Book a Week in 2014 - BW8

[Robin M]

Happy Sunday, my dears.  Today is the start of week 8 in our quest to read 52 Books.  Welcome back to all our readers, to all those who are just joining in and to all who are following our progress.  Mr. Linky is all set up on the 52 Books blog to link to your reviews.  The link is below in my signature.

 

52 Books Blog - 13th Century Literature:  This month I am delving into the 13th Century which ran from 1201 to 1300.   Since we have been armchair traveling in Italy this month,  let's concentrate on Italian literature for the moment.  In the 13th Century,  the sonnet became the most popular form of poetry and spread from King Frederick's Sicilian court out through Europe.  Up until the 1260's, the sonnets were all about romance and chivalry.  Guido Guinizelli introduced the mystical and philosophical style which Dante used for his La Vita Nuova.  Folk, doctrinal and religious poetry all came into play during the time period as well. 

If you look at Goodread's lists of The Best Books of the 13th Century and  Popular 13th Century literature, besides Sharon Kay Penman and Elizabeth Chadwick, whom I mentioned before, you'll also find Dante's La Vita Nuova, Umberto Eco's Baudolini, Edith Pargetter's Brothers of Gwynedd as well as Dante's Divine Comedy, St. Thomas Aquinas's Summa Theology and Sufi mystic Rumi's Love Poetry.  Quite an assortment to choose from.

For more information on 13th Century literature check out Factbites for interesting tidbits of information that I'm sure will send you on all kinds of rabbit trails.   And for sacred poetry around the world by century, check out Poetry Chaikhana. 

Join me in reading literature set in the 13th Century.

 

 

What are you reading this week?

 

 

 

Link to week 7

 

 

[Robin M]

I'm currently reading The Twelve by Justin Cronin.  So glad I read The Passage again or I would be completely lost.  As it is, I'm only half lost.  New characters skipping back and forth in time. Not as pleasurable a read as the first book. 

 

Also on my nook - reading C.E. Murphy's Coyote Dreams which is # 3 in her Walker Paper series.

[Tress]

I neglected to report about my books last month, so the books below are the ones I read since the start of 2014.

 

I’m reading through the Wheel of Time serie by Robert Jordan.  It’s my last 10-15 minutes in bed reading, nice and cozy. I had read the first 5 or 6 books a couple of years ago, and I’m surprised by how much I remember. But that’s okay. Done: Eye of the World and Great Hunt, I’m halfway through Dragon Reborn.

 

After The Historian which I looooooved, I fell into a sort of ‘book hangover’, so I grabbed a couple of non-fiction books.  Every Woman’s Guide to Foot Pain Relief – Katy Bowman, a short and easy read, and contained mostly info I had already found on the internet. It did motivate me to buy a pair of Vibram shoes, which have really made a difference for my feet!

 

Born to Run by Christopher McDougall was a fast, fun read. I’m not a runner, but it almost made me start running. Almost :D.

 

The Mood Cure by Julia Ross, I really want to try some of the supplements she recommends, but I’m having a lot of headaches and migraine the last few months, and until I have solved those, I don’t want to introduce any other variables.

 

A couple of people on this thread were talking about Unwind by Neal Shusterman which sounded really interesting. I generally love reading about dystopias and I really liked the premise. Well…..there is –obviously- nothing to like about organ harvesting and retroactive abortion, but it could make for an interesting story.

 

After reading Unwind, and Little Brother by Doctorov last year,  I’m starting to think that I’m not much of a YA reader.  I keep thinking, nice premise, but it could be soooo much better if it were written not for a YA audience but for a …what’s the term….adult audience? Adult? That sounds weird and makes me think of other kind of books.  Ahem.  Anyway, I think I’m going to pass the YA books for a while.

 

I couldn’t find a new fiction book, so I read Leisure the Basis of Culture by Pieper (Circe recommendation, I didn’t find it as difficult as I thought it would be, and now I get to feel completely up to date when people are discussing it on blogs :D) and Het Pauperparadijs by Suzanna Jansen (Dutch journalist who wrote about her grandparents, great-grandparents and great-great-grandparents whose histories were all connected to a Dutch reform program for poor people, which consisted of imprisoning and forced re-education, which failed miserable. Shocking history, but not translated into English at this time.)

 

I had a LOT of fun with Jo Walton’s What Makes This Book So Great! She writes so enthusiastically about SF&F books and I discovered so many new-to-me writers! I was only familiar with the big names (Asimov, Heinlein, Frank Herbert, Zelazny, Eddings, Niven, Jordan) because those are translated into Dutch and Dutch libraries generally only buy Dutch books. I had never even heard of Bujold or Cherryh or the dozens of other writers that Walton mentions. This is obviously going to cost me money (don’t tell my husband :leaving: ) but I’m really looking forward to discovering those writers.

 

Then I read Op Hoop van Zegen (In Hope of Providence) by Herman Heijermans (Dutch High School list). It’s a play, written in 1900, about the life of poor fishermen. It was a fenomenal success at that time, was even translated into several languages and performed in Hamburg, Berlin, Prague, Moscow, Vienna, London, Stockholm and New York. This was the first time I read a play (I’m repressing the memory of reading King Lear at school…shudder), so I was a bit nervous, but I really liked it.

 

I forgot who mentioned Cloud Atlas by David Mitchell on this thread, but I want to thank that person! Wow, I really really liked it! I looooved the different stories & the structure.

 

After Cloud Atlas I couldn’t find anything to read, so I read some non-fiction again (seeing a pattern here….sigh). I read No More I’m Done, Fostering Independent Writers in the Primary Grades by Jennifer Jacobson, which was really interesting.  And started with another book from the Dutch High School lists: Kees de Jongen by Theo Thijssen, which is kind of funny, but moves very slow.

 

On Friday Bookdepository delivered Howards End is on the Landing by Susan Hill (birthday money) and this weekend I have been happily reading and adding books to my tbr-list :D. I love books like this. I saw reviewers complain about the name dropping, but I didn’t really mind that. I do think she didn’t really succeed in writing a memoir of a year of reading and the cozy, let’s put a log on the fire or make some tea on the AGA thing fell flat, but I always love getting book recommendations and that she did!

 

Next week is Spring Break for us and I plan on reading a lot. I have several books lined up, because obviously if I don’t do that I default to non-fiction and I want to get away from that. I used to read mostly fiction and only occasionally non-fiction, but that changed when I got children. It’s easier for me to read non-fiction in short snippets and I now really have to work to get into the world of a book. But fiction gives me so much more pleasure, so I’m determined to read more of it this year!

