Robin M Posted March 10, 2013 Share Posted March 10, 2013 Good morning, my dears! Today is the start of week 11 in our quest to read 52 books in 52 weeks. 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 - Hugo Chavez: The post that almost wasn't. I was totally enthralled reading The Likeness this weekend and time got away from me. Before I knew it....more on the blog. *grin* The only thing I could think of since we are armchair traveling through South America is Hugo Chavez since he died this past week so highlighted 3 books about Chavez and Venezuela. Hopscotch Readalong - are you ready for a book adventure? It's two books in one. Read as you would normally read a book or follow the trail and hopscotch around. I'm going to follow his way and start with chapter 73. Did you all remember to see your clocks ahead an hour? What are you reading this week? Link to week 10 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Robin M Posted March 10, 2013 Author Share Posted March 10, 2013 I finished The Likeness by Tana French this week. An unputdownable book, at least for me. Booklist says it best so not going to reinvent the wheel: "French’s debut novel, In the Woods (2007), introduced Dublin Murder Squad detective Cassie Maddox and earned unanimous critical praise. Cassie is back, and French has written another winner. The body of a young woman is found in the ruins of a old stone cottage in a dying village outside of Dublin, and the dead woman and Cassie are virtual twins. Lacking suspects or leads, the victim is reported by the police to be injured but alive, leaving Cassie to step into the dead woman’s life as a Trinity College graduate student and the housemate of four other students. Despite the tensions of being undercover, Cassie quickly learns to love her quirky, insular housemates and her new life in a once-grand house, even as the Murder Squad investigation yields little. Someone stabbed her doppelganger to death, and Cassie must find the killer. The Likeness has everything: memorable characters, crisp dialogue, shrewd psychological insight, mounting tension, a palpable sense of place, and wonderfully evocative, painterly prose." Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Onceuponatime Posted March 10, 2013 Share Posted March 10, 2013 I finished Ichabod Toward Home and The End of Overeating. Still working on The Black Count and The Mists of Avalon. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PollyOR Posted March 10, 2013 Share Posted March 10, 2013 Do any of you have advice for sticking with nonfiction? I've mentioned before that one of my goals this year is to read books from my own home and then donate them. Most of the books are nonfiction and I'm having a terrible time getting past the first few chapters. Last week I read 1Q84. I'm looking forward to discussions in April. :) Currently enjoying The Big Over Easy (Nursery Crime) by Jasper Fforde. I'm also attempting Hold On to Your Kids which I think will be great if I can just stick with it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
-M- Posted March 10, 2013 Share Posted March 10, 2013 Completed this week: ■Warm Bodies (Isaac Marion; 2011. 256 pages. Fiction.) If, like me, you enjoy a good bit of zombie fiction now and again, you'll probably appreciate Marion's novel. ■The Underwater Welder (Jeff Lemire; 2012. 224 pages. Graphic fiction.) As an ardent fan of Sweet Tooth, I couldn't resist this. What a neat and unintended juxtaposition this fictional account of a man seeking his dead father -- and all of the ways in which the search affects his emotional development -- and Michael Hainey's account of his own search for his father formed. (See After Visiting Friends: A Son's Story.) Read to date: ■Warm Bodies (Isaac Marion; 2011. 256 pages. Fiction.) ■The Underwater Welder (Jeff Lemire; 2012. 224 pages. Graphic fiction.) ■After Visiting Friends: A Son's Story (Michael Hainey; 2013. 320 pages. Non-fiction.) ■Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep (Philip K. Dick; 1968. 256 pages. Fiction.) * ■Accelerated (Bronwen Hruska; 2012. 288 pages. Fiction.) ■The Catcher in the Rye (J.D. Salinger; 1951. 288 pages. Fiction.) * ■Flowers for Algernon (Daniel Keyes; 1966. 324 pages. Fiction.) * ■Hotel on the Corner of Bitter and Sweet (Jamie Ford; 2009. 301 pages. Fiction.) ■Balzac and the Little Chinese Seamstress (Dai Sijie; 2002. 104 pages. Fiction.) ■Revival, Vol. 1 (Tim Seeley; 2012. 128 pages. Graphic fiction.) ■Saga, Vol. 1 (Brian K. Vaughan; 2012. 160 pages. Graphic fiction.) ■La Bohème: Black Dog Opera Library (2005. 144 pages. Libretto, history, and commentary.) ■The 13 Clocks (James Thurber (1950); 2008. 136 pages. Fiction.) ■Brain on Fire: My Month of Madness (Susannah Cahalan; 2012. 288 pages. Non-fiction.) ■Julius Caesar (William Shakespeare (1599); Folger ed. 2003. 288 pages. Drama.) * ■Don't Turn Around (Michelle Gagnon; 2012. 320 pages. Fiction.) ■Fatal Friends, Deadly Neighbors (Ann Rule; 2012. 544 pages. Non-fiction.) ■Daddy Love (Joyce Carol Oates; 2013. 240 pages. Fiction.) ■Life after Death (Damien Echols; 2012. 416 pages. Non-fiction.) Notably in progress: ■Moby-Dick (Herman Melville; 1851/2001. 672 pages. Fiction.) ■Physics for Future Presidents (Richard A. Muller; 2009. 384 pages. Non-fiction.) * Denotes rereads. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mlbuchina Posted March 10, 2013 Share Posted March 10, 2013 I was hoping to get more reading done this week, but the time got away with me. I started a new book, Hooked by Jane May, and it is a fluff read if ever there was one. It is based on the Grimm brothers' "The Fisherman and his Wife". My only complaint thus far is that it has a lot of cursing in it.Another audio that I started this week is The Republic of Pirates by Colin Woodard. [edited to remove picture] For a brief, glorious period in the early 1700s, the Bahamas was ruled by a gang of some of the most famous pirates the seas had ever seen. Edward "Blackbeard" Teach, "Black Sam" Bellamy, and their associates banded together to form a pirate cooperative, culminating in a form of government in which blacks were equal citizens, the rich were imprisoned and common sailors could veto their captain's orders. At the height of their power the gang served Britain, France, and Spain from their New World empires. The Royal Navy went from being unable to catch the pirates to being afraid to encounter them at all, and the public embraced the pirates as folk heroes. I like the romanticesed version of pirates, so I thought I should know a little more about the real pirates. While visiting friends in Florida a couple of years ago, we went to St. Augustine and visited the Pirate Museum. I loved it.I am having trouble keeping to one book. I have soooooo many I want to read, (thanks to all your posts!), that I can't seem to settle down to just one. So many books, so little time... *sigh*In progress:HookedAnne of the Island ~ audio bookThe Republic of Pirates ~ audio bookDragonfly in Amber ~ paused for other booksSo far this year:15. Looking for Salvation at the Dairy Queen14. Anne of Avonlea13. Anne of Green Gables12. The Invention of Hugo Cabret11. The Swiss Family Robinson10. Little Women9. How We Get Fat8. The Djinn in the Nightingale's Eye7. Outlander6. The New Atkins for a New You5. A Leaf on the Wind of All Hallows4. Liberty and Tyranny3. Corelli's Mandolin2. The Neverending Story1. The Hobbit Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
