Book a Week in 2013 - week thirty seven

[Robin M]

Happy Sunday, dear hearts!  Today is the start of week 37 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 - Portrait of a Lady by Henry James: Highlighting the first chapter in Book #14 in SWB's list of great fiction in Well Educated Mind.  The story was first serialized The Atlantic Monthly and Macmillian's Magazine from 1880 to 1881, and then published as a book in 1881.

Found this tidbit on Flavorwire  - the Secret World of Fore Edge book paintings.
 
And did you know September is:


Adult Literacy Awareness Month
American Newspaper Month
Be Kind to Editors & Writers Month
Children's Books Month
Library Card Sign-Up Month
National Humor in Business Month
National Literacy Month
National School Success Month
National Shameless Promotions Month
Read-A-New-Book Month
Self-Improvement Month

I think we're doing a fine job of promoting literacy and reading, don't you. ;)  So drive or walk or run (whichever you prefer)  to the library, pick up a a new book on self improvement or humor, plus something for the kiddies. Don't forget hubby, something by Dave Barry will do. Have a family readalong as you teach your child to read and maybe aunt Bertha who prefers listening to audiobooks because she doesn't like to 'read' because she just doesn't have time. (nudge nudge wink wink) Oh!  Make sure all those pencils are sharpened.  How are lessons going by the way?   Now where did I leave that red pen of mine?


What are you reading this week?
 
 
 
 
Link to week 36

[Robin M]

 I finished reading If on a winter's night a traveler by Italo Calvino.  Thoroughly enjoyed it once I got in to it and had an "Aw" moment at the end. 

 

Also read Louise Penny's Still Life, the first book in her chief inspector Gamache novel. A few years back I read Brutal Telling and didn't appreciate it enough.  Now, with reading the first book, have fallen in love with the characters and look forward to reading the rest of the books in the series and giving Brutal Telling another go.

 

Not sure what's up next.  Perusing the shelves. 

[MomtoCandJ]

I'm currently reading Micheal Pollan books :)

[Paisley Hedgehog]

.

[Kim in Appalachia]

I finished House of Leaves last week.  Loved it!  What a crazy book.  It felt a bit like candy for the book lover.  So many references to classic literature, and the writing was excellent.  The author mananged to change styles and voices flawlessly.  

 

I don't want to give any of it away, but oh my goodness.  I wish I had someone IRL to talk to about the book.  I like an afternoon at Starbuck's going over little points. :)  I didn't find it creepy, but I don't get creeped out by books (now movies, totally different).

 

The book was just fun to read, maybe fun is the wrong word. It was a delightful challenge.  There was so much thought put into the details, and I appreciated it.  

 

I think some may find the book hard to get through, especially if you get lost in details.  It is a book that requires patience.  

 

I took the rest of the week off from reading.  I needed some time to let the book just sit in my head.  I just bought Ocean at the End of the Lane, by Gaimen.  I started it this morning.  It looks like a quick but enjoyable read.  His writing is so smooth compared to Danielewski's.  It's a good change of pace. 

[Kareni]

Found this tidbit on Flavorwire  - the Secret World of Fore Edge book paintings.

 

 

I'd never heard of fore edge paintings before!  Thanks for sharing the link, Robin.

 

Regards,

Kareni

[Violet Crown]

This morning finished

 

29. Hardy, Jude the Obscure.

 

While Hardy's not-so-subtle intention is that the reader should feel that the legal, social, and religious strictures on marriage should be done away with, so that the characters might be happy, all I could think was how very badly all these people needed therapy. I found the early sections of Jude, where Hardy critiques the social and institutional obstacles to an intellectual life that perpetuate the class system, much more interesting.

 

A famous passage, in which Jude, after years of self-taught Latin and Greek, has just been denied entrance to Christminster university and advised to stick to manual labor:

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

 

At ten o'clock he came away, choosing a circuitous route homeward to pass the gates of the College whose Head had just sent him the note.

 

The gates were shut, and by an impulse, he took from his pocket the lump of chalk which as a workman he usually carried there, and wrote along the wall:

 

'I have understanding as well as you; I am not inferior to you: yea, who knoweth not such things as these?'--Job xii.3.

[Just Robyn]

I read The Colossus and Other Poems by Sylvia Plath. I expected to like it more because people talk about how dark she is. There were a few I liked, but while I found them skilfully crafted, they didn't evoke any emotion in me.

 

I also finished Innovate or Die! by Jack Matson. It took quite a chunk of this book for me to really get the concept he was explaining (Intelligent Fast Failure), but it was short and easy and at least a little useful.

[eaglei]

Another slow reading week . . .

 

Finished:

 

#55 - The Bridge, by Karen Kingsbury.  Typical Kingsbury and easy Christian fiction; however, I really enjoyed this one.

 

Currently reading these two:

 

#56 - Dinner at the Homesick Restaurant, by Anne Tyler.  Absorbing, as Tyler generally is.

 

#57 - Running Around (and Such) [Lizzie Searches for Love, Book One], by Linda Byler.  So many Amish fiction readers at work have recommended this series that I finally decided to try it.  I'm not sure about it so far.  It's reading very slowly and I am also surprised at the deviations from what has been consistent with other Amish fiction writers - such as a mouthy, rebellious child who receives little if any correction; an ill-kept house; moving; styling their hair and wearing stylish hair barrettes and such; openness of the teen about "dating" and introducing the boy to the family the night of the first date (as opposed to the quiet getaways and sneaking back in of other Amish fiction books); the arrival of said boy in a car with a paid driver, then using the girls' horse and buggy, rather than coming in his courting buggy.  Perhaps this is more realistic???  I don't know.  The writing style itself is bogging me down.  There's not a doubt in my mind that I will finish Tyler's book first, then continue to slog through this one, hoping it picks up so I can complete the trilogy . . .

[mumto2]

Basically I am doing my weekly Sunday not post so I can easily find the thread. I have had a busy couple of days and haven't been able to settle on any book. Trying to finish "Blameless" by Gail Carriger the third book in the Soulless series.