 

-----

 

 15. Howards End is on the Landing – Susan Hill (BaW recommendation)

14. No More I’m Done, Fostering Independent Writers in the Primary Grades – Jennifer Jacobson

13. Cloud Atlas – David Mitchell (BaW recommendation)  (NL)

12. Op Hoop van Zegen – Herman Heijermans (Dutch lit, N3)  (NL)

11.What Makes This Book So Great - Jo Walton (BaW recommendation)

10. Het pauperparadijs – Suzanna Jansen  (NL)

9. Leisure, the basis of culture – Josef Pieper (Circe) (NL)

8. Unwind – Neal Shusterman (BaW recommendation)

7. The Mood Cure – Julia Ross

6. Born to Run – Christopher McDougall (NL)

5. Every Woman’s Guide to Foot Pain Relief – Katy Bowman

4. The Historian – Elizabeth Kostova (BaW recommendation, chunky) (NL)

3. Great Hunt – Robert Jordan (WoT2, chunky)

2. The Goldfinch – Donna Tartt (BaW recommendation, chunky) (NL)

1. Eye of the World - Robert Jordan (WoT1, chunky)

[Mom-ninja.]

Just a quick post to subscribe. I'm still on track for reading the Bible in a year. Trying to decide which unread book from my shelf to read now.

[shukriyya]

Rumi is a poet who is alive in our home, his poems often quoted or sung or even danced to. Coleman Barks is one of the best (the best?) translators of his work and if you ever get a chance to see Coleman, Zuleikha, Glen Velez and David Darling in concert together you won't be disappointed. The breath beneath the poetry is brought vividly and beautifully to life.

Finished :: 'Mariana' by Susanna Kearsley -- a ho-hum read that curiously kept my interest in ways that still have me wondering why

Currently Reading :: 'A Lady Cyclist's Guide to Kashgar' by Suzanne Joinson--the unparallel parallel stories alternating between 1923 and present day seem completely unrelated but I pushed through my disinterest to the other side (thanks to some responses here to my questions as to how/why/when one does this) and now, at 50% of the way through, I'm quite content to enjoy whatever the author offers up. The writing is well done and the two stories are holding my interest, though the 1923 one more than the present day.

Ongoing ::

'The Conference of the Birds' by Attar--loving how intimately relevant this story-poem is some nine hundred years later
'Physicians of the Heart' by various Sufis--this is the kind of book one will always be engaging with so I'm not sure I'll keep posting it under my 'ongoing' section
'Aimless Love' by Billy Collins--only managed two poems from it this week

Started ::

'The Moonspinners' by Mary Stewart--enjoying this so far, a light read with enough texture not to feel too fluffy

Rereading ::

'Untold :: A History of the Wives of Prophet Muhammad' by Tamam Kahn--this is an exquisite book by a dear friend that I first read a few years ago. She and I have prayed together, danced together, laughed together...A recent conversation with a friend inspired me to pick it up again. It's written in a literary form called prosimetrium which moves back and forth between sections of prose and sections of poetry. Prosimetrium has a fairly long history in both eastern and western literatures. I like what Fred Chappell says in the foreword ::

"To read "Untold" is like making a journey through a broad, colorful, desert landscape as one is carried along in prose and then to be halted by sudden encounters with personages who eagerly tell their stories or by striking features of landscape that offer themes and images for meditation. When the journey provides understanding, the abrupt bursts of poetry offer exhilaration. Each is indispensable to the other."

On the visible horizon :: (which keeps shifting each week as the inner winds and currents dictate)

'To the River' by Olivia Laing
'The Rose Garden' by Susanna Kearsley
'The Plot to Save Socrates' by Paul Levinson

'Blackout' by Connie Willis

 

[Just Robyn]

After reading Unwind, and Little Brother by Doctorov last year,  I’m starting to think that I’m not much of a YA reader.  I keep thinking, nice premise, but it could be soooo much better if it were written not for a YA audience but for a …what’s the term….adult audience? Adult? That sounds weird and makes me think of other kind of books.  Ahem.  Anyway, I think I’m going to pass the YA books for a while.

 

I forgot who mentioned Cloud Atlas by David Mitchell on this thread, but I want to thank that person! Wow, I really really liked it! I looooved the different stories & the structure.

 

I haven't read Unwind, but IMO Little Brother is just plain bad writing. It's forced and preachy rather than natural and exploratory. I'm not a huge YA fan, but I KNOW there are better YA books than Little Brother. 

 

And I read Cloud Atlas recently, and I got interested in it after Stacia read and mentioned it. Hooray for the BaW thread!

 

 

Last week I finished Dante's Inferno, The Communist Manifesto, and Erec and Enide by Chretien de Troyes. I've started Madame Bovary, but it's slow going. When I'm not reading it, I'm pulled to it and want to read more. But when I'm reading it, it feels very slow and I get through only small parts at a time.

[melmichigan]

I tried to post to last weeks thread, and then my response disappeared into the dark hole in the internet never to be seen again.  So I'll try again this week.   :)  I haven't been reading as much this month, it actually feels like withdrawal some days. I'll just highlight a few books/series of interest.  

 

Wild Things, A Chicago Vampire Novel by Chloe Neill was ok.  I think I went into this one with high expectations and set myself up for disappointment.  I will read the next in the series but I won't be waiting on baited breath for it to come out.  I'm left with the feeling that this was a filler to some extent with world building that will be necessary in future books.  The action and mystery in this one just didn't hold my interest like past books.

 

I enjoyed the McCarthy's of Gansett Island series by Marie Force, but it seemed to be running out of characters and story lines.  I was pleasantly surprised to see that Marie Force has started a new series with All You Need is Love, book one in the new Green Mountain Series.  I'm a visual reader, but I savor the images in Marie's books.

 

The family-run Green Mountain Country Store is cherished by locals as a reminder of simpler times. The Abbott children are determined to keep it that way—but their father has different plans...

 

When Cameron Murphy heads to Vermont to build a website for a new client, she imagines a more relaxing trip than she gets. After wrecking her car by colliding with the town moose, she meets the most handsome hero she's ever seen. Unfortunately, her savior, Will Abbott, is also the son of her client—and he wants nothing to do with the new website or the city girl creating it.

 

For all Will cares, Cameron can march her fancy boots right out of town and out of his family's business. But he can't seem to get her out of his head. As his family's dispute heats up, so does the chemistry between the two, leaving them wondering if simple is better after all—especially when it comes to matters of the heart.

