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Book a Week in 2013 - week thirty one


Robin M
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Today I finished Fight Club by Chuck Palahniuk.  Wow!  What. a. trip. An excellent book with so much to say about humanity and the way we humans interact both with ourselves and with the world at large. It takes some of our most basic everyday thoughts and urges and extends them to the very reaches of their most twisted and obscured ends. If you're listening for more than just the mere story (and make no mistake, the story is foul and gruesome, and without shame), it is evident that the author is challenging the reader to evaluate his own life. To challenge what society tells us is good and right and worthwhile in the world. The author is asking the reader to think for himself, act for himself, be. his. own. person. because, at the end of the day, "on a large enough time line, the survival rate for everyone will drop to zero."
 

"It used to be enough that when I came home angry and knowing that my life wasn't toeing my five-year plan, I could clean my condominium or detail my car. Someday I'd be dead without a scar and there would be a really nice condo and car."


If that isn't a red hot arrow reminding us to make our lives matter I don't know what is. It's that same old idea that your grandma or your dad or your pastor used to beat you over the head with, "you can't take it with you when you die!" Palahniuk just dirties it up a little bit, illustrates its reality in less wholesome terms.

I was really kind of bowled over at how thought-provoking this book was. Sadly, I'm told that the author's other works pale in comparison.

 

 

Right now I'm reading along with the Don Quixote group, still plugging along with Death at Sea World, and trying to decide if I'm going to bother continuing with Cuckoo's Calling (doesn't look likely). 

 

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
16. Kisses From Katie by Katie Katie Davis
17. Iguanas for Dummies by Melissa Kaplan
18. The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald
19. Zoo by James Patterson
20. St. Lucy's School for Girls Raised by Wolves by Karen Russell
21. Russian Tortoises in Captivity by Jerry D. Fife
22. Leopard Geckos for Dummies by Liz Palika
23. The 8th Confession by James Patterson
24. Leopard Geckos: Caring for Your New Pet by Casey Watkins
25. The Ultimate Guide to Leopard Geckos by Phoenix Hayes Simmons
26. 9th Judgement by James Patterson
27. 10th Anniversary by James Patterson
28. 11th Hour by James Patterson
29. 12th of Never by James Patterson

30. The Geography of Bliss: One Grump's Search for the Happiest Places in the World by Eric Weiner
31. Chasing Science at Sea: Racing Hurricanes, Stalking Sharks, and Living Undersea With Ocean Experts by Ellen J. Prager
32. Dolphin Mysteries: Unlocking the Secrets of Communication by Kathleen M. Dudzinski & Toni Frohoff
33. The Greeening by S. Brubaker
34. No Touch Monkey! by Ayun Halliday
35. Beautiful Creatures by Kami Garcia & Margaret Stohl

36. Beating Dyspraxia with a Hop, Skip, and a Jump by Geoff Platt

37. Long Walk to Freedom by Nelson Mandela

38. Traveling With Pomegranates by Sue Monk Kidd and Ann Kidd Taylor

39. The Stranger by Albert Camus

40. Two Gentlemen of Verona by William Shakespeare

41. Shakespeare: The World a Stage by Bill Bryson

42. Their Eyes Were Watching God by Zora Neale Hurston

43. Gulliver's Travels by Jonathan Swift

44. How to Read Literature Like a Professor by Thomas C. Foster

45. Brain Power: Improve Your Mind as You Age by Michael J. Gelb and Kelly Howell

46. Fight Club by Chuck Palahniuk

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I just finished a really nice book. 

 

Courting Greta by Ramsey Hootman

 

"Samuel Cooke knows most women wouldn't give him a second glance even if he were the last man on earth. He's the cripple with crutches, the nerdy computer genius every female past puberty feels compelled to mother. So when he leaves his lucrative career to teach programming to high schoolers, romance definitely isn't on his radar.

Perhaps that's why Greta Cassamajor catches him off guard. The sarcastic gym coach with zero sense of humor is no beauty - not even on the inside. But an inexplicably kind act toward Samuel makes him realize she is interesting.

Samuel is certain she wont accept his invitation to dinner - so when she does, hes out of his depth. All he knows is that he'll do whatever it takes to keep her as long as he can. Pretending he's got his class under control? Easy. Being vulnerable enough to admit why he ditched his programming career for teaching? Um, no. That would require honesty. And if there's one thing Samuel can't exist without, it's the lies he tells himself.

In this poignant, witty debut, Ramsey Hootman upends traditional romance tropes to weave a charming tale of perseverance, trust, and slightly conditional love."

 

Regards,

Kareni

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Pilgrim at Tinker Creek is a favorite of mine - the melange of science, philosophy, spirituality, and personal reflection.  Each time I have reread it it has resonated so strongly for me, and this year's reread was no exception, and my reading notebook has several pages of quotes that I wanted to have where I could find them without having to scan through the whole book.

 

Thanks, Eliana.  I'm going to try to keep at it, but I suspect it's going to be slow going.  The Wikipedia entry was helpful to me ... gave me some context and an idea of just what on earth I was reading.  I appreciate your encouragement!

 

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Well, I'm still (very impatiently) awaiting the library copy of Angelmaker so I can get back to reading it.

