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Book a Week in 2013 - week forty four


Robin M
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Happy Sunday, dear hearts!  Today is the start of week 44 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 - Huckleberry Finn:  The 15th book in Susan Wise Bauer's list of great fiction in Well Educated Mind - The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn by Mark Twain.   It was released in England in 1884 and in the United States in 1885.  It is written from the viewpoint of Huckleberry Finn and he uses some very colorful language.  The book has been criticized because of perceived use of racial stereotypes and the use of racial slurs.  Readers have to look at the period of time in which the book was written and take into account the culture of that time frame.  I read Huckleberry Finn for a literature class in college and  it lead to some great discussions about culture and race, slavery and freedom, friendship and life.  Highlighted the first chapter on the blog.

 

What are you reading this week?

 

 

 

 

 

 

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I finished Dean Koontz's Frankenstein: The Prodigal son and have to say it was good. Seemed mild in the violence department, although the subject matter was creepy. 

 

 

My mother is doing remarkably well and made it through the festivities.  I dare say she'll probably sleep the day away today, because that's what I feel like doing today after all the planning, prep and partying. 

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Fabulous photos, Robin! Thank you for sharing. I send wishes of joy and good health to your parents!

 

I have made what seems to be minimal progress on my reading this week although I have done more on the craft front as reported on another WTM thread.

 

I will have more to say about E.O. Wilson's Letters to a Young Scientist after finishing the book. I will note now that this would have been a perfect selection for my son at age 13 or 14. Alas, it had not been published so instead I took him to hear the man in person when he lectured at the nearby university. The tech crew that night had trouble with the interface between Professor Wilson's laptop and the projector. This delayed the talk for a bit; then Wilson walked on stage and said that he had given more lectures without Power Point than with. The show would go on! (I was reminded of this incident while at a public meeting this week that was delayed for fifteen minutes because of technological issues. When the speaker finally got his Power Point to work, he was basically just reading us the slides! There was one illustration--one!--that added some meaning to his presentation. Argh.)

 

My husband and I have just returned from an inland journey. We had offered to babysit my nephew and his wife's 20 month old for the night to give them a break. My grand-nephew is such an even-tempered child--what a delight! We read and sang and blew/popped lots of bubbles. So while I did not do my reading. I sure had a lot of fun!

 

Not much about books in this post...I guess that sums up my week!

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My mother is doing remarkably well and made it through the festivities.  I dare say she'll probably sleep the day away today, because that's what I feel like doing today after all the planning, prep and partying. 

Robin, what lovely pictures. Thank you for sharing. :)

 

My husband and I have just returned from an inland journey.  We had offered to babysit my nephew and his wife's 20 month old for the night to give them a break.  My grand-nephew is such an even-tempered child--what a delight!  We read and sang and blew/popped lots of bubbles. So while I did not do my reading. I sure had a lot of fun!

Jane, how lovely for you and your husband. 

 

I read The Cuckoo's Calling - 4 Stars. 

 

9781408703991.jpg

 

MY RATING SYSTEM

5 Stars

Fantastic, couldn't put it down

4 Stars

Really Good

3 Stars

Enjoyable

2 Stars

Just Okay – nothing to write home about

1 Star

Rubbish – waste of my money and time. Few books make it to this level, since I usually give up on them if they’re that bad.

 

 

 

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I finished The Black Swan. Even though I didn't read every page, I will consider it read because the author practically commanded those who weren't proficient in statistics to skip certain pages. After that I zoomed through Stardust by Neil Gaiman. I tried to begin Sunshine but couldn't get into it. So now I'm reading Death by Black Hole by Neil DeGrasse Tyson.

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Love the photos, Robin! Your parents make a gorgeous couple. Kudos to you for all the work you did for pulling off their celebration.

 

Giraffe, good to see you again. Loved People of the Book, esp. the historical sections -- really thought those were so beautifully done.

 

Eliana, thanks for the link about the Ghana reading challenge. I had fun poking around the blog & was glad to see I've read one or two books mentioned on there in various posts, but, obviously, I still have a long way to go to delve into African reading in general.

 

Jenn, too funny that you encountered a Capt. Pym in your reading last week!

 

Haven't decided which fiction book is calling to me right now. Sigh. So, in the meantime, I started reading Zero Waste Home by Bea Johnson. I've followed her blog for a couple of years & find her very inspiring. Enjoying the book so far, but since I've read most of her blog posts through the years, I'm already familiar w/ a good part of it. Still, I think it will be inspirational & helpful in that having the tips & ideas organized in a book make it easy to use for reference down the road.