 

I was reading one of the previous weeks posts referencing Mark Henwick's Bite Back Series when I realized that I already had his first book in my kindle library.  I started with Sleight of Hand, and quickly moved through Hidden Trump and Wild Card.  I was leery about a male author writing about a kick-butt female character, especially at the end of book one, but was pleasantly surprised.  I will continue to follow this series.

[shukriyya]

<snippety snip>

 

 I've started Madame Bovary, but it's slow going. When I'm not reading it, I'm pulled to it and want to read more. But when I'm reading it, it feels very slow and I get through only small parts at a time.

 

I recall loving Mme. Bovary when I read it decades ago. I've only read it once and I wonder if I'd like it now. The way you describe being pulled in to reading it but then having a feeling of 'ennui' come over you, to me, describes exactly the inner landscape of Emma.

 

[Guest]

NM

[Guest]

Last week I finished Dante's Inferno

:hurray: I hope to say that at this time next week...

[Lady Florida.]

 

After reading Unwind, and Little Brother by Doctorov last year,  I’m starting to think that I’m not much of a YA reader.  I keep thinking, nice premise, but it could be soooo much better if it were written not for a YA audience but for a …what’s the term….adult audience? Adult? That sounds weird and makes me think of other kind of books.  Ahem.  Anyway, I think I’m going to pass the YA books for a while.

 

 

 

I know just what you mean. My real life book club started going to pretty much all YA, and that's when I realized how much really bad YA is out there. A few are good, either well-written or such good stories that you can give the writing a pass. IMO it's rare to find one that's both well-written and has a good story. Most seem like the authors are just writing for an audience that doesn't know what a good book is.

 

I'm now in a book club that was sort of a backlash to all the YA in the other club. The woman who started it posted on facebook asking if anyone wanted to join a club for those who want to read adult books. While we all knew what she meant, we had some fun teasing her about that post. 

 

That's not to say YA doesn't have a place, or that adults should never read it. I just think a steady diet of it will eventually turn anyone off of young adult books. That's sad, because when a good one does come along, it might get lost in the sea of bad books.

 

ETA: I don't mean to sound like a book snob. I think it's because of what happened in my local book club that I have such an aversion not just to YA, but to adults reading nothing but YA. It really left a bad taste in my mouth.

[Onceuponatime]

I'm about half way through The Inferno, feeling sorry for some of those people in Hell, which apparently is a no-no. I'm also about 3/4 of the way through Life after Life. It's been quite a ride, but I'm ready for it to be over now.

[Kareni]

I recently read a book that I enjoyed very much ~

Someone Else's Love Story: A Novel by Joshilyn Jackson.

 

It's classified as mainstream fiction and was compellingly readable.  It's full of surprises, it's poignant, and at one point it had me all but guffawing.  I recommend it.

 

"For single mom Shandi Pierce, life is a juggling act. She's finishing college; raising her delightful three-year-old genius son, Nathan, aka Natty Bumppo; and keeping the peace between her eternally warring, long-divorced Christian mother and Jewish father. She's got enough to deal with before she gets caught in the middle of a stickup in a gas station mini-mart and falls in love with a great wall of a man named William Ashe, who steps between the armed robber and her son to shield the child from danger.

Shandi doesn't know that her blond god has his own baggage. When he looked down the barrel of the gun in the gas station he believed it was destiny: it's been exactly one year since a tragic act of physics shattered his universe. But William doesn't define destiny the way other people do. A brilliant geneticist who believes in science and numbers, destiny to him is about choice.

Now, William and Shandi are about to meet their so-called destinies head-on, making choices that will reveal unexpected truths about love, life, and the world they think they know.

 

Someone Else's Love Story is Joshilyn Jackson's funny, charming, and poignant novel about science and miracles, secrets and truths, faith and forgiveness; about falling in love and learning that things aren't always what they seem—or what we hope they will be. It's a story about discovering what we want and ultimately finding what we need."

 

Regards,

Kareni

 

 

[Jane in NC]

It was a week of distractions.  Consequently I am still reading the two books I was reading one week ago:  Jane Eyre and The Time Traveler's Guide to Elizabethan England.  That bag of library books will never be read at this rate!

 

An audio book is accompanying me while driving and knitting (although I do not do both simultaneously!)  I am listening to an unusual Agatha Christie, a Cold War espionage tale called Destination Unknown.

 

Last week I finished Dante's Inferno, The Communist Manifesto, and Erec and Enide by Chretien de Troyes. I've started Madame Bovary, but it's slow going. When I'm not reading it, I'm pulled to it and want to read more. But when I'm reading it, it feels very slow and I get through only small parts at a time.

 

I recall loving Mme. Bovary when I read it decades ago. I've only read it once and I wonder if I'd like it now. The way you describe being pulled in to reading it but then having a feeling of 'ennui' come over you, to me, describes exactly the inner landscape of Emma.
 

Last year I reread Madame Bovary when Robin suggested it as that month's WEM mini challenge.  After finishing it, I wrote:

 

 

Robin gave me the nudge to reread Flaubert's classic, a book to which I was first introduced in a History of the Novel class as an undergrad. Amazing that I can remember most of the books we read that semester although I honestly don't remember what I thought about this particular one then.

Here is the thing about Bovary: It is easy to blame the fallen woman for her adulterous sins, but there is not a redeeming person in the novel except for perhaps some minor servants. Page after page of despicable characters can make for a slog--especially for those of us who are reading a translation and are thus not inspired directly by Flaubert's writing which is supposed to be exquisite.

All of us know some variation of Ms. Bovary--not necessarily the adulterous woman but someone who is never satisfied with life as it is. Bovary enters into serious debt for her bits and bobs. Neither her marriage nor her child bring her satisfaction. Nor do the affairs--after a while. There is always the need for more, for greater thrills. I suppose that I met people like this as a college student but life has certainly brought more than a few my way since then. Particularly when it comes to people who are never satisfied with their comfortable material lots.

 

I know just what you mean. My real life book club started going to pretty much all YA, and that's when I realized how much really bad YA is out there. A few are good, either well-written or such good stories that you can give the writing a pass. IMO it's rare to find one that's both well-written and has a good story. Most seem like the authors are just writing for an audience that doesn't know what a good book is.

 

I'm now in a book club that was sort of a back lash to all the YA in the other club. The woman who started it posted on facebook asking if anyone wanted to join a club for those who want to read adult books. While we all knew what she meant, we had some fun teasing her about that post. 

 

That's not to say YA doesn't have a place, or that adults should never read it. I just think a steady diet of it will eventually turn anyone off of young adult books. That's sad, because when a good one does come along, it might get lost in the sea of bad books.