[Miss Innocent]

I finished The Reason for God by Timothy Keller this morning and managed to make good headway today with my two ongoing books, 50 People Christians Should Know by Warren W. Wiersbe and The History of the Medieval World by SWB, after having a rather slow reading week (started back to 'proper' - not holiday - school this week).

 

I've just started a re-read of an old childhood favourite of mine that I've wanted to go back to for a really long time - The Warden's Niece by Gillian Avery. The blurb on the back reads:

 

Maria hated school. She couldn't do her lessons and the threat of having to wear a label marked 'slut' for blotchy work was the last straw. So, on 18th May 1875, she decided to  run away. And as her secret ambition was to be a professor at Oxford, it was not unnatural for her to escape to her uncle, the Warden of Canterbury College.

 

That was the beginning of a wildly adventurous summer with the three Smith brothers, aided and abetted by their splendidly eccentric tutor. But it was a summer when the Warden's niece proved to herself and to the dusty scholars and to the boys - who would grudgingly admit that she was slightly better than most girls - that she too could carry out a proper piece of research, gather together the clues and solve a mystery quite by herself.

 

I loved this book so much as a child and it made me determined to learn Latin and Greek (which I'm glad to say I got a chance to - very unusual at my state/public school). The mystery mentioned isn't the usual children's book mystery but a historical mystery.

 

Has anyone else ever read this book? I have never found anyone who has!

 

Emma

[gingersmom]

I'm reading We bought a Zoo. 

 

Disclaimer: nothing like the movie. 

 

Its really good and really fascinating to hear how these ordinary people (an extended family) decided to sell almost everything and buy a zoo. 

[Heather in Neverland]

Started Reading:

Mariana by Susanna Kearsley (Canadian author, DD class 800)

 

Still Reading:

The Map of the Sky by Felix J. Palma (Spanish author, DD class 800)

 

Finished:

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

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

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)

[prairiegirl]

I finished Book #52--The Graceling by Kristin Cashore.  I didn't get to 52 last year so I am pleased with my reading this year.  Graceling is a YA book but one of the better ones that I have read.  

 

I am in the process of reading "Desiring the Kingdom" by James K.A. Smith

 

"The Art of Teaching" by Gilbert Highet, and 

 

"Rosalind Franklin: the Dark Lady of DNA" by Brenda Maddox. 

[Mom-ninja.]

I finished Book #52--The Graceling by Kristin Cashore.  I didn't get to 52 last year so I am pleased with my reading this year. 

 

:hurray:

 

[mlbuchina]

I finished a book this week!!  Yea!  I finished Voyager, and loved it all over again, but I think I am going to take a little break from the Outlander series and get into some other things.  I have started Angelmaker, and am really enjoying it.  Thanks for recommending it, whoever started all of us on it.   :D

 

My dh picked up a book-on-cd for me at a yard sale this weekend.  Unfortunately, it is abridged!  I don't think those count, do they?  It is A Walk in the Woods, by Bill Bryson.  Heather in Neverland, I see that you have read that one this year.  Did you enjoy it?  I can't remember if you said or not.

 

I have my October spooky books all picked out and ready to go.  Hopefully, I will be able to get through them before October is finished.  Maybe I will start in on them a little early once I finish Angelmaker.  It's going to be getting back to vampire roots for me with Dracula, The Historian, and Vlad: The Final Confession.  I'm kinda excited!

 

The Round Up

46. Voyager

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

[ladydusk]

I finished Book #52--The Graceling by Kristin Cashore. I didn't get to 52 last year so I am pleased with my reading this year. Graceling is a YA book but one of the better ones that I have read.

 

I am in the process of reading "Desiring the Kingdom" by James K.A. Smith

 

"The Art of Teaching" by Gilbert Highet, and

 

"Rosalind Franklin: the Dark Lady of DNA" by Brenda Maddox.

Congrats on 52!

[Violet Crown]

I finished Book #52--The Graceling by Kristin Cashore.  I didn't get to 52 last year so I am pleased with my reading this year.  Graceling is a YA book but one of the better ones that I have read.  

 

I am in the process of reading "Desiring the Kingdom" by James K.A. Smith

 

"The Art of Teaching" by Gilbert Highet, and 

 

"Rosalind Franklin: the Dark Lady of DNA" by Brenda Maddox.

 

Congratulations! I hope you're enjoying Highet. The Art of Teaching was a book I read at the outset of our homeschooling journey, and it was a strong influence on my approach to education.

[Maus]

Completed:

Book #46 - "The Bronze Bow" by Elizabeth George Speare.  I missed this one growing up. "The Witch of Blackbird Pond" was one of my favorites, and I read "Calico Captive" as well. Now I'll have to see if "The Sign of the Beaver" seems familiar.