 

In the meantime, I keep picking up & putting down The Gargoyle. It seems like a book I would/should enjoy. And, it's not as if I actively dislike it. Yet, it just isn't completely pulling me in (& I'm saying that at the 250+ page mark -- just past halfway through). Eh. I'm not sure I'll finish. But I'm not sure I won't either.

 

Tonight, I have started a new book: Second Person Singular by Sayed Kashua, an Arab-Israeli author.

 

http://www.thedailybeast.com/articles/2012/05/15/sayed-kashua-s-strained-relationship-with-israel.html

http://www.theparisreview.org/blog/2013/04/29/the-born-identity-an-interview-with-sayed-kashua/

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Just finished Cuckoo's Calling -- the JKRowling mystery published under the pen name Robert Galbraith.  I liked it and hope she turns it into a series as the detective is a great character.   

 

I admire those of you tackling Richard III -- I just don't have it in me to read Shakespeare.  I'll go see the plays, but can't sit and read one.  

 

Had to make myself walk out of a Barnes and Noble empty handed today -- too many unread books stacked around the house collecting dust and sitting on my iPad collecting, I don't know, bytes and fragments?  

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Stacia made me curious about The Gargoyle. I started searching the local library and I couldn't reserve it. Reference book???? Sure sounds like a romance. ;) Called and asked and it's a book club selection. They have one copy individuals can check out so I am in the queue.

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Found Archipelago by Monique Roffey, a British/Trinidadian author who's White Woman on a Green Bicycle was shortlisted for the Orange Prize a few years ago, on the New Shelf at the library. Beautiful cover, and so far I'm really enjoying the story of a father and young daughter in Trinidad dealing with their grief and trauma a year after their home was flooded and the wife/mother lost. Lots of descriptions of sailing the Caribbean, and so far very honest about emotions of loss without wallowing (good pacing and forward movement). 

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Just finished Cuckoo's Calling -- the JKRowling mystery published under the pen name Robert Galbraith.  I liked it and hope she turns it into a series as the detective is a great character.   

 

I will have to check into that one.

 

Stacia made me curious about The Gargoyle. I started searching the local library and I couldn't reserve it. Reference book???? Sure sounds like a romance. ;) Called and asked and it's a book club selection. They have one copy individuals can check out so I am in the queue.

 

:lol:  (esp. the part about it being a reference book).

 

Yeah, I keep trying to figure out why this book is not calling to me....

 

Uniqueness of the story:

I've had it recommended various times because it is considered a unique/unusual book, but (to me) it's a fairly standard book. I think I read too many 'weird' books for me to consider this one unusual. :tongue_smilie: No, it doesn't seem odd to me that the main character insists she & the burn victim were lovers in previous lives, then proceeds to tell their various stories. To me, that's a fairly straightforward, normal storyline. Personally, I find it irritating that the burn victim assumes the woman has a mental illness of some sort rather than just 'going along' w/ her assertions of them having a very long history together, lol. I think I was hoping for something else (a more unusual plot) rather than what it has turned out to be.

 

HIstorical aspects of the story:

I enjoy the historical sections, but, otoh, I've read a lot of good historical fiction so it's not like this is something that shines in that area -- it's good, somewhat interesting historical fiction, but not more than that.

 

Romance & stories w/in the story:

I think it is a 'romance' book in that it's a 'love through the ages' kind of book. The various love stories/tales/fables that are told are also fine, but nothing spectacular -- doomed, star-crossed, true-love type tales for the most part. Ok, but not anything new, imo. Again, I've read (much) better books that incorporate storytelling/myths/fables w/in the main storyline. For example, A.S. Byatt's The Djinn in the Nightingale's Eye, Helen Oyeyemi's Mr. Fox , & Italo Calvino's If on a winter's night a traveler... are favorites that immediately come to mind as excellent examples of weaving stories w/in stories.

 

So... <shrugging shoulders>, it's neither here nor there for me; it just is. I'm not for it or against it. I mostly feel ambivalent about it, I think, & that's what's hard (esp. when I was hoping for more). Mostly, I've spent the past few days picking it up, reading a few pages, putting it down, feeling vaguely unsatisfied that I don't have a great book going (I'm really waiting on Angelmaker to show up at the library), & eventually I pick it up again & read a few more pages. (I normally have no qualms about quitting a book, but I've read over 250 pages in this one, so it seems like I've invested a bit of time & am somewhat wanting to finish because I've already read so much, but otoh, I don't really feel like picking it back up most of the time.)

 

I will be curious to see what you think about it. Seemingly many people on amazon & Goodreads have loved it, so perhaps I'm just not romantic enough to get into the story. :tongue_smilie: :svengo:  Maybe I'm just grouchy.  :sneaky2:  Or maybe I just really wanted something zippy & cool like time-travel & ninjas... :ph34r: (which this is not). LOL.

 

P.S. If reading somewhat detailed specifics of burn treatments will bother you, try not to read the first third of the book while eating.

 

 

Why is it that the books on other shelves always look so much more appealing than the books on mine?

 

Exactly!!!