 

ETA: I don't mean to sound like a book snob. I think it's because of what happened in my local book club that I have such an aversion not just to YA, but to adults reading nothing but YA. It really left a bad taste in my mouth.

About YA:  Phillip Pullman's His Dark Materials was a series that gave me pause.  The books are uncomfortable but worthy of reading and discussion.  Many of the recent best sellers, YA books that are popular with adults, have no appeal to me.  In fact, I cannot understand why anyone would want a "steady diet" of them!

[Narrow Gate Academy]

I finished two more books this past week: #9 Quiet:  The Power of Introverts in a World That Can't Stop Talking by Cain (review here) and #10 The Weed That Strings the Hangman's Bag by Bradley (review here).  The former while interesting seemed more geared towards explaining introverts to extroverts and not as much about being an introvert in an extroverted world, so it was informative but not what I expected.  The latter was my means of escape from all the psychology in Quiet, which I have never enjoyed.  I had intended to preread Urchin of the Riding Stars, but DS and I were not enjoying Archimedes and the Door of Science by Bendick as a read aloud and decided to drop it on Wednesday.  He thought the McAllister book looked interesting, so we'll start reading it tomorrow.  (We took Thursday and Friday off as snow days.) 

 

TBR:

Oedipus the King and Oedipus at Colonus by Sophocles (these I have to finish for discussion by midweek)

One Corpse too Many by Peters (I'd like to read a couple more of these before moving on to the 13th century)

 

In Progress:

Bible (still on track, about halfway through Numbers now)

History of the Ancient World by Bauer (I couldn't take anymore nonfiction last week, so I'll shoot for chapter 25 again this week)

The Beloved Disciple by Moore (I downloaded this for free last month.  I thought it would balance out all of my Old Testament reading.)

 

Finished: 

10:  The Weed That Strings the Hangman's Bag by Bradley

9.  Quiet:  The Power of Introverts in a World That Can't Stop Talking by Cain

8.  Sandstorm by Rollins

7.  The War of the Worlds by Wells

6.  A Morbid Taste for Bones by Peters

5.  Antigone by Sophocles

4.  Secrets of an Organized Mom by Reich

3.  Phantastes by MacDonald

2.  The Sweetness at the Bottom of the Pie by Bradley

1.  The Odyssey by Homer

 

[shukriyya]

I had intended to preread Urchin of the Riding Stars, but DS and I were not enjoying Archimedes and the Door of Science by Bendick as a read aloud and decided to drop it on Wednesday. He thought the McAllister book looked interesting, so we'll start reading it tomorrow. (We took Thursday and Friday off as snow days.)

Phone post so please forgive typos etc. I'll be interested to hear how your ds likes Urchin. It's a fave here. He did enjoy the Bendick book as well.

[Paisley Hedgehog]

. 

 

[Murmer]

Finished: Teaching Your Children Responsibility by Richard and Linda Eyre (loved this book!)

The Tale of Despereaux by Kate DiCamillo (enjoyed this book with my kids)

Moon over Manifest by Clare Vanderpool (interesting story and I enjoyed the way she put it all together with news articles, past and current concurrently told in the story)

Redemption 1 by Karen Kingsbury and Gary Smalley (this book frustrated me!)

Teaching Children Joy by Richard and Linda Eyre (cute)

Cutting Edge by Jeffery Savage (fluffy fiction)

 

Working on:

Fiction: Bones of the Faerie by Jani Lee Simner

Kindle: The Simple Dollar by Trent Hamm

Non-fiction: The Act of Teaching Donald Cruickshank, Deborah Jenkins, Kim Metcalf

Phone: Lies, Da** Lies, and Science by Sherry Seethaler

Computer: 3 Steps to a Strong Family by Richard and Linda Eyre

Well Education Mind: Pilgrim's Progress by John Bunyan

Angel Girl: The Aesop for Children by Aesop

Sweet Boy: Hans Christian Anderson Fairy Tales Book

Autobook: Tears of the Giraffe by Alexander McCall Smith

 

Total Read for 2014: 27

[JennW in SoCal]

3 books in progress this week, all good but I'm being a slow poke!  

 

The Last Unicorn by Peter S. Beagle  Just a couple chapters in so far, but seems gentle and sweet.  

 

The Hare with the Amber Eyes by Edmund de Waal  Fascinating, beautifully written.  

 

The Surgeon's Mate, the 7th in the Aubrey/Maturin series.  Having a prodigious good time as usual with the series :-)

 

 

[shukriyya]

<snip snip>

 

Second was the first of Ruth Reichl's memoirs, Tender At The Bone. Reichl is the former NYT food critic and there was plenty of food-centric writing here, but the memoir was mostly about her early years at school and university. I was hooked from the first page and read the entire book in about 36 hours.

I read and enjoyed this very much a couple of years ago. The second one IIRC was also good but not quite as good as the first one. YMMV

[Just Robyn]

I recall loving Mme. Bovary when I read it decades ago. I've only read it once and I wonder if I'd like it now. The way you describe being pulled in to reading it but then having a feeling of 'ennui' come over you, to me, describes exactly the inner landscape of Emma.

 

 

I have thought that too, and that - well, the form really matches the content, so I should give it another star for that. But then I wonder if matching the content is an excuse to write prose that quickly bores and tires me - extra star stripped back off! I go back and forth.

 

 

That's not to say YA doesn't have a place, or that adults should never read it. I just think a steady diet of it will eventually turn anyone off of young adult books. That's sad, because when a good one does come along, it might get lost in the sea of bad books.

 

I wonder if this will take care of itself over time. Way more terrible adult books are written than great ones, too. But since it's not a relatively new genre, we have so many great books that have survived the times, while the "sea of bad books" of the past has dried up. (ETA: Or maybe it's in inBOIL.) Eventually, in addition to the new releases in YA, there should be enough tried and true books in the genre so that you have plenty of good books to choose from when you're not feeling reckless and random enough to try something new that might be just awful. - Maybe, anyway.

[shukriyya]

My apologies for the ongoing multiple posts. I'm on my phone and can't multi-quote.
 

3 books in progress this week, all good but I'm being a slow poke!

The Hare with the Amber Eyes by Edmund de Waal Fascinating, beautifully written.

This looks intriguing, pulled in as I was by the evocative title. The story sounds compelling. Is the writing good?

Edited to reframe my question...does the writing mirror the poetry and texture of the title?

[mommymilkies]

I neglected to report about my books last month, so the books below are the ones I read since the start of 2014.