 

Not huge amounts of reading for me this past week (esp. as one of my 'reads' was a book w/ no text :lol: ) & this week is shaping up to be a busy one, so I'll see what I can manage....

 

--------------------------
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).

57. In Search of Dracula: The History of Dracula and Vampires by Raymond T. McNally & Radu Florescu (4 stars). Challenge: Continental – Europe (Romania).

58. Remainder by Tom McCarthy (4 stars). Challenge: Dusty.

59. At the Mountains of Madness (radio/audio version) by H.P. Lovecraft (4 stars). Challenge: Continental – Antarctica.

60. The Flamethrowers by Rachel Kushner (5 stars).

 

61. Night of My Blood by Kofi Awoonor (3 stars). Challenge: Continental – Africa (Ghana).

62. A Night in the Lonesome October by Roger Zelazny (3 stars).

63. Le Sphinx de Glaces by Jules Verne (4 stars). Challenge: Continental – Antarctica.

64. The Finno-Ugrian Vampire by Noémi Szécsi (3.5 stars). Challenge: Continental – Europe (Hungary).

65. The Ninth Life of Louis Drax by Liz Jensen (3 stars).

66. The Stress of Her Regard by Tim Powers (4 stars).

67. The Dracula Tape by Fred Saberhagen (3 stars).

68. Sweet Dreams by Michael Frayn (4 stars).

69. The Flying Creatures of Fra Angelico by Antonio Tabucchi (4 stars). Challenge: Continental – Europe (Italy; Portugal).

70. Mosquito: An Omnilingual Nosferatu Pictomunication Novel by Dan James (3 stars).

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Finished Dracula and enjoyed it for a second spooky read (after finishing The Hound of the Baskervilles earlier in the week). I did get a little tired of the Victorian attitude toward women (waaaaaay up on that pedestal) and thought the whole thing could have used some editing to tighten it up and make it a bit shorter, but overall an enjoyable read. And there's no way you can be on team vampire after that one.

 

Khaled Hosseini's And the Mountains Echoed came ready on the library hold list--I have 12 more days to start and finish it!

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This week I read, The Kitchen God's Wife, by Amy Tan.  I've never read any of her books, but her book was next to a Murakami book I wanted at the used book store.  It looked like a good read, and it was.

 

I gave it 4 stars on Goodreads.  The book grabs you from the start.  You are pulled into the time and place, into the characters' lives.  I love that.  This book did it so well, it made we wonder how exactly does a writer do that.  Last week I had finished The Golem and the Jinni, and really, that author failed on that front.  I didn't feel pulled in.  I felt more like I was watching it from the outside.  It's hard to explain, but when a writer does it well you notice. 

 

I always enjoy historical fiction, and this book does not disappoint in giving you a glimpse of China in the late 1930's to mid 1940's.  

 

I did feel like the author dropped the character of Pearl.  It was like she was only there to hear the story.  I would have liked more of a reaction from her.  But overall, a very good book.  I plan on not taking it back to the used book store yet.  I think my oldest dd would really enjoy it, but I know she won't be able to get to it until Christmas break or next summer.  

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I read Long Quiet Highway: Waking Up in America by Natalie Goldberg. This is the third Natalie Goldberg book I've read this year (or ever), so I'm feeling like - outside of paying $900 for a writing workshop with her -  I have thoroughly covered the subject of Goldberg and her teachings. Enough.

 

I just read the first chapter of Soto Zen: An Introduction to Zazen by Shohaku Okumura, and apparently I'm the first Goodreadsian to do so because I had to add it to the site. And I'm thinking about reading The Day I Became an Autodidact by Kendall Hailey.

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I did manage to finish "Veil of Midnight" by Lara Adrian. It was the next midnight breed in the series so it needed to be finished before it disappeared from my kindle because it was a library book. Has anybody else renewed their kindle library books with the new feature? I managed to do one but still haven't had time to read it. :lol:

 

Robin, the pictures are lovely. Glad you had a great time! :)

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Wonderful pics, Robin!  I'm so glad it was a great time for your family.

 

 

I finished House of Leaves, my 52nd book of the year!    :party:

Here is what I posted on Goodreads:

 

While I enjoyed the Navidson story line, Johnny Truant's story line was extremely boring to me. Also, the never ending footnotes became so effusive, that I just started skipping them completely. Reading only the parts of the Navidson story line, without all the droning on and on quotes and "analysis" from Zampano, would have made a much better story for me. The formatting of the pages I enjoyed, and thought really added to the spooky-ness of the house.

