Book a Week in 2013 - week eleven

[aggieamy]

I love the threads and don't want them to go away. I think it would be hard to keep track of everything going on in two different places but I'll go along with whatever the group wants.

[Mnemosyne]

I would like the social group, it would allow for more in depth discussion on particular books/authors without cluttering up the General Chat board. :)

[Robin M]

What is the difference between social groups and the weekly threads?

 

Please speak s.l.o.w.l.y as the concept of "social groups" has always befuddled and intimidated this introvert....

:grouphug: giraffe. I know. The social groups are for those like minded individuals who want to discuss certain topics and keep it more private. You have to actually join to be part of the group. Unless you join, you can't see what people are talking about. At least that's how it worked before.

 

The weekly threads are for any and all to see. Anyone can jump in at any point and talk about what they are reading. Anyone who reads the board can follow the thread.

 

If I started the social group it would be in addition to the weekly thread so if someone wanted to have a long discussion or debate about a certain book, they could do it in a more private setting. Or post lists or whatever. Just an extra room to our literary house - think of it as the tea room or the reading room or the bar for that matter.

[aggieamy]

:grouphug: giraffe. I know. The social groups are for those like minded individuals who want to discuss certain topics and keep it more private. You have to actually join to be part of the group. Unless you join, you can't see what people are talking about. At least that's how it worked before.

 

The weekly threads are for any and all to see. Anyone can jump in at any point and talk about what they are reading. Anyone who reads the board can follow the thread.

 

If I started the social group it would be in addition to the weekly thread so if someone wanted to have a long discussion or debate about a certain book, they could do it in a more private setting. Or post lists or whatever. Just an extra room to our literary house - think of it as the tea room or the reading room or the bar for that matter.

 

Alright. That sounds wonderful and I'm in.

[Robin M]

I love the threads and don't want them to go away. I think it would be hard to keep track of everything going on in two different places but I'll go along with whatever the group wants.

The threads are here to stay for as long as I am here (and as long as our lovely host allows it which I don't see being a problem) I do keep forgetting (my bad) to update the goodreads group weekly so can see that being an issue with the social group. But it would be there more for others to have longer conversations and such so I wouldn't need to do all that much. Whoever posts would just have to wave and say come talk to me about such and such over here if they decide to have a longer conversation about a certain book or subject. Or it could be a place for those who don't have blogs to posts their lists to keep track of what they are reading. A myriad number of uses.

[mumto2]

First I want to say how much I have enjoyed these threads. I would really hate for them to change. I have no problems with the social group. It actually sounds really nice. I do wonder about my abilities to dothe lists etc. I am so low tech. But as long as not much is expected of me I am in!

[Stacia]

Mmv, I'm so glad you love Dai Sijie's book. I love it and have recommended it to so many people. Various folks seem to enjoy it, yet I feel like few have loved it like I do. So glad to see a fellow fan!

[VeganCupcake]

I really like the threads and probably wouldn't be very good at following the social groups comings and goings.

 

I finished Chekhov's Three Sisters this week. One of my 5/5/5 challenges is to read 5 dramas, so I had to get started! I need to find a production to watch.

 

Right now, I'm reading Salman Khan's One World Schoolhouse. My DH heard him speak at a conference last week and was very impressed; he said every other speaker was just yakking about something meaningless, and then Sal Khan got up and talked about changing the world. :)

[mumto2]

I finished Daddy Long Legs & still enjoy it. If you've never read it, it's a delightful read from not long before WWI by Jean Webster.

 

 

This is a favorite of mine. Have you read Dear Enemy by Jean Webster? It is basically part two of the story. Letters written by the best friend. Really good. I only discovered it a couple of years ago.

[Paisley Hedgehog]

.

[eaglei]

I really like the threads and probably wouldn't be very good at following the social groups comings and goings.

 

I vote for leaving the BaW thread on the Chat board w/o a Social Group. According to buzz in the other threads, the Social Groups have never been private anyway. Anyone could read them, you just couldn't post unless you were a member of the group (I understand that is now changing). Imho, discussions going on in two places will dilute one or the other. We seem to be back to a group of regulars now after the January rush.

 

Just my .02

 

:iagree: :iagree:

[Woodland Mist Academy]

. . .Right now, I'm reading Salman Khan's One World Schoolhouse. . .