eaglei Posted March 10, 2013 Share Posted March 10, 2013 Currently reading: #13 - The Promise, by Chaim Potok; the sequel to The Chosen, which I thoroughly enjoyed and am now drawn in to this page-turning sequel. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Just Robyn Posted March 10, 2013 Share Posted March 10, 2013 I finished Edgar Allen Poe: Poems and Poetics and the 1855 edition of Leaves of Grass by Walt Whitman. I am currently reading The Island of Dr. Moreau and The Country of the Blind and Other Science-Fiction Stories - both by H. G. Wells. Hopscotch Readalong - are you ready for a book adventure? It's two books in one. Read as you would normally read a book or follow the trail and hopscotch around. I'm going to follow his way and start with chapter 73. I was planning on perusing the local university library last Tuesday and picking up Hopscotch, but as luck would have it, the one day a week my kids "go to school" for a few hours, there was a snow day. It's now going to have to wait until this Tuesday. I'm planning to start with chapter 73, too. Do any of you have advice for sticking with nonfiction? I've mentioned before that one of my goals this year is to read books from my own home and then donate them. Most of the books are nonfiction and I'm having a terrible time getting past the first few chapters. For nonfiction, I usually try to make myself read a chapter a day or a chapter a week, however much I can stand. I sometimes make slow progress, but if I try to make myself read it at the pace I would read a novel, I'll end up just not reading. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Stacia Posted March 10, 2013 Share Posted March 10, 2013 52 Books blog - Hugo Chavez: The post that almost wasn't. I was totally enthralled reading The Likeness this weekend and time got away from me. Before I knew it....more on the blog. *grin* The only thing I could think of since we are armchair traveling through South America is Hugo Chavez since he died this past week so highlighted 3 books about Chavez and Venezuela. Hopscotch Readalong - are you ready for a book adventure? It's two books in one. Read as you would normally read a book or follow the trail and hopscotch around. I'm going to follow his way and start with chapter 73. Interesting idea to post about Chavez, Robin, & a nice tie-in to South America. Enjoyed your blog post, lol. I guess you can be forgiven since you were reading. ;) :lol: I may look up some of those books.... I've started Hopscotch. After looking at the two ways to read the book, I've decided to read it the 'normal' way first (which ends w/ chapter 56). After that, I'll read it in the 'hopscotch' order, which will end up encompassing chapters I've already read (in a different order, though) while adding in quite a few more chapters. Will be curious to see if it is like two separate books/stories that way or what...??? Do any of you have advice for sticking with nonfiction? I've mentioned before that one of my goals this year is to read books from my own home and then donate them. Most of the books are nonfiction and I'm having a terrible time getting past the first few chapters. Personally, if I couldn't get into it after a few chapters, I'd cut my losses, quit reading & donate them. Life is too short to spend time feeling guilty about books you feel like you should read (but don't really want to read). :) -------------------------- My Goodreads Page My PaperbackSwap Page Working on Robin's Dusty &/or Chunky Book Challenge. Working on Robin's Continental Challenge. Working on LostSurprise's Dewey Decimal Challenge. Complete Dewey Decimal Classification List here. My rating system: 5 = Love; 4 = Pretty awesome; 3 = Decently good; 2 = Ok; 1 = Don't bother (I shouldn't have any 1s on my list as I would ditch them before finishing)... 2013 Books Read: 01. Women of the Klondike by Frances Backhouse (3 stars). Challenges: Dusty; Continental – North America (Canada); Dewey Decimal – 900s. 02. Equator by Miguel Sousa Tavares (3 stars). Challenges: Dusty; Continental – Europe (Portugal) & Africa (São Tomé and PrÃncipe). 03. UFOs, JFK, & Elvis by Richard Belzer (2 stars). Challenge: Dewey Decimal – 000s. 04. The Maltese Falcon by Dashiell Hammett (4 stars). Challenge: Continental – North America (USA). 05. The Twelve Rooms of the Nile by Enid Shomer (3.5 stars). Challenge: Continental – Africa (Egypt). 06. The Hard Way by Lee Child (2 stars). 07. The Dud Avocado by Elaine Dundy (3 stars). 08. Daughters of Copper Woman by Anne Cameron (3.5 stars). Challenge: Continental – North America (Canada). 09. A High Wind in Jamaica by Richard Hughes (3.5 stars). 10. The Djinn in the Nightingale’s Eye by A.S. Byatt (4 stars). 11. Our Lady of Alice Bhatti by Mohammed Hanif (4 stars). Challenge: Continental – Asia (Pakistan). 12. Crazy Sexy Diet by Kris Carr (4 stars). Challenge: Dewey Decimal – 600s. 13. The Stockholm Octavo by Karen Engelmann (4 stars). Challenge: Continental – Europe (Sweden). 14. Speaking from Among the Bones by Alan Bradley (4 stars). 15. Assassination Vacation by Sarah Vowell (2.5 stars). Challenge: Dewey Decimal – 900s. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
melmichigan Posted March 10, 2013 Share Posted March 10, 2013 I behaved this week and got my school plans finished for the rest of the year and started putting together my purchase lists for fall. I feel like I'm going through withdraw with my reading time curtailed so much. This last week I continued The Baker Triplets with Collide by Juliana Stone (another Canadian author). The series is about a set of triplets trying to find there happy endings while dealing with a father who suffers from early onset Alzheimer's, and all the that goes along with living in small town America. I already mentioned Frost Burned, not what I was expecting per say based on the first chapter, but I enjoyed it. If you are new to the author don't start with this book, even those who have been following along might need a refresher when it comes to the vampire history leading up to this one. And then I'm back to Kresley Cole. For whatever reason the majority of these books seem to start out a little slow for me, luckily having been through this before I have stuck with each and things have picked up quickly. Every creature or being that was thought to be mythical . . . isn’t. They all secretly exist alongside humans and enjoy the gift of immortality. There are hundreds of different kinds: from Vampires to Lykae, from Furies to Shifters, from the Fey to Valkyries. These immortals call their world The Lore. You may have had a brush with one of Lorekind already. The eccentric billionaire with hypnotic charisma—and an aversion to sunlight. The ethereal waif of impossible beauty—whose fingernails look more like claws. The Highlander with a seventeenth-century Scottish accent and animal magnetism—who can never be penciled in on the night of the full moon. They walk among us, but they war among themselves. Each faction has its strengths, weaknesses, and age old prejudices against the others. Every five hundred years, the Accession, a battle for supremacy, rages. That time is now. . . . Hopscotch might be the first one I put down this year. I'm not sure that a character study will keep my interest right now, no matter how it's written. I'm trying small doses. One week to The Ancient Greeks... Week 10 55. Collide (The Baker Triplets) by Juliana Stone. 