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Book a Week in 2013 - Week Thirty-Four


Robin M
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Happy Sunday, dear hearts!  Today is the start of week 34 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 - More book news:  Oh my aching wishlist.  Just when I think I can resist adding to my wishlist or buying more books to add to my already teetering book stacks, Publisher Weekly has to come out with their 2013 Fall Books preview.  Of course, there are a few on them that I can't resist.  I just had to torture, err, share them with you. Such as Margaret Atwood's MaddAdam, Kevin Barry's book of Irish short stories Dark Lies the Island, John Lawton's spy series Then We Take Berlin and Pierre Lemaitre's american debut of Alex. Quite a few that will go well with the Continental challenge.

 

August is Shakespeare Reading Month - read Richard II, Henry IV, Part 1, Henry IV, Part 2 and Henry V along with Shari or pick one you've been meaning to read.

 

Stacia's Hot Writers Week: Keep it clean gals so we don't get in trouble.  

 

 

 

 

 

 

What are you reading this week?

 

 

 

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Continuing my marathon read of Laurell K. Hamilton's Anita Blake series.  1 1/2 books to go and I'll be finished.  Also reading writing book Journey's under the Moon by Michael Heibert and listening to Nora Robert's Heaven and Earth, book 2 in her Three Sisters Island trilogy. 

 

 

Here's another sexy author for you - Jack Kerouac

 

 

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Oh, Robin, that Ray Bradbury pic has got to be from the swingin' 70s! :lol: I may have to put the dude on my Oct. reading list just for daring to pose like that!

 

Jack Kerouac looks better than he writes, imo. :tongue_smilie: (Wasn't a fan of On the Road, can you tell?) I'll put him in the eye candy but not literary candy pile. :laugh:

 

Have loads going on the next few days, so I'm not sure I'll find author pics to post until later in the week. I'm still partial to that old pic of Hemingway. May have to move The Sun Also Rises up higher on my list.

 

Posted in threads so much last week that I finished no reading. :tongue_smilie: Sill working on Poe's Pym, the non-fiction Siberia book, & The Complete Works of Marvin K. Mooney. Hoping to finish at least one this week....

 

P.S. I believe Violet Crown also should get credit for Hot Writers week!

 

P.P.S. Ok, ok. You broke me already. Had to look up one or two....

 

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

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 Ă¢â‚¬â€œ 40 that IĂ¢â‚¬â„¢ve read in 2013.

 

41. If on a winterĂ¢â‚¬â„¢s night a traveler by Italo Calvino (5 stars). Challenge: Continental Ă¢â‚¬â€œ 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 Ă¢â‚¬â€œ Europe (England).

43. The Late Mattia Pascal by Luigi Pirandello (3 stars). Challenge: Continental Ă¢â‚¬â€œ Europe (Italy).

44. StokerĂ¢â‚¬â„¢s Manuscript by Royce Prouty (4 stars).

45. Captain Alatriste by Arturo PĂƒÂ©rez-Reverte (3 stars). Challenge: Continental Ă¢â‚¬â€œ Europe (Spain).

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

47. Second Person Singular by Sayed Kashua (4 stars). Challenge: Continental Ă¢â‚¬â€œ Asia (Israel).

48. The Kreutzer Sonata by Leo Tolstoy (3.5 stars). Challenge: Continental Ă¢â‚¬â€œ Europe/Asia (Russia).

49. The Book of the Unknown: Tales of the Thirty-Six by Jonathon Keats (3 stars).

50. Borges and the Eternal Orangutans by Luis Fernando Verissimo (5 stars). Challenge: Continental Ă¢â‚¬â€œ South America (Brazil & Argentina)

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My, that is a young Calvino!

 

Funny how the mature guys are attracting me these days. He has passed away but one of my favorite authors is John Fowles.  I need to reread The Magus before the year is over.

 

 

 

Closer to home is North Carolina author Clyde Edgerton. 