Book #45 - "Heart of Darkness" by Joseph Conrad.  (WEM)
Book #44 - "The Gifts of Imperfection" by Brene Brown.
Book #43 - "I Thought It Was Just Me (But It Isn't)" by Brene Brown.
Book #42 - "Be Still: Using Principles of the Gospel to Lower Anxiety" by G. Sheldon Martin.
Book #41 - "Daring Greatly" - by Brene Brown.
Book #40 - "The New Testament" - Authorized King James Version (1611). (Inspiration)
Book #39 - "Teachings of Presidents of the Church - Lorenzo Snow"
Book #38 - "The Red Badge of Courage" by Stephen Crane. (WEM)
Book #37 - "Recovering Charles" by Jason F. Wright.
Book #36 - "The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn" by Mark Twain. (WEM)
Book #35 - "Maphead" by Ken Jennings.
Book #34 - "Portrait of a Lady" by Henry James. (WEM)
Book #33 - "Earthly Deligihts" by Kerry Greenwood. (Australian author, Australian setting.)
Book #32 - "The Year of Learning Dangerously" by Quinn Cummings.
Book #31 - "The Uncommon Appeal of Clouds" by Alexander McCall Smith. (Zimbabwe born/Scottish author, Scottish setting.)
Book #30 - "The Forgotten Affairs of Youth" by Alexander McCall Smith. (Zimbabwe born/Scottish author, Scottish setting.)
Book #29 - "The Charming Quirks of Others" by Alexander McCall Smith. (Zimbabwe born/Scottish author, Scottish setting.)
Book #28 - "I am Half-Sice of Shadows" by Alan Bradley. (Canadian author, English setting.)
Book #27 - ""Brainiac: Adventures in the Curious, Competitive, Compulsive World of Trivia Buffs" by Ken Jennings.
Book #26 - "Because I Said So!: The Truth Behind the Myths, Tales & Warnings Every Generation Passes Down to Its Kids" by Ken Jennings.
Book #25 - "A Red Herring Without Mustard" by Alan Bradley. (Canadian author, English setting.)
Book #24 - "The Case of the Man Who Died Laughing" by Tarquin Hall. (British author, Indian setting.)
Book #23 - "The Lost Art of Gratitude" by Alexander McCall Smith. (Zimbabwe born/Scottish author, Scottish setting.)
Book #22 - "The Weed That Strings the Hangman's Bag" by Alan Bradley. (Canadian author, English setting.)
Book #21 - "Academic Homeschooling: How to Give Your Child an Amazing Education and Survive" by Tracy Chatters.
Book #20 - "The Comforts of a Muddy Saturday" by Alexander McCall Smith. (Zimbabwe born/Scottish author, Scottish setting.)
Book #19 - "The Return of the Native" by Thomas Hardy. (WEM.)
Book #18 - "The Careful Use of Compliments" by Alexander McCall Smith. (Zimbabwe born/Scottish author, Scottish setting.)
Book #17 - "The Right Attitude to Rain" by Alexander McCall Smith. (Zimbabwe born/Scottish author, Scottish setting.)
Book #16 - "Inspector Singh Investigates: A Most Peculiar Malaysian Murder" by Shamini Flint. (Singaporean author, Malaysian setting.)
Book #15 - "Friends, Lovers, Chocolate" by Alexander McCall Smith. (Zimbabwe born/Scottish author, Scottish setting.)
Book #14 - "Sweetness at the Bottom of the Pie" by Alan Bradley. (Canadian author, English setting.)
Book #13 - "Portuguese Irregular Verbs" by Alexander McCall Smith. (Zimbabwe born/]Scottish author, German character, German/Swiss/Italian/Ireland/Indian settings.)
Book #12 - "In Cold Pursuit" by Sarah Andrews. (Antarctica setting.)
Book #11 - "Anna Karenina" by Leo Nikoleyevich Tolstoy. (Russian; or WEM challenge.)
Book #10 - "The Sunday Philosophy Club" by Alexander McCall Smith. (Zimbabwe born/Scottish author, Scottish setting.)
Book #9 - "The Limpopo Academy of Private Detection" by Alexander McCall Smith. (]Zimbabwe born/Scottish author, African setting)
Book #8 - "The Saturday Big Tent Wedding Party" by Alexander McCall Smith. (Zimbabwe born/Scottish author, African setting)
Book #7 - "The Double Comfort Safari Club" by Alexander McCall Smith. (Zimbabwe born/Scottish author, African setting)
Book #6 - " Tea Time for the Traditionally Built" by Alexander McCall Smith. (Zimbabwe born/Scottish author, African setting)
Book #5 - "Crime and Punishment" by Fydor Dostoevsky. (Russian; or WEM challenge.)
Book #4 - "The Miracle of Speedy Motors" by Alexander McCall Smith. (Zimbabwe born/Scottish author, African setting)
Book #3 - "The Good Husband of Zebra Drive" by Alexander McCall Smith. (]Zimbabwe born/Scottish author, African setting)
Book #2 - "Blue Shoes and Happiness" by Alexander McCall Smith. (Zimbabwe born/Scottish author, African setting)
Book #1 - "In the Company of Cheerful Ladies" by Alexander McCall Smith. (Zimbabwe born/Scottish author, African setting)

[Stacia]

Had a good reading week. (Helped that I was out of town w/out kids & sick too, so not much else to do but read.)

 

Finished three that I had in progress....

Angelmaker by Nick Harkaway -- super fun spy/gangster type book, loved it, 5 stars

The Complete Works of Marvin K. Mooney by Christopher Higgs -- cool experimental lit, 5 stars

The Shaman's Coat: A Native History of Siberia by Anna Reid -- an uneven, but interesting, look at indigenous groups in Siberia, 3 stars

 

And read one (that I needed to read for my book club)...

The Perks of Being a Wallflower by Stephen Chbosky -- decent teen book, better than some out there, but not really my genre, 3 stars

 

Not sure what I'll start next. Still getting over being sick, am back home, & have a super-busy week. So, I'm not sure I'll even have any reading time this week. I hope I can eke out some time & find something else to dive into....

 

--------------------------
My Goodreads Page
My PaperbackSwap Page

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).

47. Second Person Singular by Sayed Kashua (4 stars). Challenge: Continental – Asia (Israel).

48. The Kreutzer Sonata by Leo Tolstoy (3.5 stars). Challenge: Continental – 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 – South America (Brazil & Argentina).

 

51. The Narrative of Arthur Gordon Pym of Nantucket by Edgar Allan Poe (4 stars). Challenge: Continental – Antarctica.

52. Pym by Mat Johnson (3 stars). Challenge: Continental – Antarctica.

53. Angelmaker by Nick Harkaway (5 stars).

54. The Complete Works of Marvin K. Mooney by Christopher Higgs (5 stars).

55. The Perks of Being a Wallflower by Stephen Chbosky (3 stars).

56. The Shaman’s Coat: A Native History of Siberia by Anna Reid (3 stars). Challenge: Continental – Asia (Siberia).

[JennW in SoCal]

I finished Angelmaker tonight!   :party:What a fun read.  It kept me guessing to the end, kept me laughing and it tied things up nicely.