 

 

A little while back, I entered one of the Goodreads First Reads drawings, and received Lost Lake by Sarah Addison Allen.  I'm really looking forward to reading this, as I have really enjoyed her other books.  I think it will be a very refreshing read after House of Leaves.  My plans for the rest of the year are to clean out my Kindle by reading the library books I have not finished, so I can turn the wifi back on.  LOL  Also, I will read The Princess Bride when my new illustrated one is delivered next month.

 

There is still lots of reading time left in the year, and I'm wondering just how much I can pack into it.   :D

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Have sadly finished the Big Stone Gap series this week . . .  Did not want it to end.  The characters draw you in; you love them and hate them; are happy for them and frustrated with them.  The author's writing is so real that, at times, you ache to the very bone marrow with the truth of it.  I wish there were a volume five . . .


 


Finished:


 


#66 Milk Glass Moon (Big Stone Gap Series, Book Three), by Adriana Trigiani


#67 Home to Big Stone Gap (Big Stone Gap Series, Book Four), by Adriana Trigiani


 


Currently reading a book I grabbed in haste, by an author whose works I've not previously read:


 


#68 The House That Love Built, by Beth Wiseman

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The past couple of weeks have been supremely frustrating and stressful for me as Homeschool Mom / Police.  I pulled That Crumpled Paper Was Due Last Week: Helping Disorganized and Distracted Boys Succeed In School and Life by Ana Homayoun off the shelf for a reread if that gives any indication of what's been going on in our house lately.   I have no problem with organizing myself, but teaching organizational skills has proved to be a bit more of a challenge.   :banghead:  

 

We seem to not only share reading lists --- our boys must be related, too!!  I know I modeled and taught organizational skills throughout the years, but apparently to little or no avail.  There are times, boy oh boy are there EVER times, when I am STILL  :banghead: .  And  :blink:  And  :eek:   

 

 

I'm tempted to move on from my current Master and Commander book. I've got 3 hours yet to go but I'm not all that interested in seeing it out to the bitter end.  This one, The Mauritius Command, is based on an actual series of battles by a fleet of Royal Navy ships around 3 small islands east of Madagascar.  There are too many characters, too many ships both French and English, and the action is poorly paced in that it goes by from broad brush strokes to the most minute detail.  The main characters remain compelling, though. The next book, Desolation Island, is apparently where Patrick O'Brian finds his groove and the series gels.  

 

My dh and I took field trip to visit the HMS Surprise, the ship used in the Master and Commander movie. It is so very small!  It was good to set foot on the quarter deck, to gaze up at the tall masts and marvel at the miles of ropes in the rigging.  There were lots of signs describing life on ship, and displays of the different kind of shot used in the canons, and displays of the weapons at hand if the sailors had to defend themselves if the ship got boarded.  We also toured a Soviet sub which was miserably cramped and claustrophobic and very poorly laid out.  A smaller US sub that was a few years older was so much better laid out and much more inviting to be inside.   Now we need to re-watch Hunt for Red October and Master and Commander!!   This was our 2nd field trip in the last 2 weeks -- we also attended a behind the scenes open house at our local Natural History Museum. What else are retired homeschool parents to do?  There is still so much cool stuff to be seen out in the world!!

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A little while back, I entered one of the Goodreads First Reads drawings, and received Lost Lake by Sarah Addison Allen.  I'm really looking forward to reading this, as I have really enjoyed her other books.  I think it will be a very refreshing read after House of Leaves.  

 

Thanks for this info! I've been waiting for a new one to come out--looks like I'll have to wait until January, but I just put in a purchase request at the library, so I should be first in line assuming they approve it (they have multiple copies of her others so I think they will). That will be a nice post-holiday treat to look forward to.

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'thought my fellow B-a-W'ers would appreciate this:

 

photo11.jpg?w=550&h=364

"Hast seen the White Whale?"

Taken October 16, 2013.

 

What are the odds? We had finished Moby Dick; or, The Whale just a day or so before and were listening intently to Nathaniel Philbrick’s Why Read Moby Dick? during the long drive into Joliet, when — WHAT?! The White Whale hurtled past us! Thank goodness I was able to catch a hasty image with the iPad before it disappeared from view (see above), or no one would have believed the synchronicity / serendipity / synthesis at play.