 

 

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Leave it to me to derail Stacia's Hot Writer's theme but I think I will be forgiven for a rabbit trail on Hot Conductors.  In London recently I attended a BBC Proms concert at Royal Albert Hall where conductor Jules Buckley was greeted by groupies in the audience. Here is a musical prodigy for those of you in search of one.

 

 

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I can't believe I forgot to post last week! I have been busy working on starting up a website with a friend, and I haven't gotten much reading done. In the past couple weeks I have read The Picture of Dorian Gray and about half of the 9th Ranger's Apprentice book - Halt's Peril.

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I read The Right Attitude to Rain - 4 Stars. 

 

9780349118055.jpg

 

 

MY RATING SYSTEM

5 Stars

Fantastic, couldn't put it down

4 Stars

Really Good

3 Stars

Enjoyable

2 Stars

Just Okay Ă¢â‚¬â€œ nothing to write home about

1 Star

Rubbish Ă¢â‚¬â€œ waste of my money and time. Few books make it to this level, since I usually give up on them if theyĂ¢â‚¬â„¢re that bad.

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I have to say that picture of Italio Calvino is far more handsome then the one dd and I found last night. Just downloaded another of his books. "Numbers in the Dark". I need more time to read! The stack is getting out of control.

 

I finished a couple of library ebooks. "Lost Legacy" by Dana Mentick and "Edge of Black" by JT Ellison. Edge of Black was the superior romance novel in this case. Interesting suspense story in the background concerning a terrorist attack on DC.

 

I am going to give "Grendel" by John Gardner a try next. Mainly as a preread for dd although I really love Beowulf so looking forward to it. We are working on refining her booklist for the AP exam and this looks like it has potential. She is planning to take it in two years so we get to enjoy the process a bit!

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This week it was Brideshead Revisited by Evelyn Waugh, another one that was strongly recommended her on the forum.  I enjoy all things British, so I really liked this one. 

 

1 - All The King's MenÂ Ă¢â‚¬â€œ Robert Penn Warren                                                            27 - Memoirs of a Geisha - Arthur Golden

2 - A Stranger in a Strange LandÂ Ă¢â‚¬â€œ Robert Heinlein                                                   28 - Selected Short Stories - William Faulkner
3 - A Handmaid's Tale - Margaret Atwood                                                                  29 - 100 Years of Solitude -  Gabriel Garcia Marquez
4 - Catcher in the RyeÂ Ă¢â‚¬â€œ J.D. Salinger                                                                      30 - Dune - Frank Herbert
5 - Fahrenheit 451 - Ray Bradbury                                                                           31 - Alchemist - Paulo Coelho
6 - The Grapes of WrathÂ Ă¢â‚¬â€œ John Steinbeck                                                                32 - One Day in the Life o Ivan Desinovich -  Aleksandr Solzhenitsyn
7 Ă¢â‚¬â€œÂ Murder on the Orient ExpressÂ Ă¢â‚¬â€œ Agatha Christie                                                  33 - Beloved - Toni Morrison
8 Ă¢â‚¬â€œÂ The Illustrated ManÂ Ă¢â‚¬â€œ Ray Bradbury                                                                   34 - Brideshead Revisited - Evelyn Waugh
9 Ă¢â‚¬â€œÂ The Great GatsbyÂ Ă¢â‚¬â€œ F. Scott Fitzgerald
10 Ă¢â‚¬â€œÂ The Hiding PlaceÂ Ă¢â‚¬â€œ Corrie Ten Boom
11 Ă¢â‚¬â€œÂ The Square Foot GardenÂ Ă¢â‚¬â€œ Mel Bartholomew
12 - Catch-22- Joseph Heller
13 - Heart of Darkness- Joseph Conrad
14 - Partners in Crime - Agatha Christie
15 - Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy - Douglas Adams
16 -O, Pioneers!- Willa Cather
17 - Miss Marple - The Complete Short Story Collection - Agatha Christie
18 - Ringworld - Larry Niven
19 - Portrait of the Artist as a Young Man- James Joyce
20 - Slaughterhouse Five - Kurt Vonnegut
21 - To Kill a Mockingbird - Harper Lee
22 - Game of Thrones - George R. R. Martin
23 - The Adventures of Augie March - Saul Bellow
24 - The War of the Worlds- H.G Wells
25 - The Girl with the Pearl Earring - Tracy Chevalier 
26 - The Golden Ball and Other Stories - Agatha Christie
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I just reread a favorite historical romance, namely The Spymaster's Lady by Joanna Bourne, which I recommend highly.  It's set in the Napoleonic era.  There is a revelation some seven chapters into the book that always impresses me.  The first time I read it, I had to go back to reread to that point to see how the author carried it off so successfully.