 

I’m reading through the Wheel of Time serie by Robert Jordan.  It’s my last 10-15 minutes in bed reading, nice and cozy. I had read the first 5 or 6 books a couple of years ago, and I’m surprised by how much I remember. But that’s okay. Done: Eye of the World and Great Hunt, I’m halfway through Dragon Reborn.

 

After The Historian which I looooooved, I fell into a sort of ‘book hangover’, so I grabbed a couple of non-fiction books.  Every Woman’s Guide to Foot Pain Relief – Katy Bowman, a short and easy read, and contained mostly info I had already found on the internet. It did motivate me to buy a pair of Vibram shoes, which have really made a difference for my feet!

 

I love Katy Bowman!  I thought about doing the RE training course this year, but we may not be moving to the PNW, so completing the training may be out of the picture. :/  Have you seen her blog book?  She also *just* finished her next book. :)

 

I love the WoT series.  I need to finish it this year.  Though Eye of the World is still the best in the series, so far. 

 

I haven't read Unwind, but IMO Little Brother is just plain bad writing. It's forced and preachy rather than natural and exploratory. I'm not a huge YA fan, but I KNOW there are better YA books than Little Brother. 

 

And I read Cloud Atlas recently, and I got interested in it after Stacia read and mentioned it. Hooray for the BaW thread!

 

 

Last week I finished Dante's Inferno, The Communist Manifesto, and Erec and Enide by Chretien de Troyes. I've started Madame Bovary, but it's slow going. When I'm not reading it, I'm pulled to it and want to read more. But when I'm reading it, it feels very slow and I get through only small parts at a time.

 

I love Chretien de Troyes.  My poor kids-I quote from it all the time. And you have been busy!  How do you find the time?

It was a week of distractions.  Consequently I am still reading the two books I was reading one week ago:  Jane Eyre and The Time Traveler's Guide to Elizabethan England.  That bag of library books will never be read at this rate!

I will have to add The Time Traveler's Guide to Elizabethan England to my list.  I am obsessed with all things Elizabeth I. 

 

I still have yet to finish Proven Guilty.  I've been so tired.  Hopefully I'll finish it tonight, then I think I'll start Stephen King's On Writing. 

[Jane in NC]

 

The Hare with the Amber Eyes by Edmund de Waal  Fascinating, beautifully written.  

 

 

 

My apologies to the group for the ongoing multiple posts. I'm on my phone and can't multi-quote.

 

This looks intriguing, pulled in as I was by the evocative title. The story sounds compelling. Is the writing good?

 

Edited to reframe my question...does the writing mirror the poetry and texture of the title?

 

 

The Hare with the Amber Eyes was my favorite non-fiction book of the year when I read it a couple of years ago. Compelling story, beautifully told.

[Mom-ninja.]

An audio book is accompanying me while driving and knitting (although I do not do both simultaneously!) 

 

 

:lol:  This struck me as funny.

[Stacia]

Back home. (And dealing with a massive clean-up as one of our cats apparently had gut issues while we were gone... all over our bed.) So, as the umpteenth load of laundry is now in the wash & I'm ready for a break after cranky kids, packing this morning, riding home, unpacking, & dealing with cat messes, I'm ready to sit here with my BaW pals for a 15-minute break. :laugh:

 

Um, I'm still working on Jesse Ball's charming, picaresque, surrealist tale The Way Through Doors. The reason it's still going is because I didn't toss it in my bag for our trip, so it sat here at home unattended for a few days. Will get back to it this week & should finish it.

 

While away from home, I picked up The French Connection by Robin Moore on a book swap shelf. Really enjoying this true crime police procedural about cops tracking down heroin distributors in NYC in the 1960s. (No, I never saw the movie. But, wow, looking it up makes me want to see it; plus, it won a lot of Oscars, including the first-ever Best Picture Oscar awarded for an R-rated movie.)

The true, absorbing and sometimes frightening documentary of the world's most successful narcotics investigation, The French Connection is one of the most fascinating crime accounts of our time. When New York City detectives Eddie "Popeye" Egan and his partner Sonny Grosso routinely tail Pasquale "Patsy" Fuca, after observing some wild spending at the Copacabana, they quickly realize that they are on to something really big. Patsy is not only the nephew of a mob boss on the lam but also a key negotiator in an impending delivery of narcotics from abroad. His incongruous connections are with several distinguished Frenchmen, including Jean Jehan, the director of the world's largest heroin network, and Jacques Angelvin, a star of French television.

 

For many suspense-filled months, through opulent Manhattan nightclubs, dark tenements in Brooklyn and the Bronx, tree-lined streets of the genteel Upper East Side, and in Paris, Marseilles, and Palermo, the duel is on -- the prize 112 pounds of pure heroin, worth ninety million on the streets. Over three hundred investigators from local, state, federal, and international agencies are ultimately involved in the hours of weary surveillance, the skilled intuition, the luck -- both good and bad -- and the danger.

An interesting (& depressing) follow-up about the heroin seized during the bust. (Yeah, I know it's a gossip paper, but I saw references to the disappearance of the heroin in other articles; this one seemed to sum it up the best.)

 

On a different note, seeing Rumi mentioned in a couple of posts reminds me that my sil enjoys Rumi.

 

Also chiming in to agree on not being a fan of YA & not understanding adults who choose to read only YA books. LOL, Tress about 'adult' books. (Just have to mention, in re: to the Outlander books being mentioned last week -- I tried the first one but couldn't get into the story, so I didn't finish it. I did, however, flip through/skim & read some of the racy parts, so at least I know who people are referring to when they mention Jamie. :lol: Somehow that thought occurred to me with the mention of 'adult' books. ;))

(FYI for you, Stacia, there was a new mountaineering drama / documentary film released on dvd last week called The Summit. It is an Into Thin Air-style true story about a deadly day on K2 in 2008. Like the '96 Everest tragedy, there is apparently a bit of dispute between survivors about what actually happened on the mountain, but imho the film was really well done and balanced. I thought it might interest you. Disclaimer: the documentary contains adult language)

Cool. Thanks! (No need to warn me about adult language. That kind of stuff doesn't generally bother me unless they're using really poor grammar along with it. :laugh: )

 

Ok, so I guess I'll rate my post "R" since I've discussed an R-rated movie, admitted to reading (only) the racy parts of Outlander, and not caring if there's bad language in a documentary. :tongue_smilie:

[Kim in Appalachia]

I'm 3/4 of the way through Murakami's Hardboiled Wonderland and the End of the World. The book is truly bizarre, even for Murakami, but I'm loving it.  I've decided I definitely a Murakami fan.  I've started coping a few of my favorite quotes from the book onto my Goodreads progress spot.  I couldn't think of where else to keep them, so that is working well for me.  I think this book is closer to Kafka on the Shore, then Wind-up Bird. 