 

As it turns out, the sculpture is the work of Preston Jackson, an Illinois artist based in Peoria. It is currently displayed at Queens Landing, Grant Park, Chicago. You’ll find a related article here and a number photos of the work in progress here.

 

 

Post edited on 10/31 to correct date photo was taken.

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'thought my fellow B-a-W'ers would appreciate this:

 

photo11.jpg?w=550&h=364

"Hast seen the White Whale?"

Taken October 20, 2013.

 

What are the odds? We had finished Moby Dick; or, The Whale just a day or so before and were listening intently to Nathaniel Philbrick’s Why Read Moby Dick? during the long drive into Joliet, when — WHAT?! The White Whale hurtled past us! Thank goodness I was able to catch a hasty image with the iPad before it disappeared from view (see above), or no one would have believed the synchronicity / serendipity / synthesis at play.

 

As it turns out, the sculpture is the work of Preston Jackson, an Illinois artist based in Peoria. It is currently displayed at Queens Landing, Grant Park, Chicago. You’ll find a related article here and a number photos of the work in progress here.

 

Ah, this seems like a good place to mention that Great Performances is airing the San Francisco opera's performance of Moby Dick on Friday, November 1.  Link

 

 

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What are the odds? We had finished Moby Dick; or, The Whale just a day or so before and were listening intently to Nathaniel Philbrick’s Why Read Moby Dick? during the long drive into Joliet, when — WHAT?! The White Whale hurtled past us! Thank goodness I was able to catch a hasty image with the iPad before it disappeared from view (see above), or no one would have believed the synchronicity / serendipity / synthesis at play.

 

As it turns out, the sculpture is the work of Preston Jackson, an Illinois artist based in Peoria. It is currently displayed at Queens Landing, Grant Park, Chicago. You’ll find a related article here and a number photos of the work in progress here.

 

That is sooooo cool!

 

I don't like to write in my books, because then I have to find the book, and the place in the book, to revisit my thoughts (and so many books these days are from the library, and writing in library books is very bad form!)

 

It has been fun to see everyone's method for taking notes/annotating during reading.

 

I'm not really one to do that much at all. Now that I'm on Goodreads, I do track my reading there & have entered some quotes that I like there, but that's about the extent of it for me.

 

I read two Hungarian novels last week:

 

Have you read Embers by Sándor Márai? You might like it, I think.

 

My dh and I took field trip to visit the HMS Surprise, the ship used in the Master and Commander movie. It is so very small!  It was good to set foot on the quarter deck, to gaze up at the tall masts and marvel at the miles of ropes in the rigging.  There were lots of signs describing life on ship, and displays of the different kind of shot used in the canons, and displays of the weapons at hand if the sailors had to defend themselves if the ship got boarded.  We also toured a Soviet sub which was miserably cramped and claustrophobic and very poorly laid out.  A smaller US sub that was a few years older was so much better laid out and much more inviting to be inside.   Now we need to re-watch Hunt for Red October and Master and Commander!!   This was our 2nd field trip in the last 2 weeks -- we also attended a behind the scenes open house at our local Natural History Museum. What else are retired homeschool parents to do?  There is still so much cool stuff to be seen out in the world!!

 

I agree that it is so much fun to see all this stuff. Took the dc to see a replica of the Nina years ago & it was scary how small it was, considering an Atlantic crossing. How every sailor didn't die of pneumonia is astounding to me. My sis works at a Maritime Center they sometimes have Tall Ships in port; I've manged to get there once or twice & it's always quite neat to see these ships from around the world. If any of you are near ports, I highly recommend going to see some of these type of events that Jenn is talking about -- lots of cool things!

 

Neat about the sub. My dad was a submariner. I've cracked my head many-a-time on the interior of subs. It's enough to buckle your knees.  :wacko:  (Of course, I then have to go :001_rolleyes:  about seeing Hunt for Red October -- which I saw in the theater w/ my dad when it first came out -- & barely got to hear anything because he was constantly pointing out all the things that were wrong.... :lol: )

 

I finished House of Leaves, my 52nd book of the year!    :party:

...

 

A little while back, I entered one of the Goodreads First Reads drawings, and received Lost Lake by Sarah Addison Allen.

 

:cheers2:

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This week, I'm definitely in the mood to read something I will just enjoy. Full Stop. No challenges, no classes, no calendars. :cheers2:

:grouphug: Hope you find something fun & fabulous. (Be sure to let us know what it is. I can use the suggestion myself!)