 

"She's never met a man she couldn't deceive...until now.

She's braved battlefields. She's stolen dispatches from under the noses of heads of state. She's played the worldly courtesan, the naive virgin, the refined British lady, even a Gypsy boy. But Annique Villiers, the elusive spy known as the Fox Cub, has finally met the one man she can't outwit."

 

Regards,

Kareni

 

 

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For some reason, I had a hankering this week for Anton Chekhov, and have started through my Collected Plays Of. Let's just remind ourselves who we're talking about here:

Chekhov.jpg

chekhov+copy.JPG

 

Now you may be thinking, "So he's passable by modern standards; but was Chekhov properly appreciated for his genius in 19th-century Russia?"

54364500_index_pic.jpg

Why yes, yes he was.

 

Also still (still!) reading Pindar, and The Intellectual Life of the British Working Classes.

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I am going to give "Grendel" by John Gardner a try next. Mainly as a preread for dd although I really love Beowulf so looking forward to it. We are working on refining her booklist for the AP exam and this looks like it has potential. She is planning to take it in two years so we get to enjoy the process a bit!

 

I HATED Grendel when I had to read it in AP English.  Yuck, yuck, yuck.   :ack2:   Now, don't ask me why, because that was centuries ago, and I only remember that I hate it.  LOL

 

 

I finished up Dragonfly in Amber, and due to a road trip, have made great headway into Voyager.  I have also started The Scottish Prisoner, also by Diana Gabaldon, that fits into the Outlander storyline.  I have several Randy Singer books I got from the library on my Kindle that I need to read, too.  We are starting school back Monday, so I don't know how much reading I'm going to get done this week.   :D

 

The Round Up

45. Dragonfly in Amber

44. By Reason of Insanity

43. Getting Stoned with Savages: A Trip Through the Islands of Fiji and Vanuatu

42. The Girl Who Chased the Moon

41. The Sugar Queen

40. 1Q84

39. The Long Winter

38. Warm Bodies

37. Garden Spells

36. The Peach Keeper

35. The Memory Keeper's Daughter

34. The First Four Years

33. These Happy Golden Years

32. Little Town on the Prairie

31. Amglish, in Like, Ten Easy Lessons: A Celebration of the New World Lingo

30. The Call of the Wild

29. By the Shores of Silver Lake

28. Pippi Longstocking

27. On the Banks of Plum Creek

26. Hiroshima

25. Farmer Boy

24. 1984

23. This Book is Full of Spiders

22. Little House on the Prairie

21.  Evolutionism and Creationism

20.  John Dies at the End

19.  Much Ado About Nothing

18.  Little House in the Big Woods

17.  Hooked

16.  Anne of the Island

15.  Looking for Salvation at the Dairy Queen

14.  Anne of Avonlea

13.  Anne of Green Gables

12.  The Invention of Hugo Cabret

11.  The Swiss Family Robinson

10.  Little Women

9.  Why We Get Fat

8.  The Djinn in the Nightingale's Eye

7.  Outlander

6.  The New Atkins for a New You

5.  A Leaf on the Wind of All Hallows

4.  Liberty and Tyranny

3.  Corelli's Mandolin

2.  The Neverending Story

1.  The Hobbit

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I am only 3 chapters in but so far it is OK. Although your post made me stop and think for a moment....If dd was in any other school would I be reading and rereading these books? I doubt it would even occur to me. It is fun because she loves having a reading companion and I an enjoying the books. So a lovely experience.