That is book 51 for the year, though I can't quite claim #50 or #49 yet as they are both near completion yet not quite finished.  (Dick Van Dyke's memoir and the collection of essays about life in Alaska by Heather Lende)

 

I'm thinking I might start listening to more of the Master and Commander series while I decide which print book to tackle next.  I'm in the mood for Master and Commander because I got to perform some music from the movie -- anyone remember the end of the movie and the piece Aubrey and Maturen start to play?  That is the piece!  Good fun.  

 

 

[Robin M]

Started reading Faithful Place by Tana French - sort of meh, so far.  Not as good as the other two but going to give it more of a chance.

 

ETA: also continuing Dark Towers saga by Stephen King and reading # 5 Wolves of the Calla on my nook. 

[luvnlattes]

Also read Louise Penny's Still Life, the first book in her chief inspector Gamache novel. A few years back I read Brutal Telling and didn't appreciate it enough.  Now, with reading the first book, have fallen in love with the characters and look forward to reading the rest of the books in the series and giving Brutal Telling another go.

 

I stumbled on Penny and Inspector Gamache last month and really liked them. I'm adding Still Life to my list. :)

 

I finished Book #52

 

Sweet!!!

[BigMamaBird]

Back in Week 4 I read Catcher in the Rye by J.D. Salinger and H.A.T.E.D. it!  Seriously hated it!  Many people said they hated it too because of Holden's character but that Salinger was a really good author and I should give Franny and Zooey a try because it's much better.  Well, I have come to conclusion that I just don't like Salinger because I found all the characters in Franny and Zooey to be just as despicable as Holden was.  The way Zooey treated his Mom made me want to climb into the book and kick his little Emo butt around the room a few times!  I cannot work up any sympathy for a bunch of spoiled, rich, bored kids who sit around moping about how awful the world is.  The young people in Beloved and Grapes of Wrath have something to moan about, their lives are hard and wretched.  But these characters that Salinger writes about are privileged, New York rich kids who simply sit around manufacturing their drama and making life miserable for the folks who decide to read the novels.  I'm done with Salinger.  I have little tolerance for the kind of people he writes about and by extension, him!

 

 

 

 

1 - All The King's Men â€“ Robert Penn Warren                                                            27 - Memoirs of a Geisha - Arthur Golden

2 - A Stranger in a Strange Land â€“ 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 Rye â€“ J.D. Salinger                                                                      30 - Dune - Frank Herbert
5 - Fahrenheit 451 - Ray Bradbury                                                                           31 - Alchemist - Paulo Coelho
6 - The Grapes of Wrath â€“ John Steinbeck                                                                32 - One Day in the Life o Ivan Desinovich -  Aleksandr Solzhenitsyn
7 – Murder on the Orient Express â€“ Agatha Christie                                                  33 - Beloved - Toni Morrison
8 – The Illustrated Man â€“ Ray Bradbury                                                                   34 - Brideshead Revisited - Evelyn Waugh
9 – The Great Gatsby â€“ F. Scott Fitzgerald                                                                35 - Dimanche - Irene Nemirovsky
10 – The Hiding Place â€“ Corrie Ten Boom                                                                36 - Babbitt - Sinclair Lewis 
11 – The Square Foot Garden â€“ Mel Bartholomew                                                     37 - Franny and Zooey - J.D. Salinger 
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

[Mom-ninja.]

I finished a book this week!!  Yea!  I finished Voyager, and loved it all over again, but I think I am going to take a little break from the Outlander series and get into some other things.

 

My dh picked up a book-on-cd for me at a yard sale this weekend.  Unfortunately, it is abridged!  I don't think those count, do they?  It is A Walk in the Woods, by Bill Bryson.  Heather in Neverland, I see that you have read that one this year.  Did you enjoy it?  I can't remember if you said or not.

 

I have my October spooky books all picked out and ready to go.  Hopefully, I will be able to get through them before October is finished.  Maybe I will start in on them a little early once I finish Angelmaker.  It's going to be getting back to vampire roots for me with Dracula, The Historian, and Vlad: The Final Confession.  I'm kinda excited!

 

I'm still reading Outlander and eh, it's okay. Nothing to shout about so far. Does this book end with a cliffhanger? Cause I hate that. I probably won't read the other books.

 

I read A Walk in the Woods a few years ago. I liked it. Made me chuckle.

 

Don't get to excited about Dracula. I read it a couple months ago, and it left me feeling unsatisfied. Very much so.

 

 

 

 

Completed:

Book #46 - "The Bronze Bow" by Elizabeth George Speare.  I missed this one growing up. "The Witch of Blackbird Pond" was one of my favorites, and I read "Calico Captive" as well. Now I'll have to see if "The Sign of the Beaver" seems familiar.

 

I really like Sign of the Beaver.

 

 

 

I've been reading Endangered Minds and I think I'm going to stop. I'm in chapter 3 and it's just a dated book. So far she's said nothing I don't know. In fact I've read more recent books that go into much more depth. So, I feel like I'm wasting my time.

[Stacia]

I think we're doing a fine job of promoting literacy and reading, don't you. ;)  So drive or walk or run (whichever you prefer)  to the library, pick up a a new book on self improvement or humor, plus something for the kiddies. Don't forget hubby, something by Dave Barry will do.

 

Yep, I think this group does a fine job! LOL.

 

 I finished reading If on a winter's night a traveler by Italo Calvino.  Thoroughly enjoyed it once I got in to it and had an "Aw" moment at the end. 

...

Not sure what's up next.  Perusing the shelves. 

 

Glad you hear you liked Calvino's book. I'm w/ you on the perusing the shelves.... I do have a lot of requests from the library that should start arriving the next week or so & I'll be inundated then. Until then, I'm avoiding starting The Witches of Eastwick (my other book club book). Don't know why I don't want to read it....

 

Not a good reading week for me.  Everything I tried to read was blah, even the books I was initially excited about.  In desperation, I pulled an old Anne Rice book, The Witching Hour, off the shelf.  While I never got into her vampire series or subsequent books, I did really like the Mayfair witch saga so I'm giving it another go.