 

 

I have this one in progress as well. :)

[melmichigan]

 

Me, I just whine weekly about stupid Herodotus. With all the talk this week about life being too short to read bad books (esp. non-fiction), I'm seriously considering abandoning him to his ridiculous self. Is he EVER going to get to the war?!

 

 

I was glad to see we are only reading select books of Herodotus for our study of ancient greeks. :lol:

[Lady Florida.]

I'm okay with whatever the group decides. I can see the benefit of a group, especially with read-alongs or other books that members want to discuss. I like the thread though for a quick look at what everyone is reading.

[melmichigan]

 

The threads are here to stay for as long as I am here (and as long as our lovely host allows it which I don't see being a problem) I do keep forgetting (my bad) to update the goodreads group weekly so can see that being an issue with the social group. But it would be there more for others to have longer conversations and such so I wouldn't need to do all that much. Whoever posts would just have to wave and say come talk to me about such and such over here if they decide to have a longer conversation about a certain book or subject. Or it could be a place for those who don't have blogs to posts their lists to keep track of what they are reading. A myriad number of uses.

 

Do people want to see the lists? I enjoy reading them but I wonder if others do as well? (Since I'm one of those without a blog.)

[mlbuchina]

Finished reading Hooked, by Jane May. Meh. I thought to put it down several times, but it was such an easy read, and I wanted to see how she would tie it all up at the end, that I stuck it out. It isn't one I would recommend, though.

 

Also, I finished listening to Anne of the Island. I am so enjoying the Anne books. :) My library doesn't have the next one as an audio, so I'm thankful I have my set from when I was younger. I can keep reading! So, now I have started Anne of Windy Poplars. I have seen the movies so many times, it has been fun seeing how they changed the story, or kept it the same. I had no idea that so many books were put together to make those movies.

[Stacia]

Hey, hey... our Argentinian read-along is right in sync w/ today's news of the new pope being from Argentina.

[laughing lioness]

I finished Daddy Long Legs & still enjoy it. If you've never read it, it's a delightful read from not long before WWI by Jean Webster. I highly recommend getting an illustrated copy (illustrated by the author). Definitely y/

 

 

And an equally delightful movie starring Fred Astaire

 

glad to heard we'll stay in thread form ; )

[SunnyDays]

Hi ladies... I haven't posted the last couple weeks. I got an iPad a couple weeks ago and well... I've been playing instead of reading! :D

 

So I return to find an in depth discussion about cookies! I can't contribute there, although if anyone wants to debate the finer points of Easter candy, I'm game, LOL.

 

I read so much nonfiction at the beginning of the year that I needed a few light titles. I'm working on my Amish challenge category, with a series of short, inexpensive Kindle books by Samantha Jillian Bayarr. The first one is called Jacobs Daughter.

 

[Robin M]

Hey, hey... our Argentinian read-along is right in sync w/ today's news of the new pope being from Argentina.

Great minds think alike. I was just coming online to mention that.

 

Which makes me want to read this book - Francis of Assisi: a New Biography .

[Robin M]

Agree with the majority and decided not to go with the added social group. One it would just be added work and cause too much confusion. Plus I don't want to have it associated with the s.g's and told to move the thread entirely over there. That would basically be the death of the thread because it takes out of the hive's main public eye which I don't want to happen. Why mess with what works. Right. Right. Back to our original programming.

 

 

 

Halfway through Hopscotch - How are the rest of you doing?

[Kareni]

I just finished the contemporary romance The Best Man by Kristan Higgins after staying up way too late last night reading. I enjoyed it.

 

"Sometimes the best man is the one you least expect…

 

Faith Holland left her hometown after being jilted at the altar. Now a little older and wiser, she's ready to return to the Blue Heron Winery, her family's vineyard, to confront the ghosts of her past, and maybe enjoy a glass of red. After all, there's some great scenery there….

 

Like Levi Cooper, the local police chief—and best friend of her former fiancé. There's a lot about Levi that Faith never noticed, and it's not just those deep green eyes. The only catch is she's having a hard time forgetting that he helped ruin her wedding all those years ago. If she can find a minute amidst all her family drama to stop and smell the rosé, she just might find a reason to stay at Blue Heron, and finish that walk down the aisle."

 

Regards,

Kareni

[Stacia]

Halfway through Hopscotch - How are the rest of you doing?

 

I'm not quite at the halfway mark yet. Am now in the second section of the book ("From This Side").

 

Here is an interesting post I found about the book. From what I've read of the book so far, I'd say the descriptions in the article are spot-on.