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I am almost finished with Behind the Beautiful Forevers: Life, Death, and Hope in a Mumbai Undercity by Katherine Boo.  This book garnered multiple awards in 2012 (including the National Book Award for Nonfiction) and is nominated for a 2013 Pulitzer Prize.  It is an AMAZING piece of writing.  I give it two thumbs up and five stars.   I downloaded this book on a whim trying to see if I could remember how to transfer titles from my library's ebook collection to my reader, and now I can't believe I waited so long.

 

I remember hearing an interview about this one on NPR. It does sound very good. Thanks for your recommendation!

 

We're getting ready for our daughter's wedding (less than 3 weeks!!) and dealing with the flurry of schooling changes for just about everyone next year.  All good things, but very time consuming!

 

I'm months behind on this, since I got derailed a few months ago, but I've finally made progress on the Africa portion of the continental challenge! 

 

Of Africa by Wole Soyinka:  It took me months to finish this, mostly b/c life was crazy for a while, but also because I have such a weak background on sub-Saharan Africa. For an erudite, richly textured insight into the issues and challenges of sub-Saharan Africa, from the perspective of a Nigerian Nobel Prize winning author, I recommend this slim, but dense book. 

 

Here's a smorgasbord of quotes:

 

 

Climate of Fear by Wole Soyinka:  A much easier book than the previous one, but incredibly valuable.  This deals with world issues of fear and terror from a perspective I have not seen before.

 

 

Hopes and Impediments: Selected Essays by Chinua Achebe: I loved this book.  Go read it!  ...really.  Folks who recently read/reread Heart of Darkness should look at the first essay about racism in HoD, but my favorite essays were further in and the final one about James Baldwin made me put this on my Amazon wish list to purchase when I can.

 

 

Collected Poems by Chinua Achebe: A slim, thought provoking volume that I want to come back to again.

 

Chike and the River by Chinua Achebe: Shelved with the adult fiction in my library system, this is actually a kids' book.  It intersected nicely with some of the other things I've been reading, a little like a modern folk tale.

 

Dark Child by Camara Laye: A beautifully written childhod memoir which drew me into his world and life.

 

 

The Hairdresser of Harare by Tendai Huabu: This book was both predictable and unexpected.  The plot itself was soap-operaish and unappealing in many ways, and a less heavy-handed depiction of the challenges of life in Zimbabwe would have been more moving (and more convincing), but despite the flaws, the book kept me reading and gave me a glimmer of a view into another world... but what really grabbed me was a plot/character development peice woven into the heavy-handedly foreshadowed one that connected for me with Lillian Helman's devastating play Toys in the Attic.

 

The Secret Lives of Baba Segi's Wives by Lola Shoneyin:  I hated this book.  I still hate it.  (And any review which claims this is a "funny" or "humorous" book is lying.  It is crass and shallow and full of absurd plot points and melodrama that makes it hard to see the characters or their world with any clarity.  I kept reading because I hoped the pieces that did work would be done justice, that the soap-opera threads would come together with some measure of transcendence, but they did not.

 

Taxi by Khaled Al Khamissi: Each little chapter is a conversation with or monologue by an Egyptian taxi driver.  I doesn't form a coherent arc or narrative at all, but, put together, these little vignettes brought modern day Egypt more alive for me.

 

Before the Throne by Mahfouz: I struggled a little with this book at first because I was expecting something different, something more... snarky, perhaps, more cynical.  This slim book does a whirlwind overview of (one view of) Egyptian history from Menes to Sadat though a fascinating framing device.  The titular throne is that of Osiris and each significant figure Mahfouz chooses to cover, comes before the throne to be judged and to defend his legacy.  Those judged worthy are invited to join the immortals and get to ask questions, challenge, give opinions, etc on each subsequent speaker.  Instead of the searing critique I expected, this book was a paean to the core values of Egypt (as seen by Mahfouz).

 

Beer in the Snooker Club by Waguih Ghali: This reminded me of Brideshead Revisited and, to a lesser extent some of Hemingway (though I am not normally a Hemingway fan)  Here's an Amazon review that gives a good overview of the book and its significance:

 

 

Eliana, congrats to happy couple & to your family on the impending wedding. :grouphug:  and :001_smile:

 

Thanks for your detailed list of African books. I plan to go back & read more from various African authors & will keep your list handy. I had actually checked out a couple of books by Wole Soyinka, but returned them unread to the library (because I didn't have time to read them when I originally picked them up). I tried a Mahfouz book many, many years ago (can't think of the name now, but it was an award-winner), but I didn't care for it.

 

 

Yoga for Women - 5 Stars - very motivational, lovely photos. This book is a keeper. Great for all stages of a woman's life. I'm smiling at how silly it is that the Kindle version costs more than the paperback. And besides, the thought of a yoga book or any workout book on a Kindle simply does not appeal to me. 

 

You Don't Sweat Much for a Fat Girl - 4 Stars - Hilarious, but also a bit on the rude side for those who may be easily offended. 

 

 

Thanks for these suggestions, Negin! I would love to try yoga (something I've never done). The Fat Girl book also looks fun & hilarious is always something welcome in my reading time.

 

WOW!!! Everyone has listed some great books this week. My list just grew by half a page.

 

I finished "If on a Winter's Night Traveller". I enjoyed many parts of it and probably would be viewing the overall book more highly if I hadn't had some preconceived plot ideas which were just plain wrong! I won't say more because others are reading it.