 

 

I HATED Grendel when I had to read it in AP English.  Yuck, yuck, yuck.   :ack2:   Now, don't ask me why, because that was centuries ago, and I only remember that I hate it.  LOL

 

 

I finished up Dragonfly in Amber, and due to a road trip, have made great headway into Voyager.  I have also started The Scottish Prisoner, also by Diana Gabaldon, that fits into the Outlander storyline.  I have several Randy Singer books I got from the library on my Kindle that I need to read, too.  We are starting school back Monday, so I don't know how much reading I'm going to get done this week.   :D

 

The Round Up

45. Dragonfly in Amber

44. By Reason of Insanity

43. Getting Stoned with Savages: A Trip Through the Islands of Fiji and Vanuatu

42. The Girl Who Chased the Moon

41. The Sugar Queen

40. 1Q84

39. The Long Winter

38. Warm Bodies

37. Garden Spells

36. The Peach Keeper

35. The Memory Keeper's Daughter

34. The First Four Years

33. These Happy Golden Years

32. Little Town on the Prairie

31. Amglish, in Like, Ten Easy Lessons: A Celebration of the New World Lingo

30. The Call of the Wild

29. By the Shores of Silver Lake

28. Pippi Longstocking

27. On the Banks of Plum Creek

26. Hiroshima

25. Farmer Boy

24. 1984

23. This Book is Full of Spiders

22. Little House on the Prairie

21.  Evolutionism and Creationism

20.  John Dies at the End

19.  Much Ado About Nothing

18.  Little House in the Big Woods

17.  Hooked

16.  Anne of the Island

15.  Looking for Salvation at the Dairy Queen

14.  Anne of Avonlea

13.  Anne of Green Gables

12.  The Invention of Hugo Cabret

11.  The Swiss Family Robinson

10.  Little Women

9.  Why We Get Fat

8.  The Djinn in the Nightingale's Eye

7.  Outlander

6.  The New Atkins for a New You

5.  A Leaf on the Wind of All Hallows

4.  Liberty and Tyranny

3.  Corelli's Mandolin

2.  The Neverending Story

1.  The Hobbit

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I'm having trouble finding my next fiction book. I'm still reading The Catcher in the Rye because I'm having ds start it next week. I started a new cozy mystery, Still Life, and it's just okay. Maybe I'll get more into it if I keep going.

I considered starting Infinite Jest. The Kindle version was on sale for $1.99 last month, so I grabbed it. However, if I'm going to be reading The Divine Comedy next month, I don't want to be in the middle of something big when it's time to start  reading Dante.

 

I am only 3 chapters in but so far it is OK. Although your post made me stop and think for a moment....If dd was in any other school would I be reading and rereading these books? I doubt it would even occur to me. It is fun because she loves having a reading companion and I an enjoying the books. So a lovely experience.


I agree! I know I wouldn't be reading/re-reading/pre-reading books that were assigned by a teacher.
 
 

So I've decided to see what the fuss and swooning is about and read Outlander. I'll report back if I've been bitten by the Jamie bug or not.


I tried it a few years ago because a dear friend is a complete Outlander fanatic and she kept trying to get me to read it. It took me 2 tries to finally get through it, and I had no desire to read any of the others. YMMV. It is after all, a very popular series.