[Stacia]

Monday I was having a physical hangover from the time change and then I read about Kalanamak. I needed something light and fun to read to lift me out of the dumps. Thanks, Jasper Fforde. The Big Over Easy was the perfect medicine.

 

http://forums.welltrainedmind.com/public/style_emoticons/#EMO_DIR#/grouphug.gif

 

Yep, Same here. I just got to chapter 34 and my brain http://forums.welltrainedmind.com/public/style_emoticons/#EMO_DIR#/gnorsi.gif

 

http://forums.welltrainedmind.com/public/style_emoticons/#EMO_DIR#/rofl.gif

 

Here's a question: Did he even listen to my reply? To be fair, the book wasn't awful, but similar themes are explored with far more deftness and magic in The Art of Hearing Heartbeats (Jan-Philipp Sendker), which I read and loved in early 2012.

 

â–  Balzac and the Little Chinese Seamstress (Dai Sijie; 2002. 104 pages. Fiction.) While history, friendship, and the vagaries of first love contribute to the power of this slim work, books are the real story -- how they change us, grow our imaginations, and sometimes free us. Beautiful and highly recommended.

 

Don't you hate that (your interaction w/ the librarian)? I totally get what you mean when you wonder if he even listened to your reply....

 

And, seconding once again, Balzac and the Little Chinese Seamstress. One of my favorite books. For anyone doing the continental challenge, it would be a wonderful treat to read this one during your Asian reading. This book is truly a gem.

 

So I return to find an in depth discussion about cookies! I can't contribute there, although if anyone wants to debate the finer points of Easter candy, I'm game, LOL.

 

http://forums.welltrainedmind.com/public/style_emoticons/#EMO_DIR#/thumbup1.gif

 

Great minds think alike. I was just coming online to mention that.

 

Which makes me want to read this book - Francis of Assisi: a New Biography.

 

http://forums.welltrainedmind.com/public/style_emoticons/#EMO_DIR#/biggrin.gif Will have to look into that book....

 

m

Why mess with what works. Right. Right. Back to our original programming.

 

Totally agree. This group/thread is a great thing. No need to mess with greatness. As always, THANK YOU, Robin! http://forums.welltrainedmind.com/public/style_emoticons/#EMO_DIR#/party.gif

[Giraffe]

Totally agree. This group/thread is a great thing. No need to mess with greatness. As always, THANK YOU, Robin! :party:

 

Amen!

[Hoot]

This week I've finished The Romanovs: The Final Chapter by Robert K. Massie. I enjoyed it quite a bit more than I thought I would. It was very interesting, though it can be a bit hard to keep everyone in the story straight since there are so many people involved. There were definitely some dull parts when unimportant bits seemed to drag on, but overall it was enjoyable and interesting.

 

Completed So Far

 

1. Best Friends by Samantha Glen

2. Wesley the Owl by Stacey O'Brien

3. The Gift of Pets: Stories Only a Vet Could Tell by Bruce Coston

4. Nim Chimpsky: The Chimp Who Would Be Human by Elizabeth Hess

5. Last Chance to See by Douglas Adams & Mark Carwardine

6. Confessions of a Prairie Bitch by Alison Arngrim

7. Beowulf by Seamus Heaney

8. The Odyssey by Homer (Fagles translation)

9. The Thirteenth Tale by Diane Setterfield

10. The Year of Learning Dangerously: Adventures in Homeschooling by Quinn Cummings

11. Neither Here Nor There by Bill Bryson

12. Anne of Green Gables by L. M. Montgomery

13. Tales of an African Vet by Dr. Roy Aronson

14. Miss Peregrine's Home for Peculiar Children

15. The Romanovs: The Final Chapter by Robert K. Massie

[Storm Bay]

Hey ladies! Do you want me to set up a 52 books social group? I'm deleting the 2012 Reading challenges one and we can start over - make it private or not. What say yee?

 

Now that I've read that you'll keep this thread going, then I say yes. In my experience, social reading groups tend not to last as long as this thread has, but it's a great place to have more in depth conversations about books, themes, etc. I'm guessing that you'll announce it here. I started coming to these threads when the reading groups I was in petered out & I found out about this one.

This is a favorite of mine. Have you read Dear Enemy by Jean Webster? It is basically part two of the story. Letters written by the best friend. Really good. I only discovered it a couple of years ago.

 

Yes, I read it after the first time I read Daddy Long Legs. Liked it nearly as much, but not quite.