 

And just btw, in the spirit of the RIP Challenge, I did bring my blog back from the dead.  (ha! chortle!)  No new ideas that I haven't posted here yet, but hopefully soon.

 

Haven't read Anne Rice in ages & ages. I remember liking both the vampire series & the witch series.

 

LOL about your 'rising from the dead' blog.

 

I finished House of Leaves last week.  Loved it!  What a crazy book.  It felt a bit like candy for the book lover.  So many references to classic literature, and the writing was excellent.  The author mananged to change styles and voices flawlessly.  

 

I don't want to give any of it away, but oh my goodness.  I wish I had someone IRL to talk to about the book.  I like an afternoon at Starbuck's going over little points. :)  I didn't find it creepy, but I don't get creeped out by books (now movies, totally different).

 

The book was just fun to read, maybe fun is the wrong word. It was a delightful challenge.  There was so much thought put into the details, and I appreciated it.  

 

I think some may find the book hard to get through, especially if you get lost in details.  It is a book that requires patience.  

 

I took the rest of the week off from reading.  I needed some time to let the book just sit in my head.  I just bought Ocean at the End of the Lane, by Gaimen.  I started it this morning.  It looks like a quick but enjoyable read.  His writing is so smooth compared to Danielewski's.  It's a good change of pace. 

 

I so wish I could read House of Leaves. But, I live in a house, so that book (about a creepy house) is a no-go for me. LOL.

 

Curious to hear your review of the Gaiman book. I need to read more of his stuff.

 

Has anyone else ever read this book? I have never found anyone who has!

 

Well, I haven't, so your record still stands until someone else pipes up.

 

I didn't get to 52 last year so I am pleased with my reading this year.

 

:hurray:

[Stacia]

I have my October spooky books all picked out and ready to go.  Hopefully, I will be able to get through them before October is finished.  Maybe I will start in on them a little early once I finish Angelmaker.  It's going to be getting back to vampire roots for me with Dracula, The Historian, and Vlad: The Final Confession.  I'm kinda excited!

 

Sounds like you have a great line-up. I love Dracula & The Historian. Don't see the Vlad book in the library catalog (darn!), but did stumble across a promising looking book called Vlad by Carlos Fuentes.

 

I finished Angelmaker tonight!   :party:What a fun read.  It kept me guessing to the end, kept me laughing and it tied things up nicely.

That is book 51 for the year, though I can't quite claim #50 or #49 yet as they are both near completion yet not quite finished.  (Dick Van Dyke's memoir and the collection of essays about life in Alaska by Heather Lende)

 

I'm thinking I might start listening to more of the Master and Commander series while I decide which print book to tackle next.  I'm in the mood for Master and Commander because I got to perform some music from the movie -- anyone remember the end of the movie and the piece Aubrey and Maturen start to play?  That is the piece!  Good fun.  

 

Yay about Angelmaker. I found it a very satisfying read too.

 

I've never read any of the Master & Commander series. Do they need to be read in order?

 

 

Back in Week 4 I read Catcher in the Rye by J.D. Salinger and H.A.T.E.D. it!  Seriously hated it! 

 

 

I keep meaning to go back & read this. I read it so long ago (& remember liking it)....

[Violet Crown]

 

Back in Week 4 I read Catcher in the Rye by J.D. Salinger and H.A.T.E.D. it! Seriously hated it! Many people said they hated it too because of Holden's character but that Salinger was a really good author and I should give Franny and Zooey a try because it's much better. Well, I have come to conclusion that I just don't like Salinger because I found all the characters in Franny and Zooey to be just as despicable as Holden was. The way Zooey treated his Mom made me want to climb into the book and kick his little Emo butt around the room a few times! I cannot work up any sympathy for a bunch of spoiled, rich, bored kids who sit around moping about how awful the world is. The young people in Beloved and Grapes of Wrath have something to moan about, their lives are hard and wretched. But these characters that Salinger writes about are privileged, New York rich kids who simply sit around manufacturing their drama and making life miserable for the folks who decide to read the novels. I'm done with Salinger. I have little tolerance for the kind of people he writes about and by extension, him!

 

 

LOL! I just have to say that, in this book I've been reading forever about the British working class and their struggles to obtain an education, this was one of the common observations found in 19th-century and early 20th-century memoirs. People who worked in coal mines, or at hard domestic service, or metalworks, for their living found it difficult to relate to the troubles of the upper- and middle-class as depicted in Victorian novels, and found them awfully whiney for people who had such easy lives.

[Robin M]

An interesting bit of news, albeit premature:

 

All of Tolstoy's books have been made available online.  However, the site is only in Russian at the moment and the english version is under construction.

 

Random House Hogarth imprint is doing a Shakespeare project in which they are having authors retell his stories. So far, Anne Tyler will do Taming of the Shrew, Jeannette Winterson The Winter's Tale, Margaret Atwood The Tempest and Howard Jacobson The Merchant of Venice.  Don't get too excited. The first book probably won't be out until 2016, the 400th anniversary of Shakespeare's death.

[mlbuchina]

I'm still reading Outlander and eh, it's okay. Nothing to shout about so far. Does this book end with a cliffhanger? Cause I hate that. I probably won't read the other books.

 

I read A Walk in the Woods a few years ago. I liked it. Made me chuckle.

 

Don't get to excited about Dracula. I read it a couple months ago, and it left me feeling unsatisfied. Very much so.

 

No, Outlander doesn't end in a cliffhanger, per se, but it does lead into the next book.  You don't have to read the next one to feel like you finished the first, so no worries there.  I'm sorry you aren't enjoying it more.

 

I'm looking forward to listening to A Walk in the Woods.  My dh was so proud of himself for finding it and bring it to me.  LOL  He really hopes it will count.  He said if the abridged version doesn't count, I can find the book at the library and read it.  He told me it shouldn't be hard to read after hearing most of it.  LOL

 

I will try to keep my expectations low for Dracula  .  I'm reading it more to have the original story in mind as I read all the variations on the theme.  I do hope I like it a little, at least.   :)

 

Sounds like you have a great line-up. I love Dracula & The Historian. Don't see the Vlad book in the library catalog (darn!), but did stumble across a promising looking book called Vlad by Carlos Fuentes.