 

Me too. I always find great ideas from all of you on this thread! :thumbup1:

 

Can't wait to discuss/see what others thought about Calvino's book....

 

At this time last year, I had concluded 40 books, so I am pleased that, with as busy as this year has turned out to be (and also still dealing with some old stressful things as well as some new ones), I am ahead of last year.  :)

 

:grouphug:  (on the stressful things in life) & :hurray:  on your reading.

 

--------------------------

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:

Link to Books # 1 – 40 that I’ve read in 2013.

 

41. If on a winter’s night a traveler by Italo Calvino (5 stars). Challenge: Continental – Europe (Italy).

42. They Call Me Naughty Lola: Personal Ads from the London Review of Books, edited by David Rose (2.5 stars). Challenge: Continental – Europe (England).

43. The Late Mattia Pascal by Luigi Pirandello (3 stars). Challenge: Continental – Europe (Italy).

44. Stoker’s Manuscript by Royce Prouty (4 stars).

45. Captain Alatriste by Arturo Pérez-Reverte (3 stars). Challenge: Continental – Europe (Spain).

46. The Manual of Detection by Jedediah Berry (4 stars).

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Re: Richard III. When dh and I were newly married and thoroughly impoverished students living in the Bay Area, for his birthday I spent money we didn't quite have and bought a pair of tickets to see Ian McKellen as Richard III in San Francisco. And he did the same thing, my birthday being the same week. We then had to find someone at the last minute to buy the unexpected extra tickets. Now that was a great production of Shakespeare!

 

Aw. You guys could star in your own romantic storyline. Very sweet (& obviously you were meant for each other). :001_smile:

 

I am almost finished with this next book - about 30 pages left  - has anyone else read this? Life After Life by Kate Atkinson From Amazon:

 

What if you could live again and again, until you got it right?

 

On a cold and snowy night in 1910, Ursula Todd is born to an English banker and his wife. She dies before she can draw her first breath. On that same cold and snowy night, Ursula Todd is born, lets out a lusty wail, and embarks upon a life that will be, to say the least, unusual. For as she grows, she also dies, repeatedly, in a variety of ways, while the young century marches on towards its second cataclysmic world war.

 

I sat down and read the first 450 pages without stopping. I think this is going to be one of my favorites for the year.

 

Sounds like a great book. Will have to see if my library has it....

 

Last week I finished Hyperion by Dan Simmons.  It was an unexpected pleasure partly because I had never heard of it before and only started it because my ds was enjoying it so much.  It's format was unexpected, too, as it is a sci fi Cantebury Tales.   And, Lost Surprise are you there reading this?  I am glad I knew ahead of time that the story continues in the next book so I wasn't disappointed that there wasn't a resolution and denouement.  That said, I loved the ending!!  It was wacky and surreal and made me laugh.  Great characters, great story, worth reading.    My only fault with the book was with one of the readers on the audio version.  The sole female was read by a poor actress whose voice did NOT fit the character.  But I was so absorbed in listening to the book that I got lots of the hand applique work I'm doing on a quilt!

 

May have to check out this one too.

 

In Cold Blood by Truman Capote – I struggle with rating this because at parts the writing was great and at other times the story dragged and I could feel that the author was trying to add tension which took away from the story for me.  BUT – I felt compelled to read it. 

 

I found it completely chilling. I love Capote's writing (not just in this book, all his writing in general). Did you see the movies that came out a few years ago related to it? I liked both of them.

 

Capote (Philip Seymour Hoffman won the Best Actor Oscar for this):

 

Infamous

 

That does sound interesting!  I'm reminded of a favorite book of mine:  Replay by Ken Grimwood.

 

"Jeff Winston, forty-three, didn't know he was a replayer until he died and woke up twenty-five years younger in his college dorm room; he lived another life. And died again. And lived again and died again -- in a continuous twenty-five-year cycle -- each time starting from scratch at the age of eighteen to reclaim lost loves, remedy past mistakes, or make a fortune in the stock market. A novel of gripping adventure, romance, and fascinating speculation on the nature of time, Replay asks the question: "What if you could live your life over again?""

 

From the Library Journal's review on Amazon:

 

"The possibility of traveling back in time to relive one's life has long fascinated science fiction writers. Without a single gesture toward an explanation, this mainstream novel recounts the story of a man and a woman mysteriously given the ability to live their lives over. Each dies in 1988 only to awaken as a teenager in 1963 with adult knowledge and wisdom intact and the ability to make a new set of choices."

 

Another one I will have to look for...

 

I'm just finishing up with "This Fool's Journey" by Cynthia Campbell Williams; a collection of short stories and a quick read. I don't usually like short stories, but this was worth it for the one really illuminating one.

 

I'm with you re: short stories. Only one great one in the collection, though?

 

I just finished Vampires in the Lemon Grove.  It was ok.  The writing was good, but the stories odd.  I usually like odd, but I found myself lost in her stories.  I won't read her other book.  

 

I have a new book to read from the library on my Kindle, One Good Turn, by Kate Atkinson.  I haven't started it, but my brain is more looking forward to the House of Leaves I'm going to pick up from the library tomorrow. :)

 

I wondered what the Vampires book would be like. Glad to see your review.