 

And an equally delightful movie starring Fred Astaire

 

glad to heard we'll stay in thread form ; )

 

Is the movie anything like the book? I was under the impression that it's very different. Unlike dh, I'm not much of an old movie buff, so it has to be really good before I'll watch it, plus something I'd like.

[Trillian]

Agree with the majority and decided not to go with the added social group. One it would just be added work and cause too much confusion. Plus I don't want to have it associated with the s.g's and told to move the thread entirely over there. That would basically be the death of the thread because it takes out of the hive's main public eye which I don't want to happen. Why mess with what works. Right. Right. Back to our original programming.

 

 

 

Halfway through Hopscotch - How are the rest of you doing?

 

I think I'm a third? It's kind of hard to tell with the jumping around. I find that the nights I have a glass of wine (2 since I started), I'm relaxed and get a good chunk read. And the nights I don't, I get distracted by all the references I don't know, and the fact that all the chapters I'm not reading are a paragraph, and how come "my" chapters are long, and why do people keep changing names anyway, and on and on by little details and I put it down.

 

So, the solution is obviously more wine :-)

[Mnemosyne]

Had a lot going on these last two months and reading one too many books at once... but I finally finished one! Power of Concentration was quite good, it has some actionable steps I'm going to take to improve my concentration a bit... but a lot of it was a little too... 'spirity' (if that's the right word) for me. It was still a valuable read, though, got a lot out of it.

 

I'm almost done with Common Sense (probably finish it tomorrow), and then I'm going to start working on finishing up The Lean Startup, Wealth of Nations and Futures 101.

 

6. The Power of Concentration (Mar 13)

5. The Well-Trained Mind (Jan 31)

4. The No-Cry Sleep Solution (Jan 29)

3. Redwall (Jan 23)

2. Autobiography of Andrew Carnegie (Jan 22)

1. The Four Hour Chef (Jan 1)

[mumto2]

Finished #48 Grace Interrupted by Julie Hyzy this morning. A nice cozy mystery. I will read more by this author.

 

Just started a new dusty called Ghostwalk by Rebecca Stott. It sounds good modern but I keep nodding off. To be fair to the book it has been a busy day that included a 10 mile bike ride--until last week I hadn't really been on a bike in 30 years! Tired and sore but early still.

[Robin M]

 

And an equally delightful movie starring Fred Astaire

 

glad to heard we'll stay in thread form ; )

 

 

Got to love Fred Astaire.

 

Just read your post about homeschooling in a crisis - made me teary eyed. :grouphug: I think you have amazing strength. Glad we were there and are still here to provide a port in the storm.

[Mom4coupons]

Okay, so I finished "One Hundred Years of Solitude." Anyone else up to discussing this one?

 

Currently reading: Song of Solomon

 

2013 reads in order from Well-Educated MInd:

. . .

16. Red Badge of Courage

17. Heart of Darkness

18. The House of Mirth

19. The Great Gatsby

20. Mrs. Dalloway

21. The Trial

22. Native Son

23. The Stranger

24. 1984

25. Invisible Man

26. Seize the Day

27. One Hundred Years of Solitude

[aggieamy]

Finished #48 Grace Interrupted by Julie Hyzy this morning. A nice cozy mystery. I will read more by this author.

 

Just started a new dusty called Ghostwalk by Rebecca Stott. It sounds good modern but I keep nodding off. To be fair to the book it has been a busy day that included a 10 mile bike ride--until last week I hadn't really been on a bike in 30 years! Tired and sore but early still.

 

Good for you! What made you decide to start biking again? And thanks for mentioned Grace Interrupted. I'm always on the hunt for new cozy mysteries.

 

Finished:

 

Mrs. McGinty’s Dead by Agatha Christie – I listened to this as an audiobook and expected to love it. I did.

 

Tuck Everlasting by Natalie Babbitt – I read this for Ladies Book Club and I’m surprised I never read it as a kid. It was a fast easy read. Kind of sad though.