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Since my last post, I've completed:

 

#68 Physics for Future Presidents: The Science Behind the Headlines (Richard A. Muller; 2009. 384. pages. Non-fiction.)
#67 Letters to a Young Scientist (Edward O. Wilson; 2013. 256 pages. Non-fiction.)
#66 Evil Eye: Four Novellas of Love Gone Wrong (Joyce Carol Oates; 2013. 224 pages. Fiction.)
#65 Gone with the Wind (Margaret Mitchell (1936); Anniversary ed. 2011. 960 pages. Fiction.) *
#64 A Short History of the United States: From the Arrival of Native American Tribes to the Obama Presidency (Robert V. Remini; 2009. 416 pages. Non-fiction.)
#63 Othello (William Shakespeare (1603); Folger ed. 2003. 368 pages. Drama.) *

#62 Hamlet (William Shakespeare (1603); Folger ed. 2003. 342 pages. Drama.) *
#61 A Long Way from Chicago (Richard Peck; 1998. 192 pages. Fiction.) *
#60 The Husband's Secret (Liane Moriarty; 2013. 416 pages. Fiction.)

 

We're on Chapter 94 of Moby-Dick, and by the end of the month, I will also have read The Merry Wives of Windsor and reread King Lear.

 

Robin, I had no idea there was a Shakespeare challenge! So fun! The Misses and I declared August our "Month of Shakespeare" when we planned our summer session. In July, we (re)read Macbeth and The Comedy of Errors in anticipation of the Illinois Shakespeare Festival, and in early August, we reread Othello in anticipation of seeing the closing performance of Othello: The Remix at the Chicago Shakespeare Theater (CST). For the remainder of the month, the Misses chose to reread Hamlet; we're also tackling The Merry Wives of Windsor because it is part of the CST's 2013/2014 line-up and King Lear, well, because it's King Lear. *wry grin*

 

* denotes a reread

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Lovers of old books will probably appreciate this.

 

Today my husband went to our local state university's library to check out a couple of books he was interested in reading to try to solve an Astronomy issue.  He checked out:

 

The Elements Of Astronomy by Simon Newcomb -- published in 1900

 

and

 

A manual of spherical and practical astronomy, embracing the general problems of spherical astronomy, the special applications to nautical astronomy, and the theory and use of fixed and portable astronomical instruments, with an appendix on the method of least squares.  by William Chauvenet -- published in 1863

 

These aren't just the copyright dates; these are copies of the book printed at those times.  There's something rather mind boggling about checking out a book that was published during the American Civil War. 

 

Regards,

Kareni

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So I've decided to see what the fuss and swooning is about and read Outlander. I'll report back if I've been bitten by the Jamie bug or not. 

I could. not. stand. it. :banghead:

 

By the way, I do miss you on the exercise threads. :)  :grouphug:

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Lovers of old books will probably appreciate this.

 

Today my husband went to our local state university's library to check out a couple of books he was interested in reading to try to solve an Astronomy issue.  He checked out:

 

The Elements Of Astronomy by Simon Newcomb -- published in 1900

 

and

 

A manual of spherical and practical astronomy, embracing the general problems of spherical astronomy, the special applications to nautical astronomy, and the theory and use of fixed and portable astronomical instruments, with an appendix on the method of least squares.  by William Chauvenet -- published in 1863

 

These aren't just the copyright dates; these are copies of the book printed at those times.  There's something rather mind boggling about checking out a book that was published during the American Civil War. 

 

Regards,

Kareni

 

I remember borrowing Faraday's Chemical History of a Candle on inter-library loan.  Imagine my amazement when the first American edition of the book, beautifully bound in leather, was handed to me.  It too had been published in the 1860's.

 

Huzzah to the libraries that keep old books!

 

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So I've decided to see what the fuss and swooning is about and read Outlander. I'll report back if I've been bitten by the Jamie bug or not. 

 

I love this series, so I've been bitten by the Jamie bug completely.  LOL  That said, it seems to be one of those books that people either love or hate.  I've never seen anyone in between.  I've been reading the series for at least 18 years, so it is kind of thrilling to see all the new excitement, but also hard in that I want to go around with a sign saying something to the effect of "I was Outlander, when Outlander wasn't cool!"   :lol:

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I just finished a very good mystery which some board research shows has previously been mentioned by 6packofun (back in 2008), elizabeth (2009), TeacherZee (2012), and prairiegirl (week 51, last year).