 

 

Vlad does look interesting.  I may just have to add it to the list.  Drat! that your library doesn't have the other one.  Where's my pouty lips smiley?

[mlbuchina]

I just noticed that I have over a thousand posts now!!  Wow!

[mumto2]

For those of you planning to read Stokers Dracula I thought a travel video of the village of Whitby might be of interest. I read the book for the first time after out first visit. I know it is not a very professional one but it feels more like what we see when we visit there then the others I tried.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hCx_3dNgXKE

 

Edited one more time, hope this works.

[mumto2]

http://www.google.com/search?hl=en-US&ie=UTF-8&q=youtube+whitby+simon+clark

 

This is a youtube by a local(to me) horror author on where/how he gets his inspiration. Some good shots of the graveyard at Whitby which the other lacked. The London Underground book has made me a bit curious. The library has a copy on the shelves so I will pick it up later today.

[mumto2]

I did finish "Blameless" by Gail Carriger. I ended up really enjoying it. This series is a great blend of a light intensity vampire/werewolf book blended with steampunk. Waiting for the next book......

 

I downloaded several romance novels by favorite author's earlier this week. I needed something lighter. Just finished Marie Ferrarella's "Cavenaugh's Surrender". I love kindle library books! :)

[mlbuchina]

http://m.youtube.com/#/watch?feature=fvwrel&v=hCx_3dNgXKE

 

For those of you planning to read Stokers Dracula I thought a travel video of the village of Whitby might be of interest. I read the book for the first time after out first visit. I know it is not a very professional one but it feels more like what we see when we visit there then the others I tried.

 

The link took me to youtube's main page.  I'd love to see the video you were trying to post, though.  I saw the other one, and now I'm excited to be able to picture the setting better.  Thanks!

[Heather in Neverland]

My dh picked up a book-on-cd for me at a yard sale this weekend. Unfortunately, it is abridged! I don't think those count, do they? It is A Walk in the Woods, by Bill Bryson. Heather in Neverland, I see that you have read that one this year. Did you enjoy it? I can't remember if you said or not.

 

I have my October spooky books all picked out and ready to go. Hopefully, I will be able to get through them before October is finished. Maybe I will start in on them a little early once I finish Angelmaker. It's going to be getting back to vampire roots for me with Dracula, The Historian, and Vlad: The Final Confession. I'm kinda excited!

 

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I really enjoyed A Walk in the Woods. I thought it was interesting and really funny.

 

I also enjoyed The Historian. CREEPY. ;)

[mumto2]

 

 

Here is a different one. The walk up to the church is steep! Never have been figure out how in a trance she could do it. Posted this one for the bells in background. Dc's are on our villages bell ringing team. Both churches have eight bells so sound similar.

 

I hope this one works. I am trying to fix the other one and it keeps looking the same from my side -- pretty much like this one. Waiting for dh to help me. Lol

 

Edit: dh helped. They should both work now. Really sorry!

[Storm Bay]

Yes, here I am, finally here two weeks in a row for the first time since sometime before summer.

 

I read: 81. Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone

82. Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkeban

 I did mention that I read Andrew Klavan's The Truth of the Matter, I think, but if not, I did. I am slogging through the second Harry Potter, but am not impressed with this series. I'll read the 4th book & then I'm not sure if and/or when I'll continue. I may just read the last 2 chapters of the seventh book or something, since I'm long past feeling the need to read everything in something I don't care much for. The third book was a bit better than the other two, but not my cup of tea.

 

 

I finished Book #52--The Graceling by Kristin Cashore.  I didn't get to 52 last year so I am pleased with my reading this year.  Graceling is a YA book but one of the better ones that I have read.  

 

 

 

Congratulations!

 

Had a good reading week. (Helped that I was out of town w/out kids & sick too, so not much else to do but read.)

 

The Complete Works of Marvin K. Mooney by Christopher Higgs -- cool experimental lit, 5 stars

 

 

Any connection to the book I've enjoyed by Dr. Seuss, Marvin K. Mooney, Will You Please Go Now?

 

No, Outlander doesn't end in a cliffhanger, per se, but it does lead into the next book.  You don't have to read the next one to feel like you finished the first, so no worries there.  I'm sorry you aren't enjoying it more.

 

 

Correct. I read Outlander for an article I once wrote, didn't care much for it and never felt that I had to read on to finish it. I don't remember if there were any sequels out for it then or not.

 

http://m.youtube.com/#/watch?v=iEVr_AYj6TU&feature=relate

Here is a different one. The walk up to the church is steep! Never have been figure out how in a trance she could do it. Posted this one for the bells in background. Dc's are on our villages bell ringing team. Both churches have eight bells so sound similar.

I hope this one works. I am trying to fix the other one and it keeps looking the same from my side -- pretty much like this one. Waiting for dh to help me. Lol

 

I missed the first post--was this about Miley Cyrus, because it was a Miley Cyrus video link that came up. I'm not a fan of hers, so didn't watch it to see if there was a church in it.

[mumto2]

Michelle and Storm Bay --

 

I am pretty sure they will work now. Sorry!

[JennW in SoCal]

Thank you for the video of Whitby!  Two of the Peter Robinson mysteries I read earlier this year were set in Whitby, and to his credit as a writer, the town actually looks very much like what I had pictured as I read.

 

Nothing new reading-wise to report.

 

Oh, except Stacia, you asked about the Master and Commander series, whether they need to be read in order.  I don't think so, based on my expert opinion after reading 1 and half books in the series.  I'm about a third of the way through book 3, HMS Surprise, and do not feel like there are any gaps from having skipped #2 as the author gives as much exposition as is needed to make it a stand alone book.  I'm getting a kick out of it!  I listened for several hours yesterday while knitting.