 

In Progress:

 

Number the Stars by Lois Lowry (read aloud)

The Murder of Roger Ackroyd by Agatha Christie (book club)

The Amazing Mrs. Pollifax by Dorothy Gilman

Death on the Nile by Agatha Christie (audiobook)

 

2013 finished books:

 

25. Mrs. McGinty’s Dead by Agatha Christie (****)

24. Tuck Everlasting by Natalie Babbitt (***)

23. EntreLeadership by Dave Ramsey (***)

22. The Children of Noisy Village by Astrid Lindgren (*****)

21. The Hobbit by JRR Tolkien (*****)

20. Down the Mysterly River by Bill Willingham (***)

19. Five Children and It by E. Nesbit (***)

18. Asleep by Banana Yoshimoto (****)

17. The Unexpected Mrs. Pollifax by Dorothy Gilman (****)

16. Organizing from the Inside Out by Julie Morgenstern (***)

15. Getting Things Done by David Allen (****)

14. The Enchanted Castle by E. Nesbit (****)

13. Clouds of Witness by Dorothy Sayers (****)

12. The Eye of the World by Robert Jordan (****)

11. Toliver’s Secret by Esther Wood Brady (***)

 

Amy's Rating System:

 

***** - Fantastic, couldn't put it down

**** - Very good

*** - Enjoyable but nothing special

** - Not recommended

* - Horrible

[Robin M]

I finished listening to the In Deathseries by J.D. Robb. Was at a loss yesterday wandering what I was going to listen too after a year and a half of the adventures of Eve and Roark. I'm so picky about the narrators and love Susan Ericksen. Checked out Lorelie King who narrates Patricia Brigg's Mercedes Thompson series and downloaded the first book Moon Called. Already read the series, but it's fun listening as well. Look forward to picking up hard copy of # 7 Frost Burned at B&N tomorrow. Any suggestions for other female narrators who are good with all the voices?

[aggieamy]

I finished listening to the In Deathseries by J.D. Robb. Was at a loss yesterday wandering what I was going to listen too after a year and a half of the adventures of Eve and Roark. I'm so picky about the narrators and love Susan Ericksen. Checked out Lorelie King who narrates Patricia Brigg's Mercedes Thompson series and downloaded the first book Moon Called. Already read the series, but it's fun listening as well. Look forward to picking up hard copy of # 7 Frost Burned at B&N tomorrow. Any suggestions for other female narrators who are good with all the voices?

 

 

I know exactly how you feel. I'm listening to the Poriot mysteries by Agatha Christie and I love Hugh Fraser as a narrator. I've got quite a few left but I'm still nervous about what I'm going to listen to when I run out of those. I also adore George Guidall narrating The Cat Who series so I might go back and relisten to all those. If you like male narrators I highly recommend those two guys.

[trinchick]

 

If I had to pick a single novel to have for the rest of my life, it would be Middlemarch. The richness, depth, clarity, and compassion Eliot brings to her novels, paired with a... moral certainty isn't the right phrase at all, but I'm not finding the words I want.. amaze me. And her depictions of the way one person's minor choice or action can change the lives of others s/he hardly knows, the interconnectedness of humanity, the price of integrity & yet its pricelessness... I fell in love with this book when I was 15 or 16, and keep coming back to it over the years since.

 

 

You have put into words my exact feelings about Middlemarch, especially the interconnectedness of humanity. I think I may have to read it again. Thanks!

[aggieamy]

Usually DD and I use the Sonlight lists to choose our read aloud but this year we haven't been thrilled with the choices. We read all the ones that sounded interesting to me I'm going to follow Rosie's lead and start reading the Anne of Green Gables series to DD. Does anyone have a version of the book with pretty illustrations? I didn't see one on amazon but I thought someone here might know of an older version I could hunt for.

[trinchick]

Usually DD and I use the Sonlight lists to choose our read aloud but this year we haven't been thrilled with the choices. We read all the ones that sounded interesting to me I'm going to follow Rosie's lead and start reading the Anne of Green Gables series to DD. Does anyone have a version of the book with pretty illustrations? I didn't see one on amazon but I thought someone here might know of an older version I could hunt for.

 

I think we have similar reading tastes for our 8yo dds. I saw that you recently read The Children of Noisy Village, and we read that this year, too. I'm also about to start Anne of Green Gables. We'll be going to Prince Edward Island on vacation this summer, so Anne's a must read for us this spring. I can't comment on a specific edition, since I'm just going to read the set I bought when I visited PEI when I was about her age. Can't wait to get started. I hope she loves it as much as I did!

 

We're coming off a long-term series (The Saturdays/Melendy Quartet), so I'm thinking we'll read a couple of shorter stand alone books first before diving into all of the Anne books.

[Mom-ninja.]