I read Long Quiet Highway: Waking Up in America by Natalie Goldberg. This is the third Natalie Goldberg book I've read this year (or ever), so I'm feeling like - outside of paying $900 for a writing workshop with her - I have thoroughly covered the subject of Goldberg and her teachings. Enough.

 

I just read the first chapter of Soto Zen: An Introduction to Zazen by Shohaku Okumura, and apparently I'm the first Goodreadsian to do so because I had to add it to the site. And I'm thinking about reading The Day I Became an Autodidact by Kendall Hailey.

I always love seeing what you're reading, crstarlette! :thumbup1:

This week I read, The Kitchen God's Wife, by Amy Tan. I've never read any of her books, but her book was next to a Murakami book I wanted at the used book store. It looked like a good read, and it was.

 

I gave it 4 stars on Goodreads. The book grabs you from the start. You are pulled into the time and place, into the characters' lives. I love that. This book did it so well, it made we wonder how exactly does a writer do that. Last week I had finished The Golem and the Jinni, and really, that author failed on that front. I didn't feel pulled in. I felt more like I was watching it from the outside. It's hard to explain, but when a writer does it well you notice.

 

I always enjoy historical fiction, and this book does not disappoint in giving you a glimpse of China in the late 1930's to mid 1940's.

I may have to try the Tan novel at some point. I read one of her books a few years ago & thought it was ok, but your description makes me want to try this one.

And there's no way you can be on team vampire after that one.

Awww. Not all vampires are bad! ;)

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Oh, did anyone else watch Dracula on Friday night?

 

I did (sort-of). I rarely, rarely sit down to watch tv (just the Oscars & the winter Olympics). Of course, when I actually made a point to sit down to watch, I ended up getting three different phone calls (yes, that late at night, I'm rarely on the phone & am not a phone person either, & they were not just calls I could ignore). Argh! And, my family left the room as none of them like anything remotely scary, so I had nobody able to fill me in on the parts I was missing during my calls.  :tongue_smilie:  Therefore, I saw parts of it. I thought the characterization was interesting... Renfield as Dracula's assistant, for example, & the Order of the Dragon (actual chivalric/Crusading order of the middle ages that inducted the Tepes family) as the enemy, being representatives of big (bad) business such as power & oil, Mina as Dracula's reincarnated wife. May watch the next installment to see if I actually like it. A few shots were sort-of gory (I guess to be expected w/ Dracula and all)....

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Here is what I posted on Goodreads:

 

While I enjoyed the Navidson story line, Johnny Truant's story line was extremely boring to me. Also, the never ending footnotes became so effusive, that I just started skipping them completely. Reading only the parts of the Navidson story line, without all the droning on and on quotes and "analysis" from Zampano, would have made a much better story for me. The formatting of the pages I enjoyed, and thought really added to the spooky-ness of the house.

 

 

I felt just this way about House of Leaves. 

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:grouphug:   It is so good to see you again, honey!

 

I don't mind at all (though now I'm curious which one!)

 

Hope you buzz through frequently!

 

"...not only are we all unique in our choices,  none of us can ever begin to get close to reading all the books worth reading.  The order, the content, and the process are, and imho should be, intensely personal, and I think the image of a journey is a powerful one.. because our next steps are shaped by the ones we took before, and our experience of each new place/book is also shaped by what we've seen/felt/lived/processed from the ones before.  There is no ideal journey and, heretical though it sounds, no canon of essential literature that could or should be applied to individuals."

                     Eliana, WTM Forums

 

Eliana,

I don't have much time but wanted to satisfy your curiosity.  Above is the quote I have from you.  I will explain later why it means so much to me.

 

Hugs,

Hope

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Stardust is the only Gaiman I've been brave enough to try... isn't it fun!  I guess one has to be in the right mood for Sunshine... and if the opening doesn't grab you, then you won't like the rest of the book, Sunshine's voice is like that all the way through, and for those of us who enjoy her, it is a delight, but some folks are just irked by her... ymmv :)  Sorry I led you astray...

 

 

Hey, it's all good. :001_smile:

 

I wouldn't have known if I didn't try it. I've dropped at least half a dozen books this year because they just didn't fit in with where I was at the moment.

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I'm falling way way behind with reading. We leave in 9 days for our month long vacation in Europe, and it's ridiculous how much time it takes to prepare. The list is long and as soon as I cross something off I have to add something else.

