA test. His family had always called him, the Milkman’s son because he was different from the rest of them in looks and temperament. He hadn’t thought anything off it until he took the test and didn’t have any matches with his Lindsay family line but ended up with close matches to a totally unknown line.

The narrative goes on to tell of him connecting with the other family line, his biological line. It turned out in a very positive way with him having two families he felt connected to.

72Familyhistorian
Dez 28, 2020, 2:21 pm

207. Tom Thomson: Journal of My Last Spring by Tim Bouma

Written in daily entries between March 1 and July 8, 1917, Tom Thomson: Journal of My Last Spring was a fictional recreation of Tom Thomson’s last days at Algonquin Park. The style was a bit dry and hard to get into at first but I caught the rhythm of it after a while. It was interesting to meet the people who were a part of the artist’s last days and to speculate about what had happened to him and who else, if any one, might have been involved in his fate.

73Familyhistorian
Dez 28, 2020, 2:23 pm

One of the things I've been working on is catching up on reviews. Most of the latest ones I need to get done before I do another library run. There are yet more holds for me to go and pick up.

74Familyhistorian
Dez 28, 2020, 7:34 pm

208. In the Shadow of Power by Viveca Sten

I’ve been reading a fair bit of nonfiction lately which can slow down my reading. It’s a nice relief to power through a mystery. In the Shadow of Power was a good entry in the Sandhamn murder series. This time it involved a venture capitalist with something to prove. Unfortunately, he chose to prove it on Sandhamn by building a house that has upset the neighbours and his own wife.

The man, Carston Jonsson, thought he had everything under control as the house was built and he ventured into financial markets in Russia. But did he? Things heated up as a fire broke out in his guest lodge and the Russian deal started going sideways. Thomas and Nora were pulled into the mystery of the arson and other events that were happening around Jonsson, putting them both at risk.

75SandyAMcPherson
Dez 29, 2020, 6:46 pm

Hi Meg. I'm trying to do a few rounds before the flip to all new threads.

I wrote a swack of reviews recently and I am not sure they're very informative. I started to feel everything merging into similar memes, yet the stories really were fairly distinctive. There were 2 non-fictions and one child's poem, but the rest were mysteries.

Richard claims the "child's book" must have been printed by the likes of Gutenberg or Caxton (I did laugh - he's so droll).

I have two literary fiction type of stories I'm reading. I probably won't finish them anytime soon. I've neglected a lot of correspondence at a time I usually write many of the older folks in my life who live aways away.

76Familyhistorian
Dez 30, 2020, 1:17 am

>75 SandyAMcPherson: Hi Sandy, it's a crazy time of year especially for the 75ers as we either carry on with the old or jump wholeheartedly for the new. There are always so many things we think we "should" be doing. As long as you are enjoying the books and the company, what more could you ask?

77SandyAMcPherson
Dez 30, 2020, 3:06 pm

>76 Familyhistorian: Thanks for the affirmation. I truly have been feeling the need to cut back my "have-tos" because I'm not handling the coronavirus surges of infection in the places where family live (BC and Ontario, especially).

Not sure when (if?) I'll start a 2021 thread. I will visit the 75-er Talks though.
Best wishes for whenever you move. I hope you can stay in the Tri-Cities area.

78johnsimpson
Dez 30, 2020, 4:08 pm

Happy New Year Meg.

79Familyhistorian
Dez 30, 2020, 6:39 pm

>77 SandyAMcPherson: LT is a pretty forgiving place, Sandy, but I know what you mean about "have tos" but we tend to do that to ourselves. I know that I jump on challenges and then struggle to keep up. This year I've struggled to keep up with the threads more than in any other year.

The surges in Ontario sound pretty bad, the ones in BC not so much. It would have been nice if they didn't suspend giving vaccine injections for 5 days over the holidays, though.

80Familyhistorian
Dez 30, 2020, 6:39 pm

>78 johnsimpson: Thanks John. I hope that you and your family have a Happy New Year as well.