 

Would it help to read some thoughts by authors about things that only be conveyed via fiction? (I have indulged in fiction too intensively and for too many years to need more excuses to read it, but I find some of these thoughts not only moving & inspiring, but helpful to me in thinking about the fiction I read, about the insights I am getting, the neccessary expansion of my heart and mind and view of the world to walk in someone else's foosteps... we can't ever really experience another person's reality, but the gift of well written fiction is to get as close as we possibly can to doing so.... and, as I was saying about reading non-fiction, it's a different set of reading habits, of mental muscles, but, imho, it too is incredibly, powerfully worth it.

 

Thanks for this. It's a nice reminder why fiction is important.

[mumto2]

 

Bike riding was completely unplanned. I had back surgery many years ago and found bike riding uncomfortable after. The kids got new bikes(bday presents from gran) and were on a nearby bike trail with their dad. I started thinking about what I was missing and got my old bike(dd had been using it) out of the garage and joined them. Rode a couple of miles and was fine back wise. My legs hurt and I am exhausted but fine. Have been out with them daily since. Great fun!

 

Make sure you read the first Grace book first. I was missing a few bits that I would have liked to have known.

 

 

 

 

Good for you! What made you decide to start biking again? And thanks for mentioned Grace Interrupted. I'm always on the hunt for new cozy mysteries.

 

Finished:

 

Mrs. McGinty’s Dead by Agatha Christie – I listened to this as an audiobook and expected to love it. I did.

 

Tuck Everlasting by Natalie Babbitt – I read this for Ladies Book Club and I’m surprised I never read it as a kid. It was a fast easy read. Kind of sad though.

 

In Progress:

 

Number the Stars by Lois Lowry (read aloud)

The Murder of Roger Ackroyd by Agatha Christie (book club)

The Amazing Mrs. Pollifax by Dorothy Gilman

Death on the Nile by Agatha Christie (audiobook)

 

2013 finished books:

 

25. Mrs. McGinty’s Dead by Agatha Christie (****)

24. Tuck Everlasting by Natalie Babbitt (***)

23. EntreLeadership by Dave Ramsey (***)

22. The Children of Noisy Village by Astrid Lindgren (*****)

21. The Hobbit by JRR Tolkien (*****)

20. Down the Mysterly River by Bill Willingham (***)

19. Five Children and It by E. Nesbit (***)

18. Asleep by Banana Yoshimoto (****)

17. The Unexpected Mrs. Pollifax by Dorothy Gilman (****)

16. Organizing from the Inside Out by Julie Morgenstern (***)

15. Getting Things Done by David Allen (****)

14. The Enchanted Castle by E. Nesbit (****)

13. Clouds of Witness by Dorothy Sayers (****)

12. The Eye of the World by Robert Jordan (****)

11. Toliver’s Secret by Esther Wood Brady (***)

 

Amy's Rating System:

 

***** - Fantastic, couldn't put it down

**** - Very good

*** - Enjoyable but nothing special

** - Not recommended

* - Horrible

 

[LostSurprise]

Okay, so I finished "One Hundred Years of Solitude." Anyone else up to discussing this one?

 

 

Its been several years, but I'd love to chat about One Hundred Years of Solitude. I love how specific the measurement of time is (one hundred years) and yet how diluted time is as its being experienced...how it shrinks or lengthens for particular characters.

 

 

I'm relaxing this week. A few years ago I was running an online Book Club and we had Breathless by Dean Koontz on the list. While I wasn't a fan of that book but someone suggested Odd Thomas as a good read. I saw it at the library this week and picked it up. I read it in 2 days. The first few chapters were really well done; focused, funny, intriguing characters. I did see the end coming half way through the book but I enjoyed it. I would read the others in the series and consider something else by Koontz.

 

Also read the first book of Sandman (Neil Gaiman) for my Fiction genre challenge: graphic novel. It was okay. It wasn't as well written as The Watchmen, but I thought the character of the Sandman was interesting.

 

I'm working on Dough a memoir about a man who inherits millions of dollars from who he assumed was a dirt-poor uncle. Really, it sifts through the experience of a Jewish family with a day-old bakery in the East Village of New York in the '40s-'80s looking for answers. I picked it up because it covers the 300s for my Dewey Decimal challenge, but I'm finding the elements of history, faith, and family compelling. It helps that my dad grew up in a similar situation (poor, ethnic neighborhood, grandfather was a baker), but I'm finding some interesting questions about immigrants and their experiences, family must always sticks together, severe thrift, pride, women's issues, and when a positive trait becomes obsession.