 

Just yesterday my cousin emailed asking if I could find a Monster High doll for her daughter to take with me. So, I had to sacrifice my lovely Sunday to fight the traffic and crowd at Toys R Us to look for this specific doll.

 

Our friend wants a special hot sauce that is not even available where we live. I had to special order it. It didn't come in. So, I had to find another supplier and order it. Hoping it gets here in time.

 

I don't mind getting things for my friends and family, but why oh why do they have to ask for such obscure stuff? American flag beach towels, anybody? In October?! Yeah, have fun finding that.

 

Well, that had nothing to do with reading. Guess I just needed to vent.

 

I'm determined to finish my three books this week!

 

Oh, I don't plan on taking my Kindle with me. I think I'll just take a hardback. I'm just afraid I'll lose my Kindle or it'll get broken. Seems less painful to lose a paperback than my Kindle.

 

The question is how many books do I take? Which ones? Do I read pure mind candy or try and squeeze in some more serious stuff?

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Started Reading:

God is Red: The Secret story of How Christianity Survived and Flourished in Communist China by Liao Yiwu (Chinese author, DD class 200)

 

Still Reading:

Stealing Rembrandts: The Untold Stories of Notorious Art Heists by Anthony Amore (American Author, DD class 700)

 

 

Finished:

44. The Gospel's Power and Message by Paul Washer (American author, DD class 200)

43. They Say/I Say: The Moves That Matter in Persuasive Writing by Gerald Graff (American author, DD class 400)

42. Gilead by Marilynne Robinson (American author, DD class 800)

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

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)

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We seem to not only share reading lists --- our boys must be related, too!!  I know I modeled and taught organizational skills throughout the years, but apparently to little or no avail.  There are times, boy oh boy are there EVER times, when I am STILL  :banghead: .  And  :blink:  And  :eek:   

 

 

I'm tempted to move on from my current Master and Commander book. I've got 3 hours yet to go but I'm not all that interested in seeing it out to the bitter end.  This one, The Mauritius Command, is based on an actual series of battles by a fleet of Royal Navy ships around 3 small islands east of Madagascar.  There are too many characters, too many ships both French and English, and the action is poorly paced in that it goes by from broad brush strokes to the most minute detail.  The main characters remain compelling, though. The next book, Desolation Island, is apparently where Patrick O'Brian finds his groove and the series gels.  

 

My dh and I took field trip to visit the HMS Surprise, the ship used in the Master and Commander movie. It is so very small!  It was good to set foot on the quarter deck, to gaze up at the tall masts and marvel at the miles of ropes in the rigging.  There were lots of signs describing life on ship, and displays of the different kind of shot used in the canons, and displays of the weapons at hand if the sailors had to defend themselves if the ship got boarded.  We also toured a Soviet sub which was miserably cramped and claustrophobic and very poorly laid out.  A smaller US sub that was a few years older was so much better laid out and much more inviting to be inside.   Now we need to re-watch Hunt for Red October and Master and Commander!!   This was our 2nd field trip in the last 2 weeks -- we also attended a behind the scenes open house at our local Natural History Museum. What else are retired homeschool parents to do?  There is still so much cool stuff to be seen out in the world!!   I agree!

 

Are you listening to the series? Patrick Tull does an amazing job. That said, Mauritius Command is my least favorite of the series. It has a few good moments but mostly just seems to meander around and I was bored. Desolation Island, on the other hand, is one of my favorites! I vote you skip ahead to it. :)

 

Your field trip sounds like so much fun! Next time I'm in San Diego I'll have to insist that we make a stop and visit the Surprise.

 

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If anyone is interested in listening to The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn on audio, I can recommend the reading by Dick Hill. His drawl and different voices capture Huck's youth and Jim's humanity beautifully.

 

Haven't finished anything this week. Listening to The Forgotten Garden by Kate Morton in the car and reading The Sweetness at the Bottom of the Pie by Alan Bradley on my Kindle.

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Are you listening to the series? Patrick Tull does an amazing job. That said, Mauritius Command is my least favorite of the series. It has a few good moments but mostly just seems to meander around and I was bored. Desolation Island, on the other hand, is one of my favorites! I vote you skip ahead to it. :)

 

Your field trip sounds like so much fun! Next time I'm in San Diego I'll have to insist that we make a stop and visit the Surprise.