[Stacia]

Mumto2, thanks for the vidoes. How neat that you've hiked the steps in Whitby too. Did you go to the Dracula store (that was shown in the longer of the two videos)? With all the Dracula talk lately (& me looking up books in the library database), I've found & started In Search of Dracula: The History of Dracula and Vampires by Raymond T. McNally & Radu Florescu.

 

Storm Bay, no, I don't think the Marvin K. Mooney book actually had anything to do w/ the Dr. Seuss version of Marvin K. Mooney. Not that I noticed on first read of the book anyway.... (I loved the Seuss version of Marvin K. Mooney when I was little.)

My library finally purchased an Alberto Manguel book I have been wanting to read since back when we were doing Latin America: With Borges. Not as amazing as I had hoped, but it was absolutely fascinating. Manguel was one of many 'readers' for Borges. Borges became blind fairly early in life and recruited a number of readers/transcribers. It is both a moving portrait and glimpse into a literary world I am only just beginning to have some familiarity with... intersecting with the British lit Borges loved and which I know very, very well.

I will have to look for that one. I read Manguel's All Men are Liars earlier this year & loved it. (I stumbled across it because I loved the cover art & selected it as my 'choose a book by its cover'; what serendipity to find such a wonderful book under the fabulous cover art!)

[mumto2]

I am glad people are enjoying the videos. I had never wanted to read the "original" Dracula until I saw Whitby. I had seen the movie. I really like the book. I can't decide if I should reread that and "The Historian" which is really good in October or not.

 

I can't find a copy of the In search of Dracula that you linked. My library has a book with a similar title different author. I might try it.

 

No,we haven't been to the Dracula Store. None of us even remember seeing it and the date on the video is after our first trips there. We will be going the next time we go. :lol: We go to the fossil store shown in that video every single time. There is a bakery nearby with fabulus cake slices. :)

 

We normally stop at Whitby for fish and chips(The Magpie is supposedly one of the best in England -- definately good ones) after fossil hunting at Robin's Hood Bay or Runswick Bay. Eat on th pier from the video. We always go up those steps for the view. Actually worth it and they are loooong.

 

Whitby is the perfect seaside village. Hugely popular vacation spot for people in our part of England -- people who live two hours away go for a week. We do day trips. :lol:

 

 

Mumto2, thanks for the vidoes. How neat that you've hiked the steps in Whitby too. Did you go to the Dracula store (that was shown in the longer of the two videos)? With all the Dracula talk lately (& me looking up books in the library database), I've found & started In Search of Dracula: The History of Dracula and Vampires by Raymond T. McNally & Radu Florescu.

 

Storm Bay, no, I don't think the Marvin K. Mooney book actually had anything to do w/ the Dr. Seuss version of Marvin K. Mooney. Not that I noticed on first read of the book anyway.... (I loved the Seuss version of Marvin K. Mooney when I was little.)

 

 

I will have to look for that one. I read Manguel's All Men are Liars earlier this year & loved it. (I stumbled across it because I loved the cover art & selected it as my 'choose a book by its cover'; what serendipity to find such a wonderful book under the fabulous cover art!)

 

[Miss Innocent]

*raising my hand* 

Isn't it fun to revisit childhood favorites?  ...at least when they turn out to still be wonderful!  it is discouraging to reread something I adored as a kid only to find it drab or disappointing.  Thank you for reminding me of this one - I don't think we have a copy, but I should track one down so my kids can read it!

 

 

Hooray! So far (and I'm halfway through) The Warden's Niece is as good as I remember. It was the only Gillian Avery book I read as a child. I think I stumbled across it at a jumble sale or something and my library didn't have any other of her books, I guess. I suddenly remembered the book a few months ago and searched online and am now going to read some of her other books, after finishing The Warden's Niece. :)

 

Emma

[Jane in NC]

Having trouble with the Whitby videos on my tablet. Grrrr.... But Whitby reminds me of the photographer Frank Sutcliffe. I own a copy of one of his photos of mussel gatherers. The image was also used on the cover of a young adult or children's chapter book set in Whitby. Anyone know it?

 

On to my reading...

 

Poe's Pym novel is just plain odd although I wonder if my opinion is influenced by the fact that I rarely read speculative fiction. Also the sort of great seafaring adventure that Poe serves up is a period piece written at a time when parts of this globe were truly unknown. Despite the unevenness of the story, what is present is what Poe does so well: he creates a discomfort which might come from outside sources or might just be a product of a character's own mind.

 

The Narrative of Arthur Gordon Pym inspires a new 5/5/5 category for 2014: Stretch the Gray Cells, i.e. read something outside of one's comfort zone. Last year I read a western, first ever--thanks to Stacia, which I really enjoyed (The Sisters Brothers).

 

Or maybe that 5/5/5 category should be Stacia Stretches My Gray Cells since she is the one who also got this Pym thing going. I am currently reading Nat Johnson's Pym--Volume I done so maybe a quarter of the way through.

 

I finished The Man in the Wooden Hat, the second in Jane Gardam's Old Filfth trilogy, and have moved on to the final book, Last Friends. The overarching story is the same in all three novels but from different perspectives with new anecdotes. Quite lovely. I shall read other books by Jane Gardam.

 

Now off to try the videos again.

[JennW in SoCal]

About the Master and Commander series....

 

 

As the series progresses reading in series order becomes more and more important, I believe, but I would recommend reading them all in order. Jo Walton has a great series of posts on the books.  Here's the first.

 

 

Thank you for this link, Eliana!  I absolutely agree with her when she compares the books to good science fiction: 

 

The truly great thing about these books is that they suck you into their world and while you are reading you are entirely caught up within it, and it is as alien and fascinating a world as anything you might find around another star. And you don’t question it, it’s absolutely real, and you are head down inside it.  

 

I also had to laugh that she titled her essay on the 3rd book, the one I'm currently listening to, with a favorite quote, "Jack, you have debauched my sloth!" 

 

 

[Kareni]

As the series progresses reading in series order becomes more and more important, I believe, but I would recommend reading them all in order. Jo Walton has a great series of posts on the books.  Here's the first.