[Kareni]

 

I'm working on Dough a memoir about a man who inherits millions of dollars from who he assumed was a dirt-poor uncle. Really, it sifts through the experience of a Jewish family with a day-old bakery in the East Village of New York in the '40s-'80s looking for answers. I picked it up because it covers the 300s for my Dewey Decimal challenge, but I'm finding the elements of history, faith, and family compelling. It helps that my dad grew up in a similar situation (poor, ethnic neighborhood, grandfather was a baker), but I'm finding some interesting questions about immigrants and their experiences, family must always sticks together, severe thrift, pride, women's issues, and when a positive trait becomes obsession.

 

 

It sounds like an intriguing book. I was amused by your statement "... it sifts through the experience of a Jewish family with a day-old bakery ...." It seemed particularly punny!

 

Regards,

Kareni

[Stacia]

Paisley Hedgehog, I think it was you who first alerted us to a blog post about using images & copyright infringements, etc....

 

Thought you would appreciate today's post by the How About Orange blog with info about image downloads from the Library of Congress. Maybe it will at least open up some photo sources for you again....

[Robin M]

Okay, so I finished "One Hundred Years of Solitude." Anyone else up to discussing this one?

 

I read it last year and my brain is at the same point it was with it as it now with finishing Hopscotch. My brain is full and needs some time to digest and mull over what I've read. But yes, post your thoughts on the story and I and I'm sure others who have read will happily reply.

 

 

I'm relaxing this week. A few years ago I was running an online Book Club and we had Breathless by Dean Koontz on the list. While I wasn't a fan of that book but someone suggested Odd Thomas as a good read. I saw it at the library this week and picked it up. I read it in 2 days. The first few chapters were really well done; focused, funny, intriguing characters. I did see the end coming half way through the book but I enjoyed it. I would read the others in the series and consider something else by Koontz.

 

I like Dean Kootnz's writing and thoroughly enjoyed Odd Thomas. Just discovered the series a couple months back and just finished reading Odd interlude. Waiting for Odd Apocalypse to come out next month. The first book I read of his was By The Light Of The Moon and it was pretty intense, more psychological thriller than horror. Three disparate characters, after being injected with an unknown substance, by a mad doctor, that gives them remarkable powers, are forced to rely on one another as they race to find answers before they are killed. Dylan O'Connor and his autistic brother Shep just happen to stay at the same hotel as Jillian Jackson, a stand up comic who travels around with Fred the plant. The doctor breaks into their rooms, tells them each a bizarre story and they must flee or else they will be killed by the people who have been following him and trying to stop his life's work.

 

 

Paisley Hedgehog, I think it was you who first alerted us to a blog post about using images & copyright infringements, etc....

 

Thought you would appreciate today's post by the How About Orange blog with info about image downloads from the Library of Congress. Maybe it will at least open up some photo sources for you again....

 

:thumbup1:

 

 

Awesome, thanks.

 

 

 

 

 

I finished Hopscotch and really don't know what to think at this moment. As I said above, my brain is at that full point, so much so I don't want to read anything else. It'll will take a day or two to settle as I mull it over. Glad I read it. Particularly glad I read it now at this point in my life. Would have had no clue what they were talking about - art, philosophy, history wise - 20 to 30 years ago. Of course, I wouldn't have finished the book back then - would have thrown it across the room after the first few chapters in disgust. Not that I didn't want to do that now - Oliveira ticked me off quite a few times but the weirdness of it all kept me reading. It was an interesting reading experience to say the least.

[Stacia]

I finished Hopscotch and really don't know what to think at this moment. As I said above, my brain is at that full point, so much so I don't want to read anything else. It'll will take a day or two to settle as I mull it over. Glad I read it. Particularly glad I read it now at this point in my life. Would have had no clue what they were talking about - art, philosophy, history wise - 20 to 30 years ago. Of course, I wouldn't have finished the book back then - would have thrown it across the room after the first few chapters in disgust. Not that I didn't want to do that now - Oliveira ticked me off quite a few times but the weirdness of it all kept me reading. It was an interesting reading experience to say the least.

 

It will be a bit before I'm finished reading it. I'm still working on my regular-order reading of the book. Perhaps I'll finish that version by early next week. (Dd does Irish dance & w/ St. Pat's Day this weekend, this week & weekend have been crazy, crazy w/ dancing shows -- even into next week.... Fun... and crazy... but fun.)

