mlbuchina Posted September 26, 2013 Share Posted September 26, 2013 As others have already said... 'me too'. On a separate note, I'm starting: [edited to remove picture] NY Times review of the book: http://www.nytimes.com/2013/05/19/books/review/the-golem-and-the-jinni-by-helene-wecker.html?pagewanted=all&_r=0 (I think I may be ditching The Witches of Eastwick. Even though I've barely cracked the book, I haven't been drawn in by the tiny amount I've read & too many other books around here look much more enticing....) I want to read The Golem and the Jini, too! I don't have enough year to read all the great books I've been introduced to this year. Is it crazy that I've already started my reading list for next year's Book a Week? (I say ditch it. Tell the book club you got my permission. LOL I hated the movie, and don't see me liking the book any better.) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Paisley Hedgehog Posted September 26, 2013 Share Posted September 26, 2013 . Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
aggieamy Posted September 26, 2013 Share Posted September 26, 2013 I have to force myself through any Hemmingway book. Me too. I think he's going to become a banned author from my nightstand. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Robin M Posted September 26, 2013 Author Share Posted September 26, 2013 "Read, Read, Read. Read everything - trash, classics, good and bad, and see how they do it. Just like a carpenter who works as an apprentice and studies the master. Read! You'll absorb it. Then write, If it is good, you'll find out. If it's not, throw it out the window.- William Faulkner, born September 25, 1897 I finished A Farewell to Arms and would have liked to thrown it out the window. I hate sad endings but wasn't too particularly sad since the characters were so one dimensional there wasn't anything to get attached to. Dim bulbs! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mlbuchina Posted September 27, 2013 Share Posted September 27, 2013 About half way through Dracula. I'm really enjoying it. I love Stoker's prose, and the slow build up of tension is how I imagine it must be to walk up the steps to the old abbey he describes in Whitby. Thanks again, mumto2, for posting the vidoes of Whitby. It really made it come alive in my mind. :) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mumto2 Posted September 27, 2013 Share Posted September 27, 2013 I have been reading my banned book "The Glass Castle" a bit. It is a sad story of growing up poor with extremely neglectful parents. Imagine falling out the door of a car withe your dad driving and the car continuing done the road. Not stopping. The child knows they will come back so sits and waits. They do but only because a hysterical sibling reports the child missinng to dad. I am not far and finding it pretty upsetting. My upset has much more to do with things that have happened in my life to others I have been close to. Not sure I want to continue because it is too sad to be reading that now for me. It has been a bad couple of days for me. My friend died last year from cancer and I just found out her children are going back to school. Starting next week. Off to visit today. Another dream of hers ends which is why I am upset not so much at the idea of public school for them. Anyway setting The Glass Castle aside. Nothing shocking thus far just not good for me right now. Currently reading "The Cuckoo's Calling" also. It is pretty good. Not outstanding (where I stay up all night to finish it :lol: ) but probably better then many is the way to describe it. Very different then Harry Potter. The dc's keep wanting updates which is making the reading fun. They have non interest in reading it just really want her book to be "good" so keep checking on my progress. ;) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Stacia Posted September 27, 2013 Share Posted September 27, 2013 Mumto2, sending hugs. Ah, from your post I know remember what The Cookoo's Calling is. I requested it awhile ago but suspended the hold so I wouldn't get it right away. When I checked my library account online yesterday, I noticed it in my list and couldn't remember why I had requested it. I didn't have time to look it up so I'm glad you solved that little mystery for me. Lol. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Stacia Posted September 27, 2013 Share Posted September 27, 2013 Fun Flavorwire post for banned books week... http://flavorwire.com/417185/awesome-illustrated-mugshots-of-characters-from-famous-banned-books/view-all/ Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jane in NC Posted September 27, 2013 Share Posted September 27, 2013 More hugs Mumto2... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Stacia Posted September 27, 2013 Share Posted September 27, 2013 I read The Rook last year and really thought it was quite great. Looking at the author's blog over on Goodreads, he mentioned that the book won the Aurealis Award for Best Science Fiction Novel; the Aurealis Awards are Australian literary prizes. http://www.aurealisawards.com/AboutUs.htm (The website might be a good book list if you're doing the continental challenge and need to find an Australian book....) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mlbuchina Posted September 27, 2013 Share Posted September 27, 2013 :grouphug: Mumto2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hoot Posted September 27, 2013 Share Posted September 27, 2013 :hurray: Today I finished #52 for the year - Darkly Dreaming Dexter by Jeff Lindsay. Excellent book and just as good as the Showtime series! I think it may have just gotten me out of my reading funk. Completed So Far1. Best Friends by Samantha Glen2. Wesley the Owl by Stacey O'Brien3. The Gift of Pets: Stories Only a Vet Could Tell by Bruce Coston4. Nim Chimpsky: The Chimp Who Would Be Human by Elizabeth Hess5. Last Chance to See by Douglas Adams & Mark Carwardine6. Confessions of a Prairie Bitch by Alison Arngrim7. Beowulf by Seamus Heaney8. The Odyssey by Homer (Fagles translation)9. The Thirteenth Tale by Diane Setterfield10. The Year of Learning Dangerously: Adventures in Homeschooling by Quinn Cummings11. Neither Here Nor There by Bill Bryson12. Anne of Green Gables by L. M. Montgomery13. Tales of an African Vet by Dr. Roy Aronson14. Miss Peregrine's Home for Peculiar Children15. The Romanovs: The Final Chapter by Robert K. Massie16. Kisses From Katie by Katie Katie Davis17. Iguanas for Dummies by Melissa Kaplan18. The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald19. Zoo by James Patterson20. St. Lucy's School for Girls Raised by Wolves by Karen Russell21. Russian Tortoises in Captivity by Jerry D. Fife22. Leopard Geckos for Dummies by Liz Palika23. The 8th Confession by James Patterson24. Leopard Geckos: Caring for Your New Pet by Casey Watkins25. The Ultimate Guide to Leopard Geckos by Phoenix Hayes Simmons26. 9th Judgement by James Patterson27. 10th Anniversary by James Patterson28. 11th Hour by James Patterson29. 12th of Never by James Patterson 30. The Geography of Bliss: One Grump's Search for the Happiest Places in the World by Eric Weiner31. Chasing Science at Sea: Racing Hurricanes, Stalking Sharks, and Living Undersea With Ocean Experts by Ellen J. Prager32. Dolphin Mysteries: Unlocking the Secrets of Communication by Kathleen M. Dudzinski & Toni Frohoff33. The Greeening by S. Brubaker34. No Touch Monkey! by Ayun Halliday35. Beautiful Creatures by Kami Garcia & Margaret Stohl 36. Beating Dyspraxia with a Hop, Skip, and a Jump by Geoff Platt 37. Long Walk to Freedom by Nelson Mandela 38. Traveling With Pomegranates by Sue Monk Kidd and Ann Kidd Taylor 39. The Stranger by Albert Camus 40. Two Gentlemen of Verona by William Shakespeare 41. Shakespeare: The World a Stage by Bill Bryson 42. Their Eyes Were Watching God by Zora Neale Hurston 43. Gulliver's Travels by Jonathan Swift 44. How to Read Literature Like a Professor by Thomas C. Foster 45. Brain Power: Improve Your Mind as You Age by Michael J. Gelb and Kelly Howell 46. Fight Club by Chuck Palahniuk 47. Animal Farm by George Orwell 48. Carrie by Stephen King 49. Deconstructing Penguins by Lawrence and Nancy Goldstone 50. The Way Life Works by Mahlon Hoagland 51. The House on Mango Street by Sandra Cisneros 52. Darkly Dreaming Dexter by Jeff Lindsay Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Stacia Posted September 27, 2013 Share Posted September 27, 2013 . Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mom-ninja. Posted September 27, 2013 Share Posted September 27, 2013 I started another Jen Lancaster book. Lancaster is one of my go-to choices when I'm sad and need to laugh. However, the very beginning of the book made me cry because she talks about her dog undergoing surgery and treatment for cancer. Sigh. Didn't see that coming. For those who missed my post, my dog was diagnosed yesterday with terminal bone cancer, and he only has a few weeks to a few months to live. All we can do is give him pain meds. So, when Lancaster wrote about her dog undergoing chemo with great success.....I burst into tears. Hopefully, there will be no more mention of her dog surviving cancer for the rest of the book. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Stacia Posted September 27, 2013 Share Posted September 27, 2013 Mom-ninja, :grouphug: . Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Paisley Hedgehog Posted September 27, 2013 Share Posted September 27, 2013 . Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Paisley Hedgehog Posted September 27, 2013 Share Posted September 27, 2013 . Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tress Posted September 27, 2013 Share Posted September 27, 2013 Mom-ninja :grouphug:. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mlbuchina Posted September 27, 2013 Share Posted September 27, 2013 Many :grouphug: for you, Mom-ninja. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Onceuponatime Posted September 27, 2013 Share Posted September 27, 2013 I wish I had a more useful answer. Reading and researching and studying is instinctive rather than planned... maybe the only accurate answer would be 'a misspent childhood's :) Would that I had had such a misspent childhood. In my household reading was a guilty pleasure. My mother was convinced that too much reading was bad for me. So, I had to hide... up in a tree, in the bathroom, behind a textbook. Unfortunately, I still carry the guilt around with me. If I think I've been reading too long, I go do something productive to make up for it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Onceuponatime Posted September 27, 2013 Share Posted September 27, 2013 Recently finished Revelations by Elaine Pagels Currently buzzing through The Golem and the Jinni. The unknown keeps pulling me along. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mumto2 Posted September 27, 2013 Share Posted September 27, 2013 :grouphug: Mom Ninja Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Stacia Posted September 27, 2013 Share Posted September 27, 2013 :hurray: Today I finished #52 for the year - Darkly Dreaming Dexter by Jeff Lindsay. :cheers2: Hooray & cheers on reaching 52! In the meantime, I got only a few pages (maybe 20?) into The Golem and the Jinni before deciding that I'm really not in the mood for it right now. I still plan to read it, just at a later time. So, this afternoon, on my library runs, I picked up more books (what a surprise, eh?)... & am starting Night of My Blood by Kofi Awoonor, the Ghanaian poet who was killed this past week in the Nairobi mall attack. Here is a short PBS interview with Awoonor's nephew (also a poet) where he reads one of Awoonor's most famous poems, The Weaver Bird. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mumto2 Posted September 27, 2013 Share Posted September 27, 2013 Thank you for your kind thoughts today. It was emotionally draining. So many things happened that were so unexpected. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Stacia Posted September 28, 2013 Share Posted September 28, 2013 Thank you for your kind thoughts today. It was emotionally draining. So many things happened that were so unexpected. Again, :grouphug: :grouphug: :grouphug: to both you & Mom-ninja. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Robin M Posted September 28, 2013 Author Share Posted September 28, 2013 “Bea says that the art of reading is slowly dying, that it's an intimate ritual, that a book is a mirror that offers us only what we already carry inside us, that when we read, we do it with all our heart and mind, and great readers are becoming more scarce by the day.â€â€• Carlos Ruiz Zafón, The Shadow of the Wind Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Violet Crown Posted September 28, 2013 Share Posted September 28, 2013 Mom-ninja, I'm sorry. This is a hard burden. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Robin M Posted September 28, 2013 Author Share Posted September 28, 2013 :grouphug: Mom ninja. It's always hard when one of our fur babies gets sick. Prayers, hugs, and good thoughts. Mumto2 - hugs too! I know exactly how you feel. If the book is bringing up bad or sad memories, I would definitely shelve it. When someone in our family died or had serious illness, I couldn't read any serious emotional filled stories or I'd end up in a puddle on the floor. Read something happy and mind candyish to take your mind off it. It's probably why I like reading paranormal stories so much - so far from realistic, can relax and not worry. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Robin M Posted September 28, 2013 Author Share Posted September 28, 2013 I want this tee! So perfect for my recent reading... http://www.qwertee.com/ You are such a bad, err good influence and find the most interesting things. Loved it so much, just had to order one. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Stacia Posted September 28, 2013 Share Posted September 28, 2013 You are such a bad, err good influence and find the most interesting things. Loved it so much, just had to order one. :lol: Pssst. For anyone else who is interested, this is one of those daily tee sites, so it's currently on the 'last chance' page w/ about 17 hours left to order it.... Get ready.... Get set.... GO! :laugh: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mumto2 Posted September 28, 2013 Share Posted September 28, 2013 I returned "The Glass Castle" this morning. Also "The Wonderous Life of Oscar Wao" which I just never felt the need to finish. Over one hundred pages read and I really never engaged. I feel a bit lighter now! :) I finished "The Cuckoo's Calling" and it wasn't bad. It is worthwhile if you are curious about JK Rowling and if she can write something other then Harry Potter but it is not a wow mystery/thriller imo. Robin, I tend to hide in romance novels and serial cozy mysteries when upset. This time trying your paranormal suggestion. Started my spooky challenge today. Working on Dracula while I read "Dracula Prince of Many Faces -- His life and times" by Florescu and McNally. I think this is an earlier version of Stacia's Vlad book. Fascinating so far, the authors are doing the journey that Jonathon Harper took as much as possible. Staying inthe hotels and eating the food. Switching back and forth. Catching many details that would not normally be noticed. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Robin M Posted September 28, 2013 Author Share Posted September 28, 2013 nm Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Stacia Posted September 28, 2013 Share Posted September 28, 2013 I haven't read Fifty Shades of Grey, but I think this is a good, & thought-provoking, post... Fifty Shades of Rape Culture Even though I have never read Fifty Shades, much of the post mirrors why I figured I would not be interested in reading it. (I felt much the same way about Twilight, which glamorizes controlling/stalking relationships as a 'norm' & 'romantic' for teens, as many of you already know from my past posts.) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mom-ninja. Posted September 28, 2013 Share Posted September 28, 2013 I haven't read Fifty Shades of Grey, but I think this is a good, & thought-provoking, post... Fifty Shades of Rape Culture Even though I have never read Fifty Shades, much of the post mirrors why I figured I would not be interested in reading it. (I felt much the same way about Twilight, which glamorizes controlling/stalking relationships as a 'norm' & 'romantic' for teens, as many of you already know from my past posts.) I feel the same. I also felt that way about that book by Ann Rice, Sleeping Beauty. Oh, boy was that book disturbing to me. A friend of mine loves the Twilight series, and had her 15 yr old dd read the series. She said to me, "It's such a romantic story. I had my daughter read the books, and I really hope that she seeks that kind of deep love. I hope she looks for a guy who is just as passionate towards her." My face = :ohmy: My response to her was, "I can tell you've never been harassed and stocked by a guy who is just "so in love with you" that he can't help himself. Cause, um, it's not romantic. It's downright annoying and can quickly veer into fearful and dangerous." I had a boyfriend in high school that would break into our house after my dad went to work early in the morning. He would sneak into my bedroom to watch me sleep. Um, ew. Freaky and not normal. My dad caught him, and put an end to that. I broke up with him and let me tell you he made my life miserable for quite some time. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mumto2 Posted September 29, 2013 Share Posted September 29, 2013 I also dislike Twilight to a huge degree. Many reasons why-- Most of which have been listed. Dislike the pregnancy storyline also and all that follows with the other boyfriend. I am so grateful that Dd has no interest in it. She figures if vampire loving mom says they are dreadful they probably are and her friends lack taste. :lol: I never understood why a friend loved those (as in bought first day available for daughter) and banned Wurthering Heights. Not much difference to be honest. At least no horror pregnancy amoung other things. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ElaineJ Posted September 29, 2013 Share Posted September 29, 2013 I never understood why a friend loved those (as in bought first day available for daughter) and banned Wurthering Heights. Not much difference to be honest. At least no horror pregnancy amoung other things. And although I admit to never having read the Twilight books, I have read Wuthering Heights and I'm willing to bet money that it is much better written. If you are going to read about weird stalker "love", at least make it a classic. :) Elaine Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chocolate Rose Posted September 29, 2013 Share Posted September 29, 2013 Currently reading "The Cuckoo's Calling" also. It is pretty good. Not outstanding (where I stay up all night to finish it :lol: ) but probably better then many is the way to describe it. Very different then Harry Potter. The dc's keep wanting updates which is making the reading fun. They have non interest in reading it just really want her book to be "good" so keep checking on my progress. ;) I'm also reading this right now and not enjoying it as much as I'd hoped. It just seems to go on forever without getting anywhere. I loved HP, so this is disappointing. It's definitely not a page-turner for me, but other than that, I'm not sure why I'm not enjoying it. I don't like to give up on books, but if I did, this is one I would have put down for something better. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Robin M Posted September 29, 2013 Author Share Posted September 29, 2013 Link to week 40 - please continue conversation in new thread Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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