 

In the Bleak Midwinter (A Rev. Clare Fergusson and Russ Van Alstyne Mystery) by Julia Spencer-Fleming

 

From Publishers Weekly

 

In this debut novel, a riveting page-turner from start to finish, born-and-bred Virginian Clare Ferguson, newly ordained priest of St. Alban's Episcopal Church in the small upstate New York town of Millers Kill, is faced with not only an early December snowstorm and the bitter cold of her first Northern winter but also a conservative vestry, who apparently expended all their daring on hiring her, a female priest. When a baby is left on the church doorstep with a note designating that he be given to two of her parishioners, Clare calls in police chief Russ Van Alstyne. The foundling case quickly becomes an investigation into murder that will shatter the lives of members of her congregation, challenge her own feelings and faith and threaten her life. With her background as an army helicopter pilot, Clare is not a typical priest. Smart, courageous and tough, she is also caring, kindhearted and blessed with a refreshing personality. Likewise, the other characters are equally well developed and believable, except for the young pediatrician, who speaks more like a hip teenager than a professional. It is a cast readers will hope to meet again, while a fast-paced plot keeps the guess work going until the very end. Along the way, there is an exceptionally spine-chilling confrontation. The vivid setting descriptions will bring plenty of shivers, but the real strength of this stellar first is the focus on the mystery, which will delight traditional fans.
Copyright 2002 Cahners Business Information, Inc.

 

There exist a number of sequels which I would happily read. 

 

Regards,

Kareni

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I haven't checked in for most of the summer.  I've read several "good" books but have mostly been enjoying Thursday Next (Jasper Fforde) and Jack Reacher (Lee Child).  As far as heroines and heroes go, they are first rate.

 

  • The Complaints by Ian Rankin
  • Die Trying by Lee Child
  • Killing Floor by Lee Child
  • So Brave, Young, and Handsome by Leif Enger
  • One of Our Thursdays Is Missing by Jasper Fforde
  • Disobedience by Jane Hamilton
  • The Good Mother by Sue Miller
  • TransAtlantic by Colum McCann
  • The Last Original Wife by Dorothea Frank
  • Mom & Me & Mom by Maya Angelou
  • First Among Sequels by Jasper Fforde
  • Wuthering Heights by Emily Bronte
  • Something Rotten by Jasper Fforde
  • The Well of Lost Plots by Jasper Fforde
  • Jane Eyre by Charlotte Bronte
  • The Runaway King by Jennifer Nielsen
  • The False Prince by Jennifer Nielsen
  • Lost in a Good Book (A Thursday Next Novel) by Jasper Fforde
  • Consider the Fork: A History of How We Cook and Eat by Bee Wilson
  • The Light Between Oceans: A Novel by M.L. Stedman
  • The Eyre Affair: A Thursday Next Novel by Jasper Fforde
  • Legend by Marie Lu
  • Peace Like A River by Leif Enger
  • Tear Down the Walls! A History of the American Civil Rights Movement by Dorothy Sterling
  • The Language of Flowers by Vanessa Diffenbaugh
  • Falling Home by Karen White
  • Showdown Trail by Louis L'Amour
  • The Ruins of Lace by Iris Anthony
  • Clockwork Princess by Cassandra Clare
  • The Round House by Louise Erdrich
  • The Rules of Civility by Amor Towles
  • Thirteen Days/Ninety Miles: The Cuban Missile Crisis by Norman Finkelstein
  • City of Fallen Angels by Cassandra Clare
  • City of Ashes by Cassandra Clare
  • City of Glass by Cassandra Clare
  • City of Bones by Cassandra Clare
  • Eighty Days: Nellie Bly and Elizabeth Bisland's History-Making Race Around the World by Matthew Goodman
  • The Harbinger by Jonathan Cahn
  • The Dressmaker by Kate Alcott
  • One Shot by Lee Child
  • The Lace Reader by Brunonia Barry
  • The Dovekeepers by Alice Hoffman
  • Notorious Nineteen by Janet Evanovich
  • Flight Behavior by Barbara Kingsolver
  • What Alice Forgot by Liane Moriarty
  • Clockwork Prince by Cassandra Clare
  • Gone Girl by Gillian Flynn
  • The Merchant's Daughter by Melanie Dickerson
  • Clockwork Angel by Cassandra Clare
  • All Quiet on the Western Front by Erich Maria Remarque
  • The Best Bad Luck I Ever Had by Kristin Levine
  • Marmee & Louisa: The Untold Story of Louisa May Alcott and Her Mother by Eve LaPlante
  • Elsewhere: A Memoir by Richard Russo
 