 

Thanks for the link on the Master and Commander series, Eliana.  I forwarded it to my husband who, while he is a rare reader of fiction, has read the entire M&C oeuvre three times.  We learned of it initially through the late, and much missed, Common Reader catalog. 

 

Regards,

Kareni

[Robin M]

Okay, you guys have sold me.  Just purchased Master and Commander from Amazon.

 

 

 

@Jane - Love the idea (and the name) of Stretch the Gray Cells for 2014. 

[Stacia]

As the series progresses reading in series order becomes more and more important, I believe, but I would recommend reading them all in order. Jo Walton has a great series of posts on the books.  Here's the first.

 

Thanks for the link! This is definitely a series I need to try....

 

Poe's Pym novel is just plain odd although I wonder if my opinion is influenced by the fact that I rarely read speculative fiction. Also the sort of great seafaring adventure that Poe serves up is a period piece written at a time when parts of this globe were truly unknown. Despite the unevenness of the story, what is present is what Poe does so well: he creates a discomfort which might come from outside sources or might just be a product of a character's own mind.

 

I totally agree. It's odd & uneven, but very discomforting & compelling too.

 

The Narrative of Arthur Gordon Pym inspires a new 5/5/5 category for 2014: Stretch the Gray Cells, i.e. read something outside of one's comfort zone. Last year I read a western, first ever--thanks to Stacia, which I really enjoyed (The Sisters Brothers).

 

Or maybe that 5/5/5 category should be Stacia Stretches My Gray Cells since she is the one who also got this Pym thing going. I am currently reading Nat Johnson's Pym--Volume I done so maybe a quarter of the way through.

 

:o :D  Thank you.

 

The Sisters Brothers was my first western too. Will be curious to hear your overall/final thoughts on Johnson's Pym. I did love his skewering of Poe's Pym early in his book. Touche. (But, I felt the book went downhill after that & never fully recovered.) Are you planning to read the Verne & Lovecraft books too?

 

I finished The Man in the Wooden Hat, the second in Jane Gardam's Old Filfth trilogy, and have moved on to the final book, Last Friends. The overarching story is the same in all three novels but from different perspectives with new anecdotes. Quite lovely. I shall read other books by Jane Gardam.

 

I definitely need to check these out. Wish my to-read pile weren't already so huge!!!

 

About the Master and Commander series....

 

 

Thank you for this link, Eliana!  I absolutely agree with her when she compares the books to good science fiction: 

 

The truly great thing about these books is that they suck you into their world and while you are reading you are entirely caught up within it, and it is as alien and fascinating a world as anything you might find around another star. And you don’t question it, it’s absolutely real, and you are head down inside it.  

 

I thought that was a very interesting comparison too, Jenn.

 

@Jane - Love the idea (and the name) of Stretch the Gray Cells for 2014. 

 

Me too. (Though I know I mostly get stuck in my book ruts & don't always venture out into new book territory.... I just wanna read the books I wanna read :willy_nilly: , sometimes, you know? ;) ) My attempt to stretch my gray cells this year (in my case, the Dewey Decimal challenge) has kind of died a slow, sad death for me. :p

[Stacia]

I am glad people are enjoying the videos. I had never wanted to read the "original" Dracula until I saw Whitby. I had seen the movie. I really like the book. I can't decide if I should reread that and "The Historian" which is really good in October or not.

 

I can't find a copy of the In search of Dracula that you linked. My library has a book with a similar title different author. I might try it.

 

No,we haven't been to the Dracula Store. None of us even remember seeing it and the date on the video is after our first trips there. We will be going the next time we go. :lol: We go to the fossil store shown in that video every single time. There is a bakery nearby with fabulus cake slices. :)

 

We normally stop at Whitby for fish and chips(The Magpie is supposedly one of the best in England -- definately good ones) after fossil hunting at Robin's Hood Bay or Runswick Bay. Eat on th pier from the video. We always go up those steps for the view. Actually worth it and they are loooong.

 

From the videos you posted, photos I've seen of Whitby, & general comments I've read, it seems like Bram Stoker did a very good job capturing the description & essence of the town of Whitby. Since you've been there & have also read the book, what do you think?

 

I'm really enjoying the In Search of Dracula book. If you enjoyed The Historian (which has lots of historical info about Vlad the Impaler), you would probably enjoy this book. Of the chapters I've read so far, it has mostly been a detailed history of his family & the area during the early/middle ages & a bit later. Fascinating stuff, but then again, I love history & Dracula stories, so this is right up my alley.

 

When you visit the Dracula store, be sure to take some photos & post them here. Let us know what it's like. I nominate adding Whitby to our Book-a-Week field trip that we're planning to do! :D

 

Man oh man, now I'm really craving fish & chips.

[mumto2]

I thought both books were quite accurate when I read them. It has been at least two years so my memory is a bit dim on exact comparisons. I thought Stoker's church yard was particularly accurate. I have to admit the steps made me wonder, I can't imagine them in the dark. We did them in the rain once, I felt really lucky that no one got hurt!

 

I think adding Whitby to the list would be great. I could be the tour guide and make everyone try mushy peas (which aren't peas but a special bean sort of a cross between edamame sp? and lima which I love) at the fish and chip! :)

 

I will do a better search for the "In search of Dracula" book and see if I can locate your version. Vlad has always fascinated me.

 

 

From the videos you posted, photos I've seen of Whitby, & general comments I've read, it seems like Bram Stoker did a very good job capturing the description & essence of the town of Whitby. Since you've been there & have also read the book, what do you think?

 

I'm really enjoying the In Search of Dracula book. If you enjoyed The Historian (which has lots of historical info about Vlad the Impaler), you would probably enjoy this book. Of the chapters I've read so far, it has mostly been a detailed history of his family & the area during the early/middle ages & a bit later. Fascinating stuff, but then again, I love history & Dracula stories, so this is right up my alley.

 

When you visit the Dracula store, be sure to take some photos & post them here. Let us know what it's like. I nominate adding Whitby to our Book-a-Week field trip that we're planning to do! :D

 

Man oh man, now I'm really craving fish & chips.