 

I don't know what I'll read next.  I'm waiting on Winter of the World from the library. I do have a few books on my Kindle that need reading, as well as a few on my shelf. :)    I sort-of read through a book on Ayurveda this week.  I wouldn't say I read it all, more like skimmed the whole thing.  I learned some interesting things that I may try and put into practice.

[marbel]

Just checking in to get myself started before the thread gets too big!   I'll go back and read everyone else's updates after.

 

This weekend I'd planned to get a lot of reading in, but it didn't turn out that way.  As of Saturday morning I had about 40 pages left to read of Have His Carcase and I didn't finish it till 5 pm on Sunday!   I know Dorothy Sayers is the queen of the detective novel but I thought this was overlong and not very compelling.  But, I will go on to Gaudy Night at some point simply because so many people have told me I must.  I do like the characters. 

 

I almost finished And Then There Were None (which I'm reading to my kids) on Friday, but I didn't want to rush the ending before my daughter headed out of town for the weekend.  The ending looks kind of creepy and I didn't want her leaving within a few minutes hearing some rather grim action.  So we'll finish it tomorrow. 

 

I still have a few things going and a few I wanted to start, but I realized that I have to start and finish Amazing Grace (bio of William Wilberforce) within 2 weeks for our church's book discussion group, which I think I have to lead!  So I'll be getting on that. 

 

My stats for the year so far:

 

Complete:

The Sweetness at the Bottom of the Pie

The Book Thief

Have His Carcase

 

In process:

And Then There Were None

The Count of Monte Cristo

The Middle Ages *

The Civilization of the Middle Ages *

A Circle of Quiet

Basic Economics *

Amazing Grace

 

*Homeschool reading

 

 

 

[Alice]

Since I last posted: 

 

The Dinosaur Feather by S. J. Gazan- This is a Danish mystery and has some of the same feel of The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo (yes, I know it's a different country). I think it felt similar in the liberal sexual attitudes that are treated as very normal and because it has the same thing where there are many names that seem similar to a non-Danish reader but I'm guessing aren't that similar to a Danish reader. It's like the Johansen and Bergensen and Borgensen and Jensen and Jergensen of Dragon Tattoo. After that kind of pointless aside, I'll say I really liked it. It's a very well-done mystery with intricate backstories and a really unique method of murder. I actually found this one when I was searching for dinosaur books for my kids for something and it looked intriguing so I put it on hold. Since then I've discovered it won a big Danish award (best crime novel of the decade) and is on a bunch of U.S. best-of lists including that well-known NPR librarian woman whose name is escaping me right now. Also, I'll add that it's much less icky and disturbing than Dragon Tattoo, if you are interested but possibly worried about that comparison.

 

The Unwanteds: Island of Fire by Lisa McMann- This is a dystopian middle grade fantasy series my son and I have both read and enjoyed. I like it although not as much as other books in the genre. But it's fun to read some of the same things he reads. 

 

The Littlle Way of Ruthie Leming by Rod Dreher- Non-fiction. The author is from a small town in Louisiana but left to become a journalist. His sister stayed in their small town with their family and lived a very different lifestyle from his.  His sister becomes terminally ill and through her illness he sees how the community rallies around her. It's about her life but the bigger themes are community and how we live our lives (does big mean better). I really enjoyed it, I read it for a book club and I think there is a lot to discuss and think about. 

 

I'm also working my way through the Mary Russell/Sherlock Holmes series by Laurie King on audiobook on my drives to work and the hospitals. I recently finished Locked Rooms and just started The Art of Detection. If you like mysteries and haven't read these, they are well worth the read (and the audiobooks have a fantastic narrator).

 

Currently reading: Frankenstein (for the first time) by Mary Shelley

                             A Red Herring Without Mustard (in the Flavia deLuce series) by Alan Bradley

                             The Meaning of Marriage by Tim Keller 
 

As for the YA book discussion, I feel like a good book is a good book. Some of the best books I've read in the past couple of years have been YA or middle grade but I'm sure there are also plenty of bad books in the genre. In some ways I enjoy reading middle grade novels more than YA because I think the audience is more clearly not-adult. I don't expect the same things from a middle-grade novel than I would from an adult one but from  a YA book I think I expect more. Really outstanding YA books I've read in the past year have been Code Name Verity (and Rose Under Fire) by Elizabeth Wein, Speak by Laurie Anderson, and Feed by M.T. Anderson.

[Onceuponatime]

 

I saw this sticker on the back of the car in front of me today.

[Stacia]

Alice, have you read M. T. Anderson's Octavian Nothing books? I read the first one a few years ago & thought it was really good. I keep meaning to read the sequel....

 

See, I say I don't like YA & I'm already contradicting myself. Lol.

[melmichigan]

Ok, I've decided to head back to James Rollins again to start off the week.  I've started The Devil Colony and dang it's a chunky one with The Skeleton Key novella at the end.  After that I'll probably try J. D. Robb, Concealed in Death is due out on Tuesday.  I'm going for enjoyment this week since I'm reading Chemistry, again.  Luckily I can understand Zumdahl.  The Spectrum book is driving me batty, even with the errata.  :blink:

[Lady Florida.]

I haven't finished anything, and according to Goodreads I'm one book behind schedule for my goal. I'll probably finish a bunch within about a week of each other, then my 2014 list will grow quickly. :D

 

Still reading: Daniel Deronda and Les Miserables. Both have a reading schedule from the group I'm reading with, so I didn't expect to finish either. I'm a bit behind on Les Miserables, but this coming week is one of the 2 scheduled breaks. It should give me enough time to catch up.  I've made progress on Fever and will likely finish it this week. I'm also still listening to Vanity Fair and enjoying it.

 

I have Below Stairs from the library but I just can't get into it. This is the book that supposedly inspired Upstairs Downstairs, and eventually Downton Abbey. I don't like the writing at all, and I'll probably just let it go back (it's a Kindle book). The other one I'm not enjoying is for a book club, Sophie's World. I hate philosophy, and this also not well written. 

 

I always have more than one book going at a time, but this time I think I have too many. I want to get finished with something. Anything.

[shukriyya]

There was talk last week of Hildegard of Bingen. This might be of interest to those who were reading her.

 

On another note ds has recently become interested in Abraham Lincoln. Can anyone recommend a good YA bio for a pre-teen who reads a lot?

[Negin]

Born to Run by Christopher McDougall was a fast, fun read. I’m not a runner, but it almost made me start running. Almost :D.