 

And, then, I want to read the other order. http://forums.welltrainedmind.com/public/style_emoticons/#EMO_DIR#/tongue_smilie.gif I'm still mulling over what I'm reading, though, like you, Oliveira drives me nuts sometimes. I really don't like him. (Actually, I don't really feel attached to any of the characters.)

 

Hope everyone has a fun St. Patrick's Day weekend! Dd will be dancing in the parade. (I will be walking along in the parade, as parents/families walk along too.) And, then there are other dance commitments for the day at other places after that. I'm sure the glut of Irish music & bagpipes that I'll hear for many, many hours over the weekend will partially erase Oliveira from my head. (Last year, I was dreaming of/hearing Irish music in my head for at least a week after St. Patrick's Day, lol.) So, I'll try to refocus on Hopscotch after the dancing, music, & craziness abate!

[Stacia]

Its been several years, but I'd love to chat about One Hundred Years of Solitude. I love how specific the measurement of time is (one hundred years) and yet how diluted time is as its being experienced...how it shrinks or lengthens for particular characters.

 

I would join in too. (I read it last year.)

 

I think one of my favorite parts was when the theater came to town & the people got so upset seeing an actor 'die' on screen, only to reappear alive the next night (can't remember if it was the same movie or a different one). And, being so upset, they tore up the theater. The irony of them being so upset by the unreality of the situation (when living in unreal situations was the norm for them) was superbly written. Delicious, really. My favorite characters were Úrsula & Melquíades.

[LostSurprise]

Ursula was also my favorite.

[Lady Florida.]

 

 

 

 

 

Hope everyone has a fun St. Patrick's Day weekend! Dd will be dancing in the parade. (I will be walking along in the parade, as parents/families walk along too.) And, then there are other dance commitments for the day at other places after that. I'm sure the glut of Irish music & bagpipes that I'll hear for many, many hours over the weekend will partially erase Oliveira from my head. (Last year, I was dreaming of/hearing Irish music in my head for at least a week after St. Patrick's Day, lol.) So, I'll try to refocus on Hopscotch after the dancing, music, & craziness abate!

 

Sounds like fun for both dd and you. Our St. Patrick's Day will be spent at MegaCon in Orlando. It's our first sci-fi convention ever. Dh's adult niece and nephew go every year and gave us a heads up on what to expect. Ds is meeting some friends there.

 

I'm making corned beef and cabbage today, along with Irish soda bread (from a mix- gasp!), since we'll probably end up grabbing a quick dinner in Orlando tomorrow. Or we might just have today's leftovers when we get home.

[Lady Florida.]

I finished two this week.

 

Audiobook - The Bluest Eye. I had to read something else by Toni Morrison after reading Beloved. I didn't know the latter would have a supernatural aspect, and didn't care for that. I needed to get it out of my head. Although I think she's a good writer and has a lot to say, I doubt I'll read anything else by her for a while. Too depressing. I'm not a fan of depressing books, which is probably why I didn't care for Middlemarch. Sorry Eliana.

 

Book - Autobiography of Benjamin Franklin. After I got past the first 20% I really enjoyed this.

 

My current audiobook is Stories I Only Tell My Friends: An Autobiography by Rob Lowe. I'm not a fan of his, and have never seen anything he did after St. Elmo's Fire, but I somehow ended up with the free audiobook during a trial membership of Audible.com. Yesterday ds and I decided to go to the gym, and I didn't have anything to listen to (I don't like to listen to music while working out.) I looked on my Audible app, saw it, and thought, "Eh, it's better than nothing". To my surprise I'm finding it quite interesting. I don't know if he wrote it alone, or had help, but his writing style is decent.

 

I'm also still working on Anna Karenina. Though I like it, I'm looking forward to the day I can post that I finished it.

[ladydusk]

As a family, we finished Emil and the Detectives last night. What a fun story! We all enjoyed it and cheered through the climactic chapters. (The resolution was a little ho-hum, but ...) Anyway, I wouldn't necessarily go out of my way to find it, but glad we read it.

 

I'm listening to The Iliad on a player thing from the library. I'm also reading it for the edX class: The Ancient Greek Hero that started on Wednesday. I hope I can keep up with my reading and the coursework. Happily, I can count some of the coursework (Iliad, Odyssey) for here :)

 

First Saturday home essentially this year. I'm cleaning [boo], have a sick kiddo [double boo], and the dryer broke [when it rains it pours]. My husband is looking at washers and dryers now ....