 

 

 

Yep. I'm listening to the Patrick Tull audio versions and agree that he does an amazing job. I especially love how he says "pro-digious"!  I want to start throwing that around in my conversations with the same inflection.   But yeah, I am bored silly with Mauritius Command.   The first of the month is coming up when I'll have new credits to use at audible so will move on to Desolation Island.  Thanks for affirming my impressions!

 

I was so excited to find the sheet music for the Boccherini duet played by Aubrey and Maturin at the end of the movie.  I got a cellist friend to perform it with me recently!  

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We are moved!!!!!! Sleeping in the new house tonight! I started "Dead of Night" by Charlaine Harris and Amanda Stevens. I read the first one "Dancer's in the Night" by Harris. It was OK but couldn't seem to concentrate on the second.

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I did.  I thought it was awful   :ack2: .   I made it up to the part where the blonde vampire hunter (?) was attacking the punching bags with swords (?), and I was like .... seriously?? .... 

 

:lol:

 

I walked back in the room when that was going on. I kept trying to figure out the entire show who she (the blonde gal) is. Is she Lucy??? I never seemed to be in the room at the right moment to figure it out.

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Ok, so pulling a very dusty book off my shelf...

 

Tales of the Alhambra by Washington Irving

 

I bought this when I visited the Alhambra so many years ago. In fact, I found my receipt tucked in the book & found I purchased it 21 years ago for .950 Spanish pesetas. LOL. Enjoying it so far & it is bringing back wonderful memories of my travel in Spain. Visiting Spain is still one of the best trips I have ever taken. And, even though I was not staying or traveling anywhere near Granada, I bought a plane ticket to Granada for the day just to see the Alhambra. When I went to Spain, the *one* thing I *had* to see was the Alhambra. It was just as amazing & breathtaking as I imagined it would be. And, Washington Irving actually got to stay in the Alhambra when he penned his travel notes & tales back in 1829 (published in 1832). Sigh. Wishing I could hop on a plane to Granada right now....

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I'm back from our 10 day trip to London, Bruge, and Paris.  Got a lot of reading done on the plane and trains.  I'd tell you guys all about it BUT while in London DH and I got the call that we got a match on our adoption! 

 

*squeeeeee*

 

She's due anytime so we're frantically getting ready to go just in case.  If we don't leave for a few days I'll be back to chat.

 

Also, I'm a little rusty on this newborn thing ... anyone have any books to recommend?  It's been nine years since I had a baby. 

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I'm back from our 10 day trip to London, Bruge, and Paris.  Got a lot of reading done on the plane and trains.  I'd tell you guys all about it BUT while in London DH and I got the call that we got a match on our adoption! 

 

*squeeeeee*

 

She's due anytime so we're frantically getting ready to go just in case.  If we don't leave for a few days I'll be back to chat.

 

Also, I'm a little rusty on this newborn thing ... anyone have any books to recommend?  It's been nine years since I had a baby. 

 

Way to sneak in that trip just in time! Now for a new adventure...congratulations!

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Robin, what lovely photos. Thank you for sharing them with us.

 

 

 

I read The Cuckoo's Calling - 4 Stars. 

 

9781408703991.jpg

 

I was surprised at how much I enjoyed that book. When I started reading it, all I could think about was who the author is, but before long I got lost in the story.

 

 

Oh, did anyone else watch Dracula on Friday night?

 

I tried and gave up. Did not like it at all.

 

 

I'd tell you guys all about it BUT while in London DH and I got the call that we got a match on our adoption! 

 

*squeeeeee*

 

She's due anytime so we're frantically getting ready to go just in case.  If we don't leave for a few days I'll be back to chat.

 

Also, I'm a little rusty on this newborn thing ... anyone have any books to recommend?  It's been nine years since I had a baby.

 

:party: Congratulations! I'm so happy for you.

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I flew through Orange is the New BlackI heard from more than one source that if I watched the series I would likely find the book to be boring, but I didn't find that to be true at all. I took ds to Halloween Horror Nights at Universal last night, and had plenty of time to read. He went with a friend. The other mom and I had no desire to go, so we hung out at CityWalk Orlando. After getting a bite to eat and browsing in some of the shops we parked ourselves at Starbucks and read until it was time to meet the boys. I love being able to sit and read with a friend and neither of us thinks there's anything wrong with that.

 

I'm not sure what I'll read next, but I think it will either be Ru or The Beautiful Mystery

 

I'm still listening to Nicholas Nickleby

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Finished Dracula and enjoyed it for a second spooky read (after finishing The Hound of the Baskervilles earlier in the week). I did get a little tired of the Victorian attitude toward women (waaaaaay up on that pedestal) and thought the whole thing could have used some editing to tighten it up and make it a bit shorter, but overall an enjoyable read. 