81jessibud2
Dez 30, 2020, 7:17 pm

>79 Familyhistorian: - Meg, have you heard about the latest fiasco here in Ontario? It all unfolded today, I think. After all the hoopla from Ford and his cronies about staying home, not going anywhere unless it was absolutely necessary, his second-in-command, the finance minister, has been caught vacationing in the Caribbean. And faking being home when he sent out his phony Christmas message. And at first, Ford denied knowing about it, but he had to do damage control when he too, got found out and he admitted knowing that the finance minister was going south.

I think the finance minster has to be thrown out on his ass immediately and also, that Ford needs to step down. As our situation gets worse by the day, we need a real leader. Ford had his chance and he blew it. More than once. Such a disgrace. Geez. What kind of message or example are they sending. Too late, I'm afraid....

82Familyhistorian
Dez 30, 2020, 7:59 pm

>79 Familyhistorian: I hadn't heard about the latest Ontario fiasco, Shelley. I wonder if it will make our news today. Sounds typical though, it's that "do as I say, not as I do" privileged mentality of those in power.

83jessibud2
Dez 30, 2020, 8:49 pm

>82 Familyhistorian: - Oh, I am sure you will hear about it. I hope all of Canada hears about it.

https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/toronto/ontario-rod-phillips-caribbean-vacation-1...

84SandyAMcPherson
Dez 30, 2020, 9:20 pm

>83 jessibud2: Yeah ~ we've heard/read about this. It is apparently the second time the self-entitled P has done this. I think his 2-week isolation should be in a jail cell. Solitary, of course.

(Mea culpa I promised myself to tone down the angst and not rant on LT anymore 🙄)

85Familyhistorian
Dez 30, 2020, 11:39 pm

>83 jessibud2: It made our news so I got to see the news clip of your premier with explanatory commentary.

86Familyhistorian
Dez 30, 2020, 11:40 pm

>84 SandyAMcPherson: Ranting about stuff like that is fine, Sandy.

87magicians_nephew
Dez 31, 2020, 3:00 pm

Happy New Year and hope to see you again one of these days

88ffortsa
Dez 31, 2020, 4:37 pm

Happy New Year, Meg. Can you imagine the burst of travel next year when it is finally realistic? Maybe we'll see each other again then.

89Storeetllr
Dez 31, 2020, 9:26 pm

Happy New Year, Meg!

90PaulCranswick
Dez 31, 2020, 9:33 pm



Meg

As the year turns, friendship continues

91quondame
Dez 31, 2020, 10:21 pm

92Familyhistorian
Dez 31, 2020, 11:05 pm

>87 magicians_nephew: >88 ffortsa: It was nice to meet up with you, Judy and Jim. It will be wonderful when we are all able to travel again!

93Familyhistorian
Dez 31, 2020, 11:07 pm

>89 Storeetllr: Hope you have a Happy New Year, Mary

>90 PaulCranswick: True words, Paul. I hope you had a Happy New Year celebration!

>91 quondame: Good one, Susan!

94Familyhistorian
Dez 31, 2020, 11:10 pm

209. Vikings by Neil Oliver

My last book for 2020 was to meet a challenge for the Reading Through Time group. I read Neil Oliver’s Vikings a comprehensive and informative history of the men of the north who traded and terrorized whole swathes of land and peoples. They ranged across an impressive amount of territory.

95Familyhistorian
Dez 31, 2020, 11:20 pm

I intended to get around to all the threads I hadn't touched in a long time to end up 2020 but time got away from me. It seemed better spend the time to return the call of a friend who lost her husband in December to catch up with her since that happened.

96mdoris
Jan 2, 2021, 6:36 pm

Happy New Year to you Meg and all the best reading in 2021! I will go and find your new thread soon!

97Familyhistorian
Jan 2, 2021, 7:33 pm

>96 mdoris: Thanks Mary, all the best to you in 2021!