56. Frost Burned (Mercy Thompson Book 7) by Patricia Briggs. 57. Dark Needs at Night' Edge (Immortals After Dark Book 4) by Kresley Cole. 58. Dark Desires After Dusk (Immortals After Dark Book 5) by Kresley Cole. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ali in OR Posted March 10, 2013 Share Posted March 10, 2013 I finished The Hare with Amber Eyes by Edmund de-Waal and thought it was excellent. The author traces the story of 264 Japanese netsuke as they are owned by his ancestral family--wealthy Jewish financiers in Europe from 1870 through WWII and beyond. The backdrop of antisemitism is there from 1870's Paris; the section on the Anschluss in Austria is painful to read. While I've heard this information before, it was much more real to read it from the perspective of one particular family. Well done. Still reading The Tiger's Wife on the treadmill and also picked up The Shape of the Eye--Down Syndrome, Family, and the Stories We Inherit by George Estreich (an Oregon author whose youngest daughter has Down Syndrome). That should keep me busy this week. Books Read in 2013 10. The Hare with Amber Eyes-Edmund de-Waal 9. The Panic Virus-Seth Mnookin 8. Chi Running-Danny Dreyer 7. Speaking from Among the Bones-Alan Bradley 6. The Sun Also Rises-Ernest Hemingway 5. North by Northanger-Carrie Bebris 4. Train Dreams-Denis Johnson 3. Northanger Abbey-Jane Austen 2. Sense and Sensibility-Jane Austen 1. The Great Influenza-John M. Barry Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TammyinTN Posted March 10, 2013 Share Posted March 10, 2013 Sara's Game by Ernie Lindsey this week. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jane in NC Posted March 10, 2013 Share Posted March 10, 2013 Do any of you have advice for sticking with nonfiction? I've mentioned before that one of my goals this year is to read books from my own home and then donate them. Most of the books are nonfiction and I'm having a terrible time getting past the first few chapters. For nonfiction, I usually try to make myself read a chapter a day or a chapter a week, however much I can stand. I sometimes make slow progress, but if I try to make myself read it at the pace I would read a novel, I'll end up just not reading. I often get bogged down in non-fiction too. On more than one occasion I have noted that many non-fiction books would be better as condensed magazine articles. That said, I too try to assign x number of pages or a chapter a day in a non-fiction book. I failed miserably at it this week, having read just a bit more in The Swerve: How the World Became Modern. I did learn something quite interesting though on books in the Ancient World. Other than in references to the library at Alexandria I have not heard much about ancient texts. Apparently some were found at Herculaneum--the exterior of the scrolls were burned but bits from the interior can now be read using modern technology. It's funny that I associated Roman scribes with copying maps and military orders--not with copying plays and poetry but of course they must have. I did finish a novel, Excellent Women by Barbara Pym, an old friend indeed. Back to the dusty books for me. Next up is An Awakening Heart, a novel of the Moravians in Early America. I picked this up at one of the NC Moravian sites in the Winston-Salem area (Bethabara). The Moravians are kind of a quirky religious denomination with ties to colonial settlements in Pennsylvania (Bethlehem area) and NC. The book is based on historic figures who were part of the religious pilgrimage from Moravia/Bavaria to the new world. The Moravians were strong believers in education of women, founding Salem College, a school for women, in 1772. They are interesting to me; let's see if the novel is interesting as well. Happy reading, Jane Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kareni Posted March 10, 2013 Share Posted March 10, 2013 Personally, if I couldn't get into it after a few chapters, I'd cut my losses, quit reading & donate them. Life is too short to spend time feeling guilty about books you feel like you should read (but don't really want to read). :) I agree. Before becoming a parent, I felt compelled to finish a book once I started it. After becoming a parent, when time for reading became far more scarce, I felt differently. Regards, Kareni Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PollyOR Posted March 10, 2013 Share Posted March 10, 2013 Personally, if I couldn't get into it after a few chapters, I'd cut my losses, quit reading & donate them. Life is too short to spend time feeling guilty about books you feel like you should read (but don't really want to read). :) This is what I want to do, but.... For nonfiction, I usually try to make myself read a chapter a day or a chapter a week, however much I can stand. I sometimes make slow progress, but if I try to make myself read it at the pace I would read a novel, I'll end up just not reading. I often get bogged down in non-fiction too. On more than one occasion I have noted that many non-fiction books would be better as condensed magazine articles. That said, I too try to assign x number of pages or a chapter a day in a non-fiction book. I ...this is what I feel I should do. Borders was in town 10 years before it closed down and I collected a lot of books in that time. I tried my best to keep them afloat. ;) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PollyOR Posted March 10, 2013 Share Posted March 10, 2013 I agree. Before becoming a parent, I felt compelled to finish a book once I started it. After becoming a parent, when time for reading became far more scarce, I felt differently. Regards, Kareni You guys are right. I'm stuck in the "I paid money for this" rut. I need to change my perspective. These books can take hours to read and I have to consider what my time is worth to me. I spent hours slogging through Vampire Forensics. It wasn't a terrible book but my time was definitely worth more than the $2.50 I had spent on it. If I find a nonfiction book that I believe is worth my time, I'll try for a chapter a day. If I think a book won't benefit me or be enjoyable to read, I'll let it go a new home. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Narrow Gate Academy Posted March 10, 2013 Share Posted March 10, 2013 Benny and I finished up his read aloud this week, The Children of Green Knowe by Boston, which I'm counting as book 11 and reviewed here on my blog. Upcoming Reads The Tale of Two Cities by Dickens (for DD13) Big Red by Kjelgaard (for DD11) I, Houdini by Banks (for DS 8) Started This Week The Magician's Nephew by Lewis (Our church is going to do a Narnia theme VBS this summer, and I thought it would be fun to reread the series beforehand.) Ongoing Reads The One Year Bible The Neverending Story by Ende (for fun, I made some progress these week and only have a few chapters to go.) The Coral Island by Ballantyne (for DD13) Finished 11. The Children of Green Knowe by Boston 10. The Adventures of Tom Sawyer by Twain 9. Chitty Chitty Bang Bang 8. Oliver Twist by Dickens 7. The Lightning Thief by Riordan 6. Children of the New Forest by Marryat 5. The Black Cauldron by Alexander 4. Anne of Avonlea by Montgomery 3. Anne of Green Gables by Montgomery 2. Talking Money by Chatzky 1. Pride and Prejudice by Austen Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Stacia Posted March 10, 2013 Share Posted March 10, 2013 You guys are right. I'm stuck in the "I paid money for this" rut. I need to change my perspective. These books can take hours to read and I have to consider what my time is worth to me. I spent hours slogging through Vampire Forensics. It wasn't a terrible book but my time was definitely worth more than the $2.50 I had spent on it. If I find a nonfiction book that I believe is worth my time, I'll try for a chapter a day. If I think a book won't benefit me or be enjoyable to read, I'll let it go a new home. I think that's a good plan. Your time is definitely worth money. There are lots of great non-fiction books out there. Don't waste time slogging through something that doesn't interest you. Save your non-fiction time for the great ones. If you donate the duds, someone else can have the joy of reading them (because someone else may enjoy them more than you have); they can 'get your money's worth' for you. Instead of a pinch-hitter, you can pass them on to a pinch-reader. ;) :D Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JennW in SoCal Posted March 10, 2013 Share Posted March 10, 2013 I have no perfect cure for getting through good non-fiction. In fact this week finds me pokily reading both Violinist's Thumb and Evening in the Garden of Reason -- both very good books, just not page turners that I am compelled to read to the finish. A chapter at lunch is about as good as I get. I started a wonderful audio book this week, Charles Dickens' Our Mutual Friend. It is read by one of my favorite narrators, David Timson, and it is simply delightful. It is a chunky-chunkster, coming in at about 30 hours, and each chapter is clearly a magazine story, nicely polished and filled with quirky Dickens characters. Are any of you fans of the tv show Lost? Our Mutual Friend has a small role in that show -- it was the book Desmond carried around, saving it to read as his last book to be read before he dies. The idea came from the author John Irving who apparently IS saving this book to read when he knows he is near death -- that way he will always know he has one more good book to read! I say read it now -- it is too delightful to possibly miss. These titles bring me to 21 books for 2013, 9 of which are Inspector Banks mysteries! I'm mighty proud of myself for reading something different this week. (Dedicated Man is sitting on the table by me -- an earlier title in the DI Banks series that finally appeared on my library shelf this week. I'm trying to make myself finish one of the non-fictions first...) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jane in NC Posted March 10, 2013 Share Posted March 10, 2013 I started a wonderful audio book this week, Charles Dickens' Our Mutual Friend. It is read by one of my favorite narrators, David Timson, and it is simply delightful. It is a chunky-chunkster, coming in at about 30 hours, and each chapter is clearly a magazine story, nicely polished and filled with quirky Dickens characters. Are any of you fans of the tv show Lost? Our Mutual Friend has a small role in that show -- it was the book Desmond carried around, saving it to read as his last book to be read before he dies. The idea came from the author John Irving who apparently IS saving this book to read when he knows he is near death -- that way he will always know he has one more good book to read! I say read it now -- it is too delightful to possibly miss. Masterpiece Theater aired a dramatization of Our Mutual Friend that I enjoyed. (Dramatizations of Dickens' works is my preferred way of enjoying this author. ;) ) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Negin Posted March 10, 2013 Share Posted March 10, 2013 Do any of you have advice for sticking with nonfiction? I've mentioned before that one of my goals this year is to read books from my own home and then donate them. Most of the books are nonfiction and I'm having a terrible time getting past the first few chapters. I sometimes alternate a chapter of non-fiction with a few chapters of fiction or whatever. I have a hard time sticking with most non-fiction non-stop and cover-to-cover. These days, I only have patience for non-fiction that's truly amazing. I have 10% Rule with all my books. If the book doesn't engage me in the first 10%, I abandon it and move on. Agreeing with Stacia that life is too short. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Negin Posted March 10, 2013 Share Posted March 10, 2013 This week I read: Blue Shoes and Happiness - 2 Stars Catching Fire - 5 Stars 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. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
VeganCupcake Posted March 10, 2013 Share Posted March 10, 2013 52 Books blog - Hugo Chavez: The post that almost wasn't. I was totally enthralled reading The Likeness this weekend and time got away from me. Before I knew it....more on the blog. *grin* The only thing I could think of since we are armchair traveling through South America is Hugo Chavez since he died this past week so highlighted 3 books about Chavez and Venezuela. Oooh, I love it! I'm going to look into some of those books. Thanks for the suggestions! Do any of you have advice for sticking with nonfiction? I've mentioned before that one of my goals this year is to read books from my own home and then donate them. Most of the books are nonfiction and I'm having a terrible time getting past the first few chapters. Like others said, if I'm really not getting into it, I don't continue. I love nonfiction, but I don't read books that aren't interesting to me. Last year I gave up on a book called Salt that seemed to me to be just about how ancient peoples made pickles and ham, and it was just too boring for me (I'm sure it wasn't really only about pickles and ham, but . . . ). I quit reading it and went on to read something I would truly enjoy. Masterpiece Theater aired a dramatization of Our Mutual Friend that I enjoyed. (Dramatizations of Dickens' works is my preferred way of enjoying this author. ;) ) I love that Our Mutual Friend! I think that's why I went on to read the book, because the Masterpiece Theater version had been so good! I finished Free-Range Kids this week, and I've been listening to Wolf Hall. I'm also reading Chekhov's The Three Sisters because I told myself I was going to read 5 dramas this year and I hadn't even started one yet. :) I love Chekhov, and I am pretty sure I have read it before, but I'm still a bit befuddled by it. Masha, I thought you left--you're still here?? Irina, why are you crying? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kim in Appalachia Posted March 10, 2013 Share Posted March 10, 2013 I didn't read much this week. I had planned a trip to the used book store in the city, but I was unable to make it. I was disappointed and couldn't get into anything. I just got an email that an ebook I had on wait list is in. It's Cloud Atlas. I hope I like it. :) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Storm Bay Posted March 10, 2013 Share Posted March 10, 2013 After a few days away, it's good to be back here. What I've read this week since my last post, the good, the bad & the ugly. The good: Listened to The Old Man and the Sea, which I read in one sitting in high school. I do like this novel quite a bit & have to give it 5 stars. The 100-Year-Old-Man Who Climbed Out the Window and Disappeared. Somewhat darkish fun & I give it 4 stars. Both my dds want to read it, and one has already started it. I'm glad my sister mentioned it. The Bad The Lightning Thief. Can't believe that all my kids liked it. 1 star The Ugly The Big Sleep. Ick. I don't go for hard boiled detectives, but am trying to read a few more of the 1001 Books to Read Before You die. 2 stars; the reason it's not 1 is because Chandler was brilliant with his descriptions of people. I'm now rereading a favourite of mine, Daddy Long Legs by Jean Webster and am listening to a fluffy inspirational romance novel so I will do more housework. I've only read one Jeeves book, but hope to read more. Should they be read in a certain order? Thanks! I have no idea as that was my first Jeeves novel, too. Glad you decided to join in. You'll fit in just fine with the rest of us book nerds. Speaking of which - time to torture you guys with more book finds. I came across a list on Flavorwire - 10 Essential Books for Book Nerds Which includes: Mr. Penumbra's Bookstore (have it) The Man Who Loved Books Too Much (on my wishlist) The Book Thief (read it) Books: a Memoir by Larry McMurtry (on my wishlist) If on a Winter's Night a Traveler (Have it) The Polysyllabic Spree by Nick Hornby Phantoms on the Bookshelf - Jacques Bonnett Reading Lolita in Tehran Ex Libris - confessions of a common reader Bibliotopia The rest I hadn't heard of til now and all sound really good and are now on my wishlist. Evidence I'm a book nerd. And today is Gabriel Garcia Marquez's birthday so be sure to add one of his books to your list to read for South American Authors. I've only read one of those novels, too, but have put this list on one of those annoying post it type notes on my PC to try more of them,. Finished the Flavia book today. What a cliffhanger ending! Guess I better look up when the next one will be released.... Flavia always provides great entertainment... I needed it today; I was reading it to escape -- my elderly kitty died today. :crying: 17 years. :grouphug: I'm sorry to hear about your cat. Yeah. I've read 3 of them (Book Thief, Lolita in Tehran, ex libris) and I didn't think any of them were that great. I'm probably the only person in the world to say that about The Book Thief. It was okay, but I don't understand all the love. I still consider myself a Book Nerd. Fie on that list, I say. I'm with you as I didn't care much for The Book Thief, either. Finished up two more today: #13 The White Horse King: The Life of Alfred the Great by Benjamin Merkle - DS and I were reading about Alfred the Great in Our Island Story and I wanted to learn more, which I certainly did from this book. One of the things was that Alfred didn't actually learn to read his mother's poetry book (the story according to OIS), but got someone else to read it to him until he had memorized it. One wonders if the story was changed a bit in order to inspire children to want to learn to read. ;) #14 Very Good, Jeeves by P.G. Wodehouse (audiobook) - Love that British humor. :D I, too, enjoyed Cecil's rendition, particularly as his voices for Jeeves and Bertie sounded very much like Stephen Fry and Hugh Laurie in the TV series. I think they could stand alone, but would probably be best read in order, as there are references to earlier events. I had already watched the TV series, so was familiar with many of the characters and story lines already. ETA: Here's a list on Amazon of the books in order. I like Cecil as well. Do any of you have advice for sticking with nonfiction? I've mentioned before that one of my goals this year is to read books from my own home and then donate them. Most of the books are nonfiction and I'm having a terrible time getting past the first few chapters. Last week I read 1Q84. I'm looking forward to discussions in April. :) Currently enjoying The Big Over Easy (Nursery Crime) by Jasper Fforde. I'm also attempting Hold On to Your Kids which I think will be great if I can just stick with it. I read much of Hold On to Your Kids, but didn't worry about reading everything. I skipped around. Since I feel very good about myself if I finish some nonfiction books, I often do similarly to what another poster suggested & allot myself a certain amount to read each day and try to make myself do that before I read fiction. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Trillian Posted March 10, 2013 Share Posted March 10, 2013 I am still listening to Wild: Lost and Found on the Pacific Crest Trail. The connector that connects my headphones to my laptop broke, so I can only listen to it through the speakers, so it's going more slowly. I have to be alone, which isn't all that common. I finished #15 Swamplandia this week. Hopscotch is waiting for me at the library. I'll pick it up on Thursday and I think I'm going to read it hopscotch style, but I'll decide for sure once I have it. In the meantime, I'll read a few more chapters on some non-fictions I have going. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jane in NC Posted March 11, 2013 Share Posted March 11, 2013 The Ugly The Big Sleep. Ick. I don't go for hard boiled detectives, but am trying to read a few more of the 1001 Books to Read Before You die. 2 stars; the reason it's not 1 is because Chandler was brilliant with his descriptions of people. Raymond Chandler is an "old friend" whom I have not read in decades. Given that one of my personal challenges for 2013 is "Old Friends", I will plan on rereading a Chandler novel before the year is over. I wonder what I will think about him now. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kareni Posted March 11, 2013 Share Posted March 11, 2013 Over the holidays, I gave my husband a copy of Bicycle Diaries by David Byrne. My husband is a Talking Heads fan of old and also a bicyclist. You could say I'm reading the book vicariously as my husband was sharing tidbits as we sat and read last night. David Byrne is quite the erudite writer. "A round-the-world bicycle tour with one of the most original artists of our day. Urban bicycling has become more popular than ever as recession- strapped, climate-conscious city dwellers reinvent basic transportation. In this wide-ranging memoir, artist/musician David Byrne-who has relied on a bike to get around New York City since the early 1980s-relates his adventures as he pedals through an engages with some of the world's major cities. From Buenos Aires to Berlin, he meets a range of people both famous and ordinary, shares his thoughts on art, fashion, music, globalization, and the ways that many places are becoming more bike-friendly. Bicycle Diaries is an adventure on two wheels conveyed with humor, curiosity, and humanity." Regards, Kareni Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tammyw Posted March 11, 2013 Share Posted March 11, 2013 I recently finished These Happy Golden Years by Laura Ingalls Wilder. I liked it! I'm sad that some here have said the last book in the series (The First Four Years) is a downer. Not sure if we should do it next or not. In continuing my promise to my dd about reading The Percy Jackson books, I'm on book three (I read one of mine, one of hers, one of mine, etc.) I still don't love the series, and finding I don't read nearly as much as when I'm reading other books I like better, but I will finish this series no matter what. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PollyOR Posted March 11, 2013 Share Posted March 11, 2013 I recently finished These Happy Golden Years by Laura Ingalls Wilder. I liked it! I'm sad that some here have said the last book in the series (The First Four Years) is a downer. Not sure if we should do it next or not. In continuing my promise to my dd about reading The Percy Jackson books, I'm on book three (I read one of mine, one of hers, one of mine, etc.) I still don't love the series, and finding I don't read nearly as much as when I'm reading other books I like better, but I will finish this series no matter what. You're a good mom! I really enjoyed reading aloud The Percy Jackson series to my girls a few years ago. We didn't get through all the books. I tried picking up where we left off but didn't enjoy them near as much. Not sure what happened. I'm one of those people that found the last Little House book to be depressing. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tammyw Posted March 11, 2013 Share Posted March 11, 2013 You're a good mom! I really enjoyed reading aloud The Percy Jackson series to my girls a few years ago. We didn't get through all the books. I tried picking up where we left off but didn't enjoy them near as much. Not sure what happened. I'm one of those people that found the last Little House book to be depressing. I just read a few Amazon reviews and feel okay skipping that last book. It wasn't even written by Laura herself, as it was written after she died, based on her diaries. So that makes me feel okay skipping it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PollyOR Posted March 11, 2013 Share Posted March 11, 2013 I sometimes alternate a chapter of non-fiction with a few chapters of fiction or whatever. I have a hard time sticking with most non-fiction non-stop and cover-to-cover. These days, I only have patience for non-fiction that's truly amazing. I have 10% Rule with all my books. If the book doesn't engage me in the first 10%, I abandon it and move on. Agreeing with Stacia that life is too short. Negin, I tried alternating a few chapters of fiction with a chapter of nonfiction. The little fiction devil sitting on my shoulder kept encouraging me to read "just one more chapter" of The Big Over Easy. Score? Fiction - 20 chapters, Nonfiction - 1 chapter. :tongue_smilie: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Violet Crown Posted March 11, 2013 Share Posted March 11, 2013 Finished volume 1 of John Henry Newman's Historical Sketches (1872). The first section, on the history of the Turks, was frankly dull, and the essay's raison d'être - the laying out of the Turkish history and national character as grounds for speculation about the future of the Ottoman Empire - was painfully undermined by the spectacular wrongness of Newman's predictions. The essay on Cicero struck me as nothing special. But the essays on Apollonius of Tyana and Primitive Christianity were much more engaging reading. I note with resignation (man, you read enough Newman, you start talking like him) that I paid $20 in the pre-internet age for this battered 140-year-old volume - I had previously bought volumes two and three as a broken set for less than that, but wanted to complete the set - and now that I finally get to reading them, they are of course free on-line. Google Books, Project Gutenberg, or newmanreader.org. But there's still something satisfying about the heft, the ridiculously thick pages with jagged edges where the first owner had to cut them, the visible indentations where the type printed the letters. I like real books. So far: 5. Newman, Historical Sketches, vol. 1 4. Thirteen Stories by Eudora Welty 3. Fielding, Tom Jones 2. Ariosto, Orlando Furioso, vol. 2 1. Balzac, Père Goriot One old friend, one dusty, and a few chunksters - what was the page count that qualified? Currently reading Henry James' Portrait of a Lady. So much more interesting than when I read it as a callow youth. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Shawneinfl Posted March 11, 2013 Share Posted March 11, 2013 Over the holidays, I gave my husband a copy of Bicycle Diaries by David Byrne. My husband is a Talking Heads fan of old and also a bicyclist. You could say I'm reading the book vicariously as my husband was sharing tidbits as we sat and read last night. David Byrne is quite the erudite writer. "A round-the-world bicycle tour with one of the most original artists of our day. Urban bicycling has become more popular than ever as recession- strapped, climate-conscious city dwellers reinvent basic transportation. In this wide-ranging memoir, artist/musician David Byrne-who has relied on a bike to get around New York City since the early 1980s-relates his adventures as he pedals through an engages with some of the world's major cities. From Buenos Aires to Berlin, he meets a range of people both famous and ordinary, shares his thoughts on art, fashion, music, globalization, and the ways that many places are becoming more bike-friendly. Bicycle Diaries is an adventure on two wheels conveyed with humor, curiosity, and humanity." Regards, Kareni This piques my interest as my dh and I were in college during the David Byrne years and we both love to find a good bicycle tour in every new place we visit. I will definitely add it to my mounting tbr list. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mumto2 Posted March 11, 2013 Share Posted March 11, 2013 This week I finished the following: 45) The Sudoko Puzzle by Parnell Hall which was just plain fun! 46) Trapped by Kevin Hearne and waiting for the next one in the series. 47) Children of the Book by Geraldine Brooks which is my first Dusty book. Also one of my 5/5/5 books. I have a category of dusty's given to me by my bf. I always love her choices but don't manage to read them timely. I loved this book! It is a book about a book.......an illuminated Haggadah. The book actually exists although much of the book is fiction. The story begans in Sarajevo in 1996. As the fighting ends a book conservator specialising in Jewish documents travels to Sarajevo to examine the Haggadah which has been saved from looting by a librarian. During her examination and repairs she discovers many interesting things--insect wing, wine stains, piece of hair. The remainder of the book is a really well done set of flashbacks explaining her many findings interspersed with a very personal journey of discovery for the curator. I particularly lovered the flashback set at the start of the Spainish Inquestiton. Great stuff. The author even managed to provide a surprise ending. Loved it! I am going to start the week with a cozy from theat bf dusty pile -- Grace Interrupted by Julie Hyzy. I started once and liked it, but was interupted. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Heather in Neverland Posted March 11, 2013 Share Posted March 11, 2013 Started Reading: A Praying Life: Connecting with God in a Distracting World by Paul Miller (American author, DD class 200) Still Reading: The Conviction to Lead: 25 Principles for Leadership that Matters by Albert Mohler (American author, DD class 300) The God Who is There: Finding Your Place in God's Story by D.A. Carson (Canadian author, DD class 200) Finished: 9. Nothing to Envy: Ordinary Lives in North Korea by Barbara Demick (American author, DD class 300) 8. Ordering Your Private World by Gordon MacDonald (American author, DD class 100) 7. The Bungalow by Sarah Jio (American author, DD class 800) 6. The Sugar Queen by Sarah Addison Allen (American author, DD class 800) 5. Garden Spells by Sarah Addison Allen (American author, DD class 800) 4. The Next Story: Life and Faith After the Digital Explosion by Tim Challies (Canadian author, DD class 600) 3. The House at Riverton by Kate Morton (Australian author, DD class 800) 2. Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austen (English author, DD class 800) 1. The Dark Monk: A Hangman's Daughter Tale by Oliver Potzsch (German author, DD class 800) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Giraffe Posted March 11, 2013 Share Posted March 11, 2013 47) Children of the Book by Geraldine Brooks which is my first Dusty book. Also one of my 5/5/5 books. I have a category of dusty's given to me by my bf. I always love her choices but don't manage to read them timely. I loved this book! It is a book about a book.......an illuminated Haggadah. The book actually exists although much of the book is fiction. The story begans in Sarajevo in 1996. As the fighting ends a book conservator specialising in Jewish documents travels to Sarajevo to examine the Haggadah which has been saved from looting by a librarian. During her examination and repairs she discovers many interesting things--insect wing, wine stains, piece of hair. The remainder of the book is a really well done set of flashbacks explaining her many findings interspersed with a very personal journey of discovery for the curator. I particularly lovered the flashback set at the start of the Spainish Inquestiton. Great stuff. The author even managed to provide a surprise ending. Loved it! I should add this to my list! I read her Nine Parts of Desire: The Hidden World of Islamic Women around when it came out (mid '90's, I think), and I remember finding it very interesting. OOOHH! Two more books to add to my ever-growing and never-ending wish list. This board is really bad for my reading goals (reading through history and literature in order) AND my budget. That being said, I want to be Eliana when I grow up. I always look forward to her posts and her reading list is so fascinating! If I can't be Eliana, can I be Stacia, Mumto2, or VioletCrown? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Negin Posted March 11, 2013 Share Posted March 11, 2013 Negin, I tried alternating a few chapters of fiction with a chapter of nonfiction. The little fiction devil sitting on my shoulder kept encouraging me to read "just one more chapter" of The Big Over Easy. Score? Fiction - 20 chapters, Nonfiction - 1 chapter. :tongue_smilie: Polly, sounds like me. Easier said than done ;). Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Paisley Hedgehog Posted March 11, 2013 Share Posted March 11, 2013 . Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Remudamom Posted March 11, 2013 Share Posted March 11, 2013 I read the Wizard of Oz for this week. Didn't enjoy it. It's one of the few instances where I can say I liked the movie better. Side note- dh and kids went to see the new Oz movie this weekend. They weren't very impressed. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BigMamaBird Posted March 11, 2013 Share Posted March 11, 2013 I finished The Hiding Place by Corrie Ten Boom yesterday. My family is Dutch so reading about the Nazi occupation of the Netherlands was very interesting. She even spoke about the town where my family is from. It was a hard book to read, not because of the level of writing, but because of the subject matter. Humans being so cruel to other humans, the struggle Corrie had not to stoop to the basest level of survival, how to be a Christian in the midst of affliction. I whine like it's the end of the world when I burn dinner or the dog barfs on the floor, in the meantime she's describing how simply seeing a human face was like a feast. Makes me realize how good I truly have it. I've also been working my way through The Square Foot Garden by Mel Bartholomew in preparation for spring. I've read it numerous times but I'm counting it towards Book a Week because I can :p 1 - All the King's Men – Robert Penn Warren 2 - A Stranger in a Strange Land – Robert Heinlein 3 - A Handmaid's Tale - Margaret Atwood 4 - Catcher in the Rye – J.D. Salinger 5 - Fahrenheit 451 - Ray Bradbury 6 - The Grapes of Wrath – John Steinbeck 7 – Murder on the Orient Express – Agatha Christie 8 – The Illustrated Man – Ray Bradbury 9 – The Great Gatsby – F. Scott Fitzgerald 10 – The Hiding Place – Corrie Ten Boom 11 – The Square Foot Garden – Mel Bartholomew Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TN Mama Posted March 11, 2013 Share Posted March 11, 2013 Finished #14 - The Neighbors by Ania Ahlborn. This book was bizarre. I wanted to read till the end, because I needed to know what happened, but strange. Started #15 - Gifted Hands by Ben Carson. I've been looking forward to reading this inspirational story of the first doctor to successfully separate cojoined twins. The determination of Dr.Carson, and also that of his mother... just amazing. Enjoying the read so far. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mumto2 Posted March 11, 2013 Share Posted March 11, 2013 Side note- dh and kids went to see the new Oz movie this weekend. They weren't very impressed. We loved the books but they were read out loud to dc's who couldn't wait to find out what happened next! I have always loved the first movie. The commercials make all three of us cringe. Not at all right. At some point I am sure we will break down and watch so we can make comments but not til it is free on the telly! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
trinchick Posted March 11, 2013 Share Posted March 11, 2013 Finished This Week As Husbands Go by Susan Isaacs (audio) - A cute cozy mystery; nothing more really to say about it. Attachments by Rainbow Rowell - I think this one has been discussed in past weeks, so I won't go into plot, but it was a fun romantic comedy. I liked the construct that let you hear both sides of the story. In Progress The Adventures of Tom Sawyer by Mark Twain (Audio) Wheat Belly by William Davis (I'm giving up the wheat effective today!) Spider Web for Two by Elizabeth Enright (Read Aloud) Finished this Year: 24. As Husbands Go by Susan Isaacs (audio) 23. Attachments by Rainbow Rowell 22. UnWholly by Neal Shusterman 21. Then There Were Five by Elizabeth Enright (Read Aloud) 20. Heartburn by Nora Ephron (Food book challenge) 19. The Fault in Our Stars by John Green 18. A Tale of Two Cities (Audio; Dickens challenge) 17. Nothing to Envy by Barbara Demick 16. Warm Bodies by Isaac Marion 15. Money Secrets of the Amish by Lorilee Craker 14. Unbroken by Laura Hillenbrand 13. Confessions of a Prairie Bitch by Alison Arngrim 12. The Old Man and the Sea (Audio) 11. The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn by Mark Twain (Audio) 10. Forgotten Bookmarks by Michael Popek 9. An Invisible Thread by Laura Schroff 8. Breaking Night by Liz Murray 7. The Four Story Mistake by Elizabeth Enright (Read aloud) 6. The Autobiography of an Execution by David Dow 5. A Complicated Kindness by Miriam Toews (Canada) 4. The Children of Noisy Village by Astrid Lindgren (Read aloud) 3. The Saturdays by Elizabeth Enright (Read aloud) 2. Lullabies for Little Criminals by Heather O'Neill (Canada) 1. A Walk Across the Sun by Corban Addison Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mom-ninja. Posted March 11, 2013 Share Posted March 11, 2013 I love non-fiction but I tend to read it slowly. I need time to chew on what I've read in bite sized pieces. I have to force myself to read fiction. I just feel like I'm wasting time when I read fiction. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Woodland Mist Academy Posted March 11, 2013 Share Posted March 11, 2013 I finished my fourth book relating to the Everest tragedy of May 1996. Dark Shadows Falling by Joe Simpson. This book has a broader scope than the other three in that it deals with other climbing tragedies as well. Also, rather than focusing mainly on the details of the events, it raises questions about modern mountaineering's goals and ethics. The questions are valid and the implications are far-reaching. Unfortunately, the book is wandering at times and lacks a clear focus. In spite of this, I will consider reading another one of Joe Simpson's books in the future. Several books in progress. . . Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rosyl Posted March 11, 2013 Share Posted March 11, 2013 I recently finished These Happy Golden Years by Laura Ingalls Wilder. I liked it! I'm sad that some here have said the last book in the series (The First Four Years) is a downer. Not sure if we should do it next or not. In continuing my promise to my dd about reading The Percy Jackson books, I'm on book three (I read one of mine, one of hers, one of mine, etc.) I still don't love the series, and finding I don't read nearly as much as when I'm reading other books I like better, but I will finish this series no matter what. It is a downer. I remember being in 5th grade and reading it and it was so depressing. I have re-read all the little house as an adult and couldn't bring myself to read the First Four Years to my boys. My daughter hasn't read them yet. She likes Anne (of Green Gables) more than Laura. I wish my parents had proofed some books and been way more discriminate with what and when I read a book. With that said, it is life. As an adult, I would have been depressed with all that had happened to me in that short time. I appreciate the words she did use for such a sad time in her life. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LostSurprise Posted March 11, 2013 Share Posted March 11, 2013 Finished a few this week: Down the Garden Path was okay. Some parts were marvelously funny, and those parts were unique enough to seem to come out of the sky, but in general the humor was uneven. There were very pseudo-serious discussions with Latin names and then wildly funny characterizations. I don't know if I'd recommend this book to everyone, but I'd be interested in reading another of Nichols books. He has a real flair with one sentence humor. The Story of My Life and Others was really enjoyable, intellectual science fiction. The title story was the high point because it managed to combine physics, philosophy, and a deep emotional content. The last few stories were interesting, one was even thought-provoking, but they didn't match the brilliance of the first few stories. Top Ten * Best of the Year ** 20. The Story of Your Life and Others by Ted Chiang~science fiction, short stories (Fiction genre challenge: short stories) ** 19. Down the Garden Path by Beverley Nichols~memoir, gardening, humor (Dewey Decimal Challenge, 600s) 18. D'Aulaire's Book of Norse Myths by the D'Aulaires~Norse myths (Dewey Decimal Challenge, 200s) 17. Olive Kitteridge by Elizabeth Strout~fiction, short stories, aging. * 16. Philosophy: a Discovery in Comics by Margreet de Heer~nonfiction, philosophy, comics (Dewey Decimal challenge, 100s) 15. Concrete Island by JG Ballard~fiction, isolation, survival 14. The Queen's Gambit by Walter Tevis~fiction, coming of age, chess ** 13. A Wrinkle in Time by Madeleine l'Engle~children's fiction, fantasy, coming of age 12. Way Station by Clifford Simak~science fiction, aliens, atomic age (Fiction genre challenge: Science Fiction) 11. Little Heathens: Hard Times and High Spirits on an Iowa Farm During the Depression by Mildred Armstrong Kalish~autobiography, Depression, family (Dewey Decimal Challenge, 900s) * 10. Changeless by Gail Carriger~fiction, steampunk, series, werewolves/vampire, Victoriana. 9. The Light Between Oceans by ML Stedman~fiction, family drama, Australia, miscarriage. (Continental Challenge: Australia) * 8. Seventh Son by Orson Scott Card~fantasy, alternative early America, witchcraft/magic. 7. Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas by Hunter S. Thompson~satire, American dream, drug trip. (Dewey Decimal Challenge, 000s) 6. Soulless by Gail Carriger~steampunk, vampires, werewolves, Victoriana. (Fiction genre challenge: Fantasy) 5. Away by Jane Urquhart~Ireland, Canada, emigration, magical realism, family saga. (Continental Challenge: North America/Canada) * 4. Elizabeth and Her German Garden by Elizabeth von Arnim~autobiography, Germany pre-WWI, gardening, women's roles 3. The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society by Mary Ann Shaffer~fiction, WWII, letters, humor 2. The Little Book by Seldon Edwards~fiction, Vienna, time travel (Fiction genre challenge: General Fiction) 1. Mad Mary Lamb by Susan Tyler Hitchcock~biography, 19th century, women's roles, mental illness (Finally Finished challenge) Working: The House by the Sea (Sarton) Swallows and Amazons (Ransome) Sandman (Gaiman) Dough Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Robin M Posted March 11, 2013 Author Share Posted March 11, 2013 I finished The Hiding Place by Corrie Ten Boom yesterday. My family is Dutch so reading about the Nazi occupation of the Netherlands was very interesting. She even spoke about the town where my family is from. It was a hard book to read, not because of the level of writing, but because of the subject matter. Humans being so cruel to other humans, the struggle Corrie had not to stoop to the basest level of survival, how to be a Christian in the midst of affliction. I whine like it's the end of the world when I burn dinner or the dog barfs on the floor, in the meantime she's describing how simply seeing a human face was like a feast. Makes me realize how good I truly have it. I went to see the movie (late 70's or early 80's) after reading the book and it was very emotional. I don't think there was a dry eye in the place when it was over. Definitely does remind you to value life and not to sweat the small things. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ladydusk Posted March 11, 2013 Share Posted March 11, 2013 Started Reading: A Praying Life: Connecting with God in a Distracting World by Paul Miller I read that a couple of years ago and it was helpful. I'm halfway through Sayers' Unnatural Death. It is good. My librarian introduced me to a website that will tell what the next book in a series is: What's Next? http://ww2.kdl.org/libcat/whatsnext.asp Just wanted to comment so I could sub. Missing my laptop which is out of comission. :-( Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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