 

Do you have House of Leaves yet??? (Brave woman!)

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I thought others might find this article of interest:

 

You Can Read This Woman Like a Book - Literally

 

Fun. Will have to show my dd & her friends that. I think they'd get a kick out of it.

 

I'm way behind but just finished a chunkster- 19 Minutes by Piccolt; she looks at school bullying, mass school shootings and how our kids grow up to be who they are. Good read, good insight, sobering.

 

This reminds me of the book I just finished-- Murder in the Yoga Store-- and the one I'm finishing now--Snapping: American's Epidemic of Sudden Personality Change. The word sobering fits them well. Both have given me much to think about and to discuss with my dd.

 

Wow. All of those sound very sobering & heart-wrenching.

 

Finished #55 for the year, Gone Girl by Gillian Flynn.  I avoided this book for a long time because it has gotten so much attention, everyone loved it, it was supposed to be so great.  That's the sort of hype that drives me completely bonkers because I generally end up hating those books (John Grisham, anyone?).   Well, I was wrong.  Absolutely, completely wrong.  Gone Girl was spectacular.   If you like thrillers / mysteries, you gotta read it.

 

 

Hmmm. I may have to reconsider it. I was hesitant for many of the reasons you were. Plus, I'm chicken & think it will be scary. (Is it?)

 

Today I finished Fight Club by Chuck Palahniuk.  Wow!  What. a. trip. An excellent book with so much to say about humanity and the way we humans interact both with ourselves and with the world at large. It takes some of our most basic everyday thoughts and urges and extends them to the very reaches of their most twisted and obscured ends. If you're listening for more than just the mere story (and make no mistake, the story is foul and gruesome, and without shame), it is evident that the author is challenging the reader to evaluate his own life. To challenge what society tells us is good and right and worthwhile in the world. The author is asking the reader to think for himself, act for himself, be. his. own. person. because, at the end of the day, "on a large enough time line, the survival rate for everyone will drop to zero."

 

If that isn't a red hot arrow reminding us to make our lives matter I don't know what is. It's that same old idea that your grandma or your dad or your pastor used to beat you over the head with, "you can't take it with you when you die!" Palahniuk just dirties it up a little bit, illustrates its reality in less wholesome terms.

 

I was really kind of bowled over at how thought-provoking this book was. Sadly, I'm told that the author's other works pale in comparison."It used to be enough that when I came home angry and knowing that my life wasn't toeing my five-year plan, I could clean my condominium or detail my car. Someday I'd be dead without a scar and there would be a really nice condo and car."

 

I've never seen the movie. The book sounds like something I might like reading.

 

Found Archipelago by Monique Roffey, a British/Trinidadian author who's White Woman on a Green Bicycle was shortlisted for the Orange Prize a few years ago, on the New Shelf at the library. Beautiful cover, and so far I'm really enjoying the story of a father and young daughter in Trinidad dealing with their grief and trauma a year after their home was flooded and the wife/mother lost. Lots of descriptions of sailing the Caribbean, and so far very honest about emotions of loss without wallowing (good pacing and forward movement). 

 

Another one that sounds really good....

 

Whew, I think I'm finally caught up on all the things I wanted to say in this thread. (At least for now... :lol: )

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Once again, it's been a while, but much longer--it's that kind of summer. I have been reading, and here's what I've finished since my last post.

 

67. Mrs. ‘Arris Goes to Parliament

68. The Light Between the Oceans

69. The Secret Thoughts of an Unlikely Convert Rosalia Champagne Butterfield--nonfiction

70. Mrs. ‘Arris Goes to Moscow

71. The Last Telegram  Liz Trenow

72. Light Between the Oceans

 

 

The two that I read that had to do with polygamous marriage were both Senegalese books:

Xala (my description/review of book is here)

So Long a Letter (my description/review of book is here)

 

Of the two, So Long a Letter was better written & more beautiful. But, I thought it was interesting to read both books back-to-back because Xala is from a male viewpoint, while So Long a Letter is from a female viewpoint. There are plenty of other topics covered in the books, but the polygamous aspect does take a leading role in both novellas.

 

I don't think I've read any other books that have to do with polygamous marriage. (Sorry if my previous post was confusing or misleading because I also mentioned two other books in it -- Altazor and The Fan-Maker's Inquisition -- but neither has anything to do with polygamous marriage.)

 

 

Thanks so much.

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Getting near the end of The Way We Live Now, which clocks in at just under 1000 pages. Dipping occasionally into my concurrent nonfiction. 500 Years of Printing is very interesting, though so information-dense as to be a slow read. An interesting recent section discusses the disappeared genre of Emblem Books. See Wikipedia's entry for a good summary:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Emblem_book

 

And then for fun you didn't know was available, check out Emblematica Online. No, really, try different keywords.

http://emblematica.grainger.illinois.edu/OEBP/UI/SearchForm

 

ETA: Thanks to a search for "turnip," I've learned the handy phrase "Aurum spernit, qui rapa sufficit,"* and have a nifty turnip visual to go with it.

http://diglib.hab.de/drucke/41-2-geom-4s/start.htm?image=00077

 

*"He spurns gold, who is satisfied with turnips."