 

The Mood Cure by Julia Ross, I really want to try some of the supplements she recommends, but I’m having a lot of headaches and migraine the last few months, and until I have solved those, I don’t want to introduce any other variables.

Born to Run did the same thing to me. I used to run, but can't do so anymore. It made me "almost run". :)

I haven't read The Mood Cure, but I read her other book and the supplements helped. I hope your headaches and migraines get cleared up. I had a horrible migraine on Friday and a bad headache until this morning. 

 

As part of the Reading Bingo Challenge, I was to read a book with a number in the title. I giggled at the possibilities - Snow White and the Seven Dwarves; Three Billy Goats Gruff; etc.  :lol: I had a few other options and I chose The 100-Year Old Man Who Climbed  Out the Window and Disappeared - 2 Stars - loved it at first, but then it started to drag on a bit and I just wanted to finish it. There were some very funny parts and I would probably give it 3 Stars if I was more in the mood. By the time I finished it. this was me. 

 

 

 

 

MY RATING SYSTEM

5 Stars

Fantastic, couldn't put it down

4 Stars

Really Good

3 Stars

Enjoyable

2 Stars

Just Okay – nothing to write home about

1 Star

Rubbish – waste of my money and time. Few books make it to this level, since I usually give up on them if they’re that bad.

 

 

 

[Jane in NC]

 

 

On another note ds has recently become interested in Abraham Lincoln. Can anyone recommend a good YA bio for a pre-teen who reads a lot?

Albert Marrin writes outstanding histories for children.  He has one on Lincoln with which I am not familiar but I would take a look at Commander in Chief:  Lincoln and the Civil War.  Not a biography but Marrin's books captivate.  They are well written and well researched.

[Uff Da!]

I finished "She stoops to conquer" while traveling yesterday and will probably read another play today. It's been a long time since I've read a play and I really enjoyed it. Jane Eyre is still in progress on my nook. I think I gave myself carpel tunnel (or something like it) trying rush through a quilting project and will get a lot of reading time in now because of this.

[shukriyya]

Albert Marrin writes outstanding histories for children. He has one on Lincoln with which I am not familiar but I would take a look at Commander in Chief: Lincoln and the Civil War. Not a biography but Marrin's books captivate. They are well written and well researched.

Thank you, Jane. I've placed a hold on that at our library.

[Guest]

I finished The Vow this morning. It is the true story of Kim & Krickett Carpenter who were in a terrible automobile accident shortly after they were married. Krickett sustained terrible brain injury and forgets that she was ever married. It is the story of Kim Carpenter winning back his wife and staying true to his vow to be faithful to his wife. This was one my friend's books that she said I just had to read. Not typically the type of book I pick up; had it been fiction I really wouldn't have been interested. It was, however, non-fiction and it was neat testimony of the couple's faithfulness to each other and their faith in God. (I guess they made the rounds in the newspapers, magazines, and talk show circuit back in the late 90's early 2000's, but it wouldn't have been on my radar at that time. It was also made into a movie starring Rachel McAdams and Channing Tatum in 2012, which I have not seen.)

[Guest]

 

I don't know what I'll read next.  I'm waiting on Winter of the World from the library.

 

I'll be anxious to hear your review!

[Mom-ninja.]

I finished The Vow this morning. It is the true story of Kim & Krickett Carpenter who were in a terrible automobile accident shortly after they were married. Krickett sustained terrible brain injury and forgets that she was ever married. It is the story of Kim Carpenter winning back his wife and staying true to his vow to be faithful to his wife. This was one my friend's books that she said I just had to read. Not typically the type of book I pick up; had it been fiction I really wouldn't have been interested. It was, however, non-fiction and it was neat testimony of the couple's faithfulness to each other and their faith in God. (I guess they made the rounds in the newspapers, magazines, and talk show circuit back in the late 90's early 2000's, but it wouldn't have been on my radar at that time. It was also made into a movie starring Rachel McAdams and Channing Tatum in 2012, which I have not seen.)

 

I haven't heard of it either. Now I have to read it.

[Kareni]

 

On another note ds has recently become interested in Abraham Lincoln. Can anyone recommend a good YA bio for a pre-teen who reads a lot?

 

Another possibility (though likely at a lower level than Marrin's book) is Lincoln: A Photobiography by Russell Freedman.

 

Regards,

Kareni

[Guest]

 

Wicked  by Gregory Maguire.   I recently saw the touring Broadway production and loved that, so I decided to pull the book off my shelf (it's been sitting there for three or four years :blush:).  This is one of Robin's Unreadables, but I am enjoying it so far.

 

<snip>

 

(FYI for you, Stacia, there was a new mountaineering drama / documentary film released on dvd last week called The Summit.  It is an Into Thin Air-style true story about a deadly day on K2 in 2008.  Like the '96 Everest tragedy, there is apparently a bit of dispute between survivors about what actually happened on the mountain, but imho the film was really well done and balanced.  I thought it might interest you. Disclaimer: the documentary contains adult language)

 

Re: Wicked, I'll be waiting to hear what you think! It was a book that I tried many years ago and I thought it was SO weird that I didn't finish it. I'm going to look for that The Summit; that kind of thing interests me.

 

Back home. (And dealing with a massive clean-up as one of our cats apparently had gut issues while we were gone... all over our bed.) So, as the umpteenth load of laundry is now in the wash & I'm ready for a break after cranky kids, packing this morning, riding home, unpacking, & dealing with cat messes, I'm ready to sit here with my BaW pals for a 15-minute break. :laugh:

 

<snip>

 

 (Just have to mention, in re: to the Outlander books being mentioned last week -- I tried the first one but couldn't get into the story, so I didn't finish it. I did, however, flip through/skim & read some of the racy parts, so at least I know who people are referring to when they mention Jamie. :lol: Somehow that thought occurred to me with the mention of 'adult' books. ;))

 

Sorry about your kitty! Hope it is feeling better....admitting that I did the same thing with the Outlander book. I don't know why that book didn't grab me, it just didn't.

[Stacia]

After The Historian which I looooooved, I fell into a sort of ‘book hangover’, so I grabbed a couple of non-fiction books.  Every Woman’s Guide to Foot Pain Relief – Katy Bowman, a short and easy read, and contained mostly info I had already found on the internet. It did motivate me to buy a pair of Vibram shoes, which have really made a difference for my feet!

 

Born to Run by Christopher McDougall was a fast, fun read. I’m not a runner, but it almost made me start running. Almost :D.