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I'm on book 60 bc I preread all 9th grade lit and reading TONS of popular fiction this summer with my usual nonfiction. Finished The Book of Secrets, Elizabeth Joy Arnold in one day at the beach yesterday. Creepy in some ways, but I couldn't put it down until I knew what happened.

 

Next up, The Life List by Lori Nelson Spielman and The Lost Wife by Alyson Richman.

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I could. not. stand. it.  :banghead:

 

By the way, I do miss you on the exercise threads. :)  :grouphug:

Well, if I end up liking it I hope you won't be disappointed in me.

 

I can't seem to subscribe to the exercise thread, and I always forget to search for it. Nice to be missed. I'll find the thread.

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I'm still working on Houses of Leaves.  The writing is amazing, the book book is a slow read, very dense.  I'm at the point where it's starting to get weird, but I'm still liking it. I have a long way to go.  

 

How was Dragonfly in Amber?   I've looked at that book a few times.  I keep passing it over, but I can't remember why.

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Started Reading:

Man Seeks God: My Flirtations with the Divine by Eric Weiner (American author, DD class 200)

 

Still Reading:

When I Don't Desire God: How to Fight for Joy by John Piper (American author, DD class 200)

 

Finished:

38. Inferno by Dan Brown (American author, DD class 800)

37. That Old Cape Magic by Richard Russo (American author, DD class 800)

36. The God Who is There: Finding Your Place in God's Story by D.A. Carson (Canadian author, DD class 200)

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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I love this series, so I've been bitten by the Jamie bug completely.  LOL  That said, it seems to be one of those books that people either love or hate.  I've never seen anyone in between.  I've been reading the series for at least 18 years, so it is kind of thrilling to see all the new excitement, but also hard in that I want to go around with a sign saying something to the effect of "I was Outlander, when Outlander wasn't cool!"   :lol:

 

I'm in-between. Definitely didn't love it. Made fun of it while I was reading it because it was predictable in many ways (okay, let's predict how many times she'll be saved from rape! okay, let's predict how often she'll nurse him back to health! okay, what's the pattern between intimate moments followed by moments of action and violence!) but I didn't hate it. I wouldn't have finished it if I did. It wasn't badly written, the intimacy wasn't crazily unrealistic and I appreciated that. It was just full of historical and romantic cliches. 

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Well, if I end up liking it I hope you won't be disappointed in me.

 

Of course not. :) We all have different tastes and different books appeal to us at different times in our lives. 

Glad you'll be back on the exercise threads. Hope to see you there more often and that you can find them. That can be a pain, I know. 

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Yuck. Terrible. But you may not want to listen to me since I don't like any of the books in that series. That whole spanking scene creeped me out... Among other scenes that I don't care to rehash.

Happy Birthday Heather! I posted a birthday message for you earlier today. Hope your day is a lovely one. 

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How's everyone else doing? :bigear:

My only challenges were 52 books and dusty books.