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Stacia you have done it to me again! Another book for my request pile. Mr. Fox is on it way, I think. Sounds good. I am on the list for Cuckoo's Calling too. Pretty long, if they don't buy more copies Christmastime is likely. :lol: I also have Angelmaker on the way...

 

You have made me really curious about The Gargoyle. I am probably romantic enough to love it. I always love the injured man scenario and I have a pretty strong stomach so we will see. :lol: Also love Greenmen and gargoyles so ..... Probably move this one to the top of the pile. I am not totally predictable which is probably why I have not been invited to join the book club :lol: plus I read enough without their help! ;)

 

I can't seem to get past the first few chapters of several books. I still want to read them just not now! I have seven currently readings on my Goodreads list which is starting to bug dd (my only friend)! I hope you find something that is "right" soon.

 

 

I will have to check into that one.

 

 

:lol:  (esp. the part about it being a reference book).

 

Yeah, I keep trying to figure out why this book is not calling to me....

 

Uniqueness of the story:

I've had it recommended various times because it is considered a unique/unusual book, but (to me) it's a fairly standard book. I think I read too many 'weird' books for me to consider this one unusual. :tongue_smilie: No, it doesn't seem odd to me that the main character insists she & the burn victim were lovers in previous lives, then proceeds to tell their various stories. To me, that's a fairly straightforward, normal storyline. Personally, I find it irritating that the burn victim assumes the woman has a mental illness of some sort rather than just 'going along' w/ her assertions of them having a very long history together, lol. I think I was hoping for something else (a more unusual plot) rather than what it has turned out to be.

 

HIstorical aspects of the story:

I enjoy the historical sections, but, otoh, I've read a lot of good historical fiction so it's not like this is something that shines in that area -- it's good, somewhat interesting historical fiction, but not more than that.

 

Romance & stories w/in the story:

I think it is a 'romance' book in that it's a 'love through the ages' kind of book. The various love stories/tales/fables that are told are also fine, but nothing spectacular -- doomed, star-crossed, true-love type tales for the most part. Ok, but not anything new, imo. Again, I've read (much) better books that incorporate storytelling/myths/fables w/in the main storyline. For example, A.S. Byatt's The Djinn in the Nightingale's Eye, Helen Oyeyemi's Mr. Fox , & Italo Calvino's If on a winter's night a traveler... are favorites that immediately come to mind as excellent examples of weaving stories w/in stories.

 

So... <shrugging shoulders>, it's neither here nor there for me; it just is. I'm not for it or against it. I mostly feel ambivalent about it, I think, & that's what's hard (esp. when I was hoping for more). Mostly, I've spent the past few days picking it up, reading a few pages, putting it down, feeling vaguely unsatisfied that I don't have a great book going (I'm really waiting on Angelmaker to show up at the library), & eventually I pick it up again & read a few more pages. (I normally have no qualms about quitting a book, but I've read over 250 pages in this one, so it seems like I've invested a bit of time & am somewhat wanting to finish because I've already read so much, but otoh, I don't really feel like picking it back up most of the time.)

 

I will be curious to see what you think about it. Seemingly many people on amazon & Goodreads have loved it, so perhaps I'm just not romantic enough to get into the story. :tongue_smilie: :svengo:  Maybe I'm just grouchy.  :sneaky2:  Or maybe I just really wanted something zippy & cool like time-travel & ninjas... :ph34r: (which this is not). LOL.

 

P.S. If reading somewhat detailed specifics of burn treatments will bother you, try not to read the first third of the book while eating.

 

 

 

Exactly!!!

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Sadly, I'm going to have to dump my very first book.  It's so hard for me to just stop reading a book once I start, but I just can't handle this one anymore.  I started The Wings of the Dove by Henry James, but his writing is just so excruciating!  I can't handle it. He uses these long, run on sentences with the most awkwardly placed commas.  I can't read any more.  I gave him over 100 pages, but if I have to read the other 400 I'll scream.

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Getting near the end of The Way We Live Now, which clocks in at just under 1000 pages. Dipping occasionally into my concurrent nonfiction. 500 Years of Printing is very interesting, though so information-dense as to be a slow read. An interesting recent section discusses the disappeared genre of Emblem Books. See Wikipedia's entry for a good summary:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Emblem_book

 

And then for fun you didn't know was available, check out Emblematica Online. No, really, try different keywords.

http://emblematica.grainger.illinois.edu/OEBP/UI/SearchForm

 

ETA: Thanks to a search for "turnip," I've learned the handy phrase "Aurum spernit, qui rapa sufficit,"* and have a nifty turnip visual to go with it.

http://diglib.hab.de/drucke/41-2-geom-4s/start.htm?image=00077

 

*"He spurns gold, who is satisfied with turnips."

 

So very cool. Is 500 Years of Printing by Sigfrid Steinberg? Sounds like a book I would love.

 

Thanks for all the links. On the last one, I've found some works in Dutch, which will be fun to show both my fil & my dd. Will definitely be forwarding these links.

 

Thanks, Violet Crown!