 

Loved both The Historian & Born to Run. I'm not a runner either, but it (almost) made me run too. (And I also have a pair of Vibram shoes, lol.) I'm still trying on the running stuff. My dh loves to run (gets that 'runner's high'), but I don't get the thrill. It feels like drudgery to me. :tongue_smilie:

 

The Mood Cure by Julia Ross, I really want to try some of the supplements she recommends, but I’m having a lot of headaches and migraine the last few months, and until I have solved those, I don’t want to introduce any other variables.

 

I had wondered about this book.... Hope you get your migraines under control. :grouphug:

 

My helpful tip (not being a migraine sufferer myself) -- cut back on your gummy bear consumption (if you eat them). My sis gets migraines & she said that she figured out that they are just one (of many) things that trigger migraines for her. A little OT on the gummy bear thing: someone on this board posted a hilarious (if somewhat gross) link of amazon reviews for sugar-free gummy bears. If you need a serious laugh, here you go: http://slightlyviral.com/beware-sugarless-gummy-bears-on-amazon-com/

 

 

A couple of people on this thread were talking about Unwind by Neal Shusterman which sounded really interesting. I generally love reading about dystopias and I really liked the premise. Well…..there is –obviously- nothing to like about organ harvesting and retroactive abortion, but it could make for an interesting story.

 

Haven't read that one. But... Yikes.

 

I’m starting to think that I’m not much of a YA reader.  I keep thinking, nice premise, but it could be soooo much better if it were written not for a YA audience but for a …what’s the term….adult audience? Adult? That sounds weird and makes me think of other kind of books.  Ahem.  Anyway, I think I’m going to pass the YA books for a while.

 

:lol:

 

I forgot who mentioned Cloud Atlas by David Mitchell on this thread, but I want to thank that person! Wow, I really really liked it! I looooved the different stories & the structure.

 

I think Pam in CT mentioned it recently. I read it a year or two ago & loved it. Loved it. (And loved the movie.) Looking back over the books I've read the past few years, it still ranks at the top for me.

 

Next week is Spring Break for us and I plan on reading a lot. I have several books lined up, because obviously if I don’t do that I default to non-fiction and I want to get away from that. I used to read mostly fiction and only occasionally non-fiction, but that changed when I got children. It’s easier for me to read non-fiction in short snippets and I now really have to work to get into the world of a book. But fiction gives me so much more pleasure, so I’m determined to read more of it this year!

 

I find that Kurt Vonnegut is a great fiction writer that can be read in short snippets. Love his stuff & his writing style. (My fave of his is Slaughterhouse-Five. But, it's fairly heavy stuff, topic-wise.) Enjoy your break & your fiction reading!

 

 -----

 

 15. Howards End is on the Landing – Susan Hill (BaW recommendation)

14. No More I’m Done, Fostering Independent Writers in the Primary Grades – Jennifer Jacobson

13. Cloud Atlas – David Mitchell (BaW recommendation)  (NL)

12. Op Hoop van Zegen – Herman Heijermans (Dutch lit, N3)  (NL)

11.What Makes This Book So Great - Jo Walton (BaW recommendation)

10. Het pauperparadijs – Suzanna Jansen  (NL)

9. Leisure, the basis of culture – Josef Pieper (Circe) (NL)

8. Unwind – Neal Shusterman (BaW recommendation)

7. The Mood Cure – Julia Ross

6. Born to Run – Christopher McDougall (NL)

5. Every Woman’s Guide to Foot Pain Relief – Katy Bowman

4. The Historian – Elizabeth Kostova (BaW recommendation, chunky) (NL)

3. Great Hunt – Robert Jordan (WoT2, chunky)

2. The Goldfinch – Donna Tartt (BaW recommendation, chunky) (NL)

1. Eye of the World - Robert Jordan (WoT1, chunky)

 

Looks like a great reading year so far. Love your list.

[Stacia]

...

[Jane in NC]

From Jane Eyre, a marriage proposal rejection that needs to be on some literary list:

 

I have a woman's heart, but not where you are concerned; for you I have only a comrade's constancy; a fellow-soldier's frankness, fidelity, fraternity, if you like; a neophyte's respect and submission to his hierophant:  nothing more--don't fear.

 

 

To which we later read a non-surprising response:
 

 

..it is not me you deny, but God.

 

 

Looks like the niece who sent me this volume for Christmas deserves a second thank you note.

[CAMom]

Another lover of Born to Run here. :)

 

I've recently finished:

 

In the Shadow of the Banyan by Vaddey Ratner-I really loved this book. I found the language just beautiful and loved having the story told from the perspective of a child who is forced to be grown up and deal with adult issues way too early. It's a heartbreaking story.

 

The Husband's Secret by Lianne Moriarty-I really enjoyed this one. I did have the husband's secret figured out long before it was revealed in the book. The epilogue! The epilogue kind of sucked the air out of me and I actually felt my eyes tearing up. It kind of affected me for the rest of the afternoon.

 

Stitches by Anne Lamott-This is her newest release. As usual for me with Anne, I found myself laughing at times, scratching my head on occasion, and backing up to read certain passages over and over again because they touched me so deeply. I wish I could go on one of her hikes with her and her dogs and soak in some of her wisdom. :)

 

I'm currently reading:

 

Beyond the Beautiful Forevers by Katherine Boo

The Sunday Philosophy Club by Alexander McCall Smith

You Before Me by Jojo Moyes (I'm listening to this one from Audible)

 

I've completed 14 books so far this year. :)

[shukriyya]

A little OT on the gummy bear thing: someone on this board posted a hilarious (if somewhat gross) link of amazon reviews for sugar-free gummy bears. If you need a serious laugh, here you go: http://slightlyviral.com/beware-sugarless-gummy-bears-on-amazon-com/

Phone posting so prepare for multiple posts as I catch up in the car before heading into WFs to shop.

 

I followed that Amazon review link a few weeks ago...Oh my goodness!!! I alternated between being appalled and amused :lol:

[shukriyya]

Like a few pps I read The Mood Cure several years ago. I liked a lot of her ideas and suggestions and then promptly did nothing further with them. Tress, I hope you figure out your migraine issues. Very debilitating they are.

 

CAmom I'll be interested to hear how you like The Sunday Philosopher's Club.

[shukriyya]

From Jane Eyre, a marriage proposal rejection that needs to be on some literary list:

 

 

To which we later read a non-surprising response:

 

 

Looks like the niece who sent me this volume for Christmas deserves a second thank you note.

.

 

There is an emotional succinctness to the quotes you included (which aren't showing up in my post) that I find thoroughly amusing. Perhaps it's their brevity in light of subject :D