 

Yes, poor Mina is so delicate we can't even let her hear what we're talking about.  :rolleyes:

 

This week I read, The Kitchen God's Wife, by Amy Tan.  I've never read any of her books, but her book was next to a Murakami book I wanted at the used book store.  It looked like a good read, and it was.

 

 

 

I've wanted to read something, anything, of hers for a long time and for some reason I never get around to it. Thank you for your review. It sounds like this book might be a good place for me to start when I finally read Amy Tan.

 

 And I'm thinking about reading The Day I Became an Autodidact by Kendall Hailey.

 

I read that about 10 years ago when my niece came home to school after 7th grade. I wanted her to read it and love it, but she just couldn't get into it. I think she had been so brainwashed to confuse schooling with learning by that time and wanted nothing to do with learning. Her deschooling took almost a year. Fortunately she got over it and began to love learning again.

 

I have never been much of a Huck Finn fan, though I do love Roger Williams's Broadway treatment of the novel, Big River.  

 

 

 

 I wish I could like Mark Twain's stories, but I can't. I've tried repeatedly over the years. I enjoy reading about him and some of his quotes, but his stories? No. 

 

 

 

Awww. Not all vampires are bad! ;)

 

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I just love The Count. :)

 

 

 

Oh, I don't plan on taking my Kindle with me. I think I'll just take a hardback. I'm just afraid I'll lose my Kindle or it'll get broken. Seems less painful to lose a paperback than my Kindle.

 

 

 Good luck finding all that stuff for friends and family. 

 

I'd be brave and take my Kindle. One of the things I love about an ereader is that I can take so many books with me in that one little device. If you're not going to bring the Kindle, then I'd recommend something you know you will like. That way you won't be stuck with something you wish you hadn't brought. Maybe a favorite author, series, or something to reread (I'm not much of a rereader, but I'd make an exception in a case like this).

 

We are moved!!!!!! Sleeping in the new house tonight!

 

Yay!

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I'm back from our 10 day trip to London, Bruge, and Paris.  Got a lot of reading done on the plane and trains.  I'd tell you guys all about it BUT while in London DH and I got the call that we got a match on our adoption! 

 

*squeeeeee*

 

She's due anytime so we're frantically getting ready to go just in case.  If we don't leave for a few days I'll be back to chat.

 

Also, I'm a little rusty on this newborn thing ... anyone have any books to recommend?  It's been nine years since I had a baby. 

 

:hurray:  :hurray:  :party:  :party:   Congratulations!!  How exciting!

 

I think the newborn thing is like riding a bike -- you never really forget.  Isn't Dr. Spock all you need?

 

More important than how-to-mother a baby books, do you have Goodnight Moon in a solid board book format? Or Hungry Caterpillar?   Or Pat-the-Bunny?!!  

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I bought this when I visited the Alhambra so many years ago. In fact, I found my receipt tucked in the book & found I purchased it 21 years ago for .950 Spanish pesetas. LOL. Enjoying it so far & it is bringing back wonderful memories of my travel in Spain. Visiting Spain is still one of the best trips I have ever taken. And, even though I was not staying or traveling anywhere near Granada,

 

Stacia, this is rather funny

Similar thing happened a few years ago when I was covering the phones at our front desk. This lady called and asked for directions to the University before heading to our hotel. First, she said that she was so relieved that I actually spoke English. I thought, "Hmmm, that's odd." Then I started giving her directions. None of the places sounded familiar to her. She called me back from her cell phone a few times while she was on the road. She had me speak to someone who, she said, understands some English. That was right around the time I realized that she was calling me from Granada, Spain and looking for a hotel with the exact same name as ours. I mean, come on, what are the chances? Hilarious. She was stunned that she was calling the Caribbean and not Spain. Maybe Christopher Columbus should have taken a bit more time in naming the island :lol:.

And when we were at the airport in Tel Aviv a few years ago, they all gathered round to look at my Grenadian passport and thought it was so cute that I had a passport from Granada. I kept trying to explain to them, but it was no use. They thought it was so cute that I had my own passport and not one from Spain.

Don't know what's going on with the font thing here. 

 

I was surprised at how much I enjoyed that book. When I started reading it, all I could think about was who the author is, but before long I got lost in the story. 

 

Yes, exact same thing with me. :)

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