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Started Reading:
That Old Cape Magic by Richard Russo (American author, DD class 800)

Still Reading:
The God Who is There: Finding Your Place in God's Story by D.A. Carson (Canadian author, DD class 200)
When I Don't Desire God by John Piper (American author, DD class 200)

Finished:
35. Sandstorm by James Rollins (American author, DD class 800)
34. Like Water for Chocolate by Laura Esquivel (Mexican Author, DD class 800)
33. The Sex Lives of Cannibals: Adrift in the Equatorial Pacific by J. Maarten Troost (Dutch Author, DD class 900)
32. Bill Bryson's African Diary by Bill Bryson (American author, DD class 900) 
31. The Millionaires by Brad Meltzer (American author, DD class 800) 
30. Beautiful Ruins by Jess Walter (American author, DD class 800) 
29.The Sherlockian by Graham Moore (American author, DD class 800) 
28. Beautiful Creatures by Kami Garcia and Margaret Stohl (American authors, DD class 800)
27. A Walk in the Woods by Bill Bryson (American author, DD class 900)
26. The Last Camellia by Sarah Jio (American author, DD class 800)
25. Cutting for Stone by Abraham Verghese (Ethiopian author, DD class 800)
24. Having Hard Conversations by Jennifer Abrams (American author, DD class 300)
23.The End of Your Life Book Club by Will Schwalbe (American author, DD class 600) 
22. The Infernal Devices #3: The Clockwork Princess by Cassandra Clare (American author, DD class 800)
21. To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee (American author, DD class 800)
20. Why Revival Tarries by Leonard Ravenhill (British author, DD class 200)
19. The Infernal Devices #2: Clockwork Prince by Cassandra Clare (American author, DD class 800)
18. The Infernal Devices: Clockwork Angel by Cassandra Clare (American author, DD class 800)
17. God's Big Picture: Tracing the Story-Line of the Bible by Vaughan Roberts (British author, DD class 200)
16.The Weed that Strings the Hangman's Bag: A Flavia de Luce Mystery by Alan Bradley (Canadian Author, DD Class 800) 
15.The Geography of Bliss: One Grump's Search for the Happiest Places in the World by Eric Weiner (American author, DD class 900) 
14. Prodigy by Marie Lu (Chinese author, DD class 800)
13. Unbroken: A World War II Story of Survival, Resilience, and Redemption by Laura Hillenbrand (American author, DD class 900)
12. The Disappearing Spoon: And Other Tales of Madness, Love, and the History of the World from the Periodic Table of the Elements by Sam Kean (American author, DD class 500)
11. The Spirit Catches You and You Fall Down: A Hmong Child, Her American Doctors, and the Collision of Two Cultures by Anne Fadiman (American Author, DD class 600)
10. A Praying Life: Connecting with God in a Distracting World by Paul Miller (American author, DD class 200)
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)
 

 

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Ok, I've decided to just give up on The Gargoyle, even though I've invested my reading time in 250+ pages. It's going back to the library. And, somehow that must be the right choice as I feel relief from deciding that....

 

In the meantime, I'll continue with Second Person Singular. Along with Second Person Singular, I'm also getting ready to start The Book of the Unknown: Tales of the Thirty-Six by Jonathon Keats.

 

Book description from amazon of Second Person Singular:

"Part comedy of manners, part psychological mystery . . . Issues of nationalism, religion, and passing collide with quickly changing social and sexual mores." —Boston Globe

From one of the most important contemporary voices to emerge from the Middle East comes a gripping tale of love and betrayal, honesty and artifice, which asks whether it is possible to truly reinvent ourselves, to shed our old skin and start anew.

Second Person Singular follows two men, a successful Arab criminal attorney and a social worker-turned-artist, whose lives intersect under the most curious of circumstances. The lawyer has a thriving practice in the Jewish part of Jerusalem, a large house, a Mercedes, speaks both Arabic and Hebrew, and is in love with his wife and two young children. In an effort to uphold his image as a sophisticated Israeli Arab, he often makes weekly visits to a local bookstore to pick up popular novels. On one fateful evening, he decides to buy a used copy of Tolstoy's The Kreutzer Sonata, a book his wife once recommended. To his surprise, inside he finds a small white note, a love letter, in Arabic, in her handwriting. I waited for you, but you didn't come. I hope everything's all right. I wanted to thank you for last night. It was wonderful. Call me tomorrow? Consumed with suspicion and jealousy, the lawyer slips into a blind rage over the presumed betrayal. He first considers murder, revenge, then divorce, but when the initial sting of humiliation and hurt dissipates, he decides to hunt for the book's previous owner—a man named Yonatan, a man who is not easy to track down, whose identity is more complex than imagined, and whose life is more closely aligned with his own than expected. In the process of dredging up old ghosts and secrets, the lawyer tears the string that holds all of their lives together.

A Palestinian who writes in Hebrew, Sayed Kashua defies classification and breaks through cultural barriers. He communicates, with enormous emotional power and a keen sense of the absurd, the particular alienation and the psychic costs of people struggling to straddle two worlds. Second Person Singular is a deliciously complex psychological mystery and a searing dissection of the individuals that comprise a divided society.

 

Book description from amazon of The Book of The Unknown:

Marvelous and mystical stories of the thirty-six anonymous saints whose decency sustains the world – reimagined from Jewish folklore.