 

I'm on 57 of 52. I've abandoned the Dusty Books Challenge. My dusty books are dusty for a reason. :) That doesn't mean I won't occasionally go through my book list and pick an older one. I'm just not purposely doing it.

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So I've decided to see what the fuss and swooning is about and read Outlander. I'll report back if I've been bitten by the Jamie bug or not. 

 

Outlander was recommended to me as a historical fiction novel with a little time travel.  Whoa.  I felt a little deceived by that description.  :)  I thought it was an entertaining book and one of the better romance stories I've read.  I haven't carried on with the series though. 

 

Could it be that IĂ¢â‚¬â„¢ve only managed to finish one childĂ¢â‚¬â„¢s book this week?!?!  Eek.  I gotta kick it up a notch. 

 

Dragon Slippers by Jessica Day George Ă¢â‚¬â€œ Cute story.  Definitely a childrenĂ¢â‚¬â„¢s book though.  If you have 8-13 year old daughters who are in to fantasy then theyĂ¢â‚¬â„¢d love it.

 

In Progress:

 

Anne of Green Gables by LM Montgomery (read aloud)

At BertramĂ¢â‚¬â„¢s Hotel by Agatha Christie

Stiff Upper Lip, Jeeves by PG Wodehouse (audiobook)

 

2013 finished books:

 

58. Dragon Slippers by Jessica Day George (****)

57. The Blue Sword by Robin McKinley  (****)

56. In Cold Blood by Truman Capote (****)

55. Decorating is Fun by Dorothy Draper (****)

54. Bud, Not Buddy by Christopher Paul Curtis (****)

53. The MidwifeĂ¢â‚¬â„¢s Apprentice by Karen Cushman (****)

52. Maisie Dobbs by Jacqueline Winspear (** **)

51. Entertaining is Fun: How to be a Popular Hostess by Dorothy Draper  (*****)

50. The Regatta Mystery and Other Stories by Agatha Christie (audiobook) (***)

 

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It's gone a bit quiet the past couple of days so how's about we update our reading challenges progress?  Is anyone still even keeping track?

 

 

I'm on 49 out 52, which means I'm on track to far surpass any previous year.  Since the 52 book challenge started in 2009,  the most I'd read in a year had been 54 books, with last year being the worst ever at only 41 books!    My only challenge to myself this year was to read more, which I am!  

 

My current 3 books reflect my typical eclectic taste in genres and format: 

 

audiobook:  Moving Pictures by Terry Pratchett  

ebook:  If You Lived Here, I'd know Your Name by Heather Lende  (non-fiction)

library book:  Price of Love by Peter Robinson (A collection of short stories and DCI Banks novellas.)

 

I've got books by China Mieville and Carlos Ruiz Zafon collecting dust along with a short story collection by some of my favorite fantasy authors, I've got another Dan Simmons Hyperion-world book in my audible library, and several interesting titles waiting patiently on my iPad.   And yet I compulsively check the Kindle daily deals, or turn into the library parking lot on my way to the grocery store, as if I need to find other books to read!  

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I'm in the midst of lesson planning, plus  taking a creative writing class. We're officially supposed to start school today and our counselor from our homeschool charter  is coming over today to see what I've got planned so far.  The first couple weeks will be math review and getting us back into a routine.

 

I got off track with a reread of Laurel Hamilton's Anita Blake Vampire Hunter series.  Finished that last night and ready to move on to something a bit more literary.   Haven't decided what yet.  Have Calvino's book to finish, Things Fall Apart and Chocolat to read and I'm also working my way through Stephen King's Dark Tower series (on book 5)

 

I'm all over the map with the challenges and haven't updated my log lately but somewhere in the vicinity of 100 books completed.  Let's see:

 

Books versus Movies - 1

Continental Challenge - 1 book so far from each continent

Chunky books - 6  out of 12

Dusty Books - read 14 so far

Inspiration - 1 out of 12

Oh Canada - 1 (done)

 

Decided it's time for another buying ban for a couple months until clear some books from the nightstand. 

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