A liar, a cheat, a degenerate, and a whore. These are the last people one might expect to be virtuous. But a legendary Kabbalist has discovered the truth: they are just some of the thirty-six hidden ones, the righteous individuals who ultimately make the world a better place. In these captivating stories, we meet twelve of the secret benefactors, including a timekeeper’s son who shows a sleepless village the beauty of dreams; a gambler who teaches a king ruled by the tyranny of the past to roll the dice; a thief who realizes that his job is to keep his fellow townsfolk honest; and a golem–a woman made of mud–who teaches kings and peasants the real nature of humanity.

With boundless imagination and a delightful sense of humor, acclaimed writer and artist Jonathon Keats has turned the traditional folktale on its head, creating heroes from the unlikeliest of characters, and enchanting readers with these stunningly original fables.

 

Also waiting on Angelmaker to get to my library branch... :toetap05:

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So very cool. Is 500 Years of Printing book by Sigfrid Steinberg? Sounds like a book I would love.

 

Thanks for all the links. On the last one, I've found some works in Dutch, which will be fun to show both my fil & my dd. Will definitely be forwarding these links.

 

Thanks, Violet Crown!

Yes, it's Sigfrid Steinberg:'http://www.oakknoll.com/detail.php?d_booknr=43776

 

There's loads of interesting information. Did you know that the transition from using i and v only to the use of the i/j and u/v pairs wasn't a gradual development, but was the idea of a single Italian writer and spelling reformer? He had his own work printed using the letters u and j, and it immediately caught on.

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Yes, it's Sigfrid Steinberg:'http://www.oakknoll.com/detail.php?d_booknr=43776

 

There's loads of interesting information. Did you know that the transition from using i and v only to the use of the i/j and u/v pairs wasn't a gradual development, but was the idea of a single Italian writer and spelling reformer? He had his own work printed using the letters u and j, and it immediately caught on.

I may just have to try this one out now.  I love little bits of info like that.

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I may just have to try this one out now. I love little bits of info like that.

I would try a library copy of the latest edition, with added illustrations; my old Pelican paperback was cheap, but I wish I had the $45 version. Frustratingly often he refers to interesting fonts or layouts and there's no illustration.

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Started Reading:
Inferno by Dan Brown (American Author, DD class 800)
Man Seeks God: My Flirtations withe the Divine by Eric Weiner (American author, DD class 200)


Still Reading:
The God Who is There: Finding Your Place in God's Story by D.A. Carson (Canadian author, DD class 200)
When I Don't Desire God by John Piper (American author, DD class 200)
 

Finished:
36. That Old Cape Magic by Richard Russo (American author, DD class 800)
35. Sandstorm by James Rollins (American author, DD class 800)
34. Like Water for Chocolate by Laura Esquivel (Mexican Author, DD class 800)
33. The Sex Lives of Cannibals: Adrift in the Equatorial Pacific by J. Maarten Troost (Dutch Author, DD class 900)
32. Bill Bryson's African Diary by Bill Bryson (American author, DD class 900) 
31. The Millionaires by Brad Meltzer (American author, DD class 800) 
30. Beautiful Ruins by Jess Walter (American author, DD class 800) 
29.The Sherlockian by Graham Moore (American author, DD class 800) 
28. Beautiful Creatures by Kami Garcia and Margaret Stohl (American authors, DD class 800)
27. A Walk in the Woods by Bill Bryson (American author, DD class 900)
26. The Last Camellia by Sarah Jio (American author, DD class 800)
25. Cutting for Stone by Abraham Verghese (Ethiopian author, DD class 800)
24. Having Hard Conversations by Jennifer Abrams (American author, DD class 300)
23.The End of Your Life Book Club by Will Schwalbe (American author, DD class 600) 
22. The Infernal Devices #3: The Clockwork Princess by Cassandra Clare (American author, DD class 800)
21. To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee (American author, DD class 800)
20. Why Revival Tarries by Leonard Ravenhill (British author, DD class 200)
19. The Infernal Devices #2: Clockwork Prince by Cassandra Clare (American author, DD class 800)
18. The Infernal Devices: Clockwork Angel by Cassandra Clare (American author, DD class 800)
17. God's Big Picture: Tracing the Story-Line of the Bible by Vaughan Roberts (British author, DD class 200)
16.The Weed that Strings the Hangman's Bag: A Flavia de Luce Mystery by Alan Bradley (Canadian Author, DD Class 800) 
15.The Geography of Bliss: One Grump's Search for the Happiest Places in the World by Eric Weiner (American author, DD class 900) 
14. Prodigy by Marie Lu (Chinese author, DD class 800)
13. Unbroken: A World War II Story of Survival, Resilience, and Redemption by Laura Hillenbrand (American author, DD class 900)
12. The Disappearing Spoon: And Other Tales of Madness, Love, and the History of the World from the Periodic Table of the Elements by Sam Kean (American author, DD class 500)
11. The Spirit Catches You and You Fall Down: A Hmong Child, Her American Doctors, and the Collision of Two Cultures by Anne Fadiman (American Author, DD class 600)
10. A Praying Life: Connecting with God in a Distracting World by Paul Miller (American author, DD class 200)
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)
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