Book a Week in 2014 - BW11

[Robin M]

Happy Sunday, dearhearts!  Today is the start of week 11 in our quest to read 52 Books.  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 -14th Century: This month we jump into the  14th century which ran from 1301 to 1400. It was the beginning of the Renaissance in Italy and later spread throughout Europe after 1450. We begin to see the rise of the alliterative verse as seen in Sir Gawain and the Green Knight, along with Pearl, Purity and Patience.  Plus allegorical literature in which symbols were used to describe characters or events, such as William Langland's Piers Plowman or Geoffrey Chaucer's Canterbury Tales as well as Dante's Divine Comedy.   

If you've finished reading Inferno, are you ready to tackle Purgatorio? I'm not sure I'm ready yet, but if you are interested, Rod Dreher from American Conservative blog is doing a Lenten readalong of Purgatorio, so head over and check out his detailed commentary.  Very enlightening.  (Thanks Jenn)

Check out Goodreads list of Popular 14th Century literature which includes all the ones I mentioned above as well as Umberto Eco, Anya Seton, Bernard Cornwall and Suzanna Gregory to name a few.  If you are feeling adventuresome, delve into the historical chronicles of Froissart and Joinville. 

Join me in reading a book set in the 14th Century.
 
What are you reading this week?

 

 

 

 

 

Link to week 10

[mumto2]

I am hoping the library processes the latest Sebastian St. Cyr book which was released on March 4th before I leave here. First on the wait list......

 

I finished the 8th in the series, What Darkness Brings by CS Harris. It was very good. It was sad to be reading the last one in my stack!

 

Currently reading several:

 

Stiff News by Catherine Aird

Hunted by Kevin Hearne

Cut to the Quick by Kate Ross

 

I have The Name of the Rose by Umberto Eco and am waiting for World Without End by Follett for my 14th Century reads.

 

Robin's link for Sir Gawin is fabulous. Bookmarked the site to explore later. Looks useful for British Lit class which is next years plan for both dc's.

[Robin M]

I'm in the middle of a dusty ya book which is also set partially in Paris. Michael Scott's The Sorceress, which is # 3 in The Secrets of the Immortal Nicholas Flamel series.  Then I'll dive into my 14th century book, Name of the Rose by Umberto Eco.

 

For Lent, reading Sacred Reading: The Ancient Art of Lectio Divina.  I read the first chapter this week, then started reading it again, with lots of marginalia which I generally don't do, but as thoughts came, I wrote them down. Thank you Eliana!   I'll share just a few sentences that stood out.
 

Authentic reading, therefore, has the character of dissatisfaction; we always want to go further and deeper. As pilgrims, seeking may be more truthful than finding.   In our practice of lectio divina, a patient receptivity may serve us better than a clamorous urgency to be enlightened... It's aim is to confront us with the truth of our own existence, and to accomplish this it has to break down all the barriers that we interpose between our awareness and the truth.  We have to move to a level that is different from the one on which we operate in everyday life....

 

This patience is threatened by any kind of intellectual fascism. We cannot hear what a text is saying if we refuse to listen.  And increasingly, many are reluctant to listen to truths and opinions that challenge any aspect of their personal view of reality.... If our convictions are so fragile that they cannot be exposed to alternative visions, then lectio divina is not for us....

and along with making time, scheduling in the time, commitment, perseverance to the reading, comes repetition which SWB has also talked about in her WEM when it comes to reading the Great books.

 

In the West, we have become accustomed to a lineal logic; we begin at A and progress to Z.  We keep pressing forward, never turning back.  The art of sacred reading does not follow the pattern of inevitable forward movement.  It certainly begins at the beginning and continues until the end, but there is much meandering in between.  Repetition is the soul of genuine lectio.  It is a right brain activity; we do not grasp the entire content immediately but in a circular manner.  We read and advance, then we go back and read again.  With each repetition something new make strike us.  Not only do we repeat books in the course of a lifetime, perhaps we re-read chapters and parts of chapters and even verses as a normal way of spending time with a text....

 

The reading of a scriptural book is a little like painting a wall.  We accept in principle that it is something that has to be done every few years; it can never be done permanently.  Probably we will use the occasion of repainting to change the color somewhat to correspond with current needs, and the result will create a new ambiance in which to live.  Two or three coats of paint are necessary to ensure total coverage of the wall, and in the process of applying each coat we move back and forth, sometime going over what has already been done, sometimes moving into new territory.  A lot of repetition and overlap is needed to achieve a smooth finish, but when all is complete, only the harmony of the finished product is visible.

 

 

[shukriyya]

It was a bit of a slog this week, reading-wise. I only finished one book and that was early in the week, Mary Stewart's, 'This Rough Magic' which was wonderful. Despite receiving four more of her books with an Amazon credit I have only just started one of them, 'My Brother Michael' set in Greece. It has her usual signature detailed descriptions of the landscape that are so much a part of her work and where she really shines. For example, her wonderful description of our heroine's approach to Parnassus by car...

"Soon after I had passed Levadia the country began to change. The grim banalities of Attica, the heavy Technicolour prosperity of the plains, sank back and were forgotten as the hills crowded in. The road reared and twisted between great ribs of brown hill that thrust the landscape up into folded ranges. At the foot of the steep waterless valleys dead streams curled white along their single beds, like the sloughed skin of snakes. The sides of the valley were dry with the yellowish growth of burned grass, and drifts of stones and crumbling soil.

Bigger and bigger grew the circling hills, barer the land, drawn in with great sweeps of colour that ran from red to ochre, from ochre to burnt umber to lion-tawny, with, above all, the burning, the limitless, the lovely light. And beyond all, at length, a grey ghost of a mountain massif; not purple, not faintly blue with distance like the mountains of a softer country, but spectre-white, magnificent, a lion silvered. Parnassus, home of the ghosts of the old gods."

I'm continuing with TWEM, reading slowly through the history section as I prepare to embark on Herodotus's 'The Histories' ship. And I'm still plodding along with Connie Willis's 'Blackout' though I feel my fingers itching to release it from my grip. So far the actual story has yet to unfold though we've been give ample detail and lead-up. I will likely abandon this one soon if its circuitry doesn't straighten out.

Still winging along with my poetry, 'Untold, Conference of the Birds and Aimless Love. Quite happy to amble here with all of these. A little dip, a little pause, a little time spent lying in their respective suns.

So a fairly modest week of reading for me.

[MelAR05]

Good deals today on Amazon - 2.99 or less, Books that Inspired a Love for Reading

 

http://www.amazon.com/Kindle-eBooks/b/ref=gbsl_tit_l-1_0942_6d9bcdfc?ie=UTF8&node=7533915011&smid=A3T7DQBB0CKEM6&pf_rd_m=ATVPDKIKX0DER&pf_rd_t=701&pf_rd_s=left-new-1&pf_rd_r=0EF89GGV1XSDNMQKQ2VZ&pf_rd_i=20&pf_rd_p=1740370942

 

Having problems with links. I got ATree Grows in Brooklyn for 1.99.  :001_smile:

[Robin M]

Good deals today on Amazon - 2.99 or less, Books that Inspired a Love for Reading

 

http://www.amazon.com/Kindle-eBooks/b/ref=gbsl_tit_l-1_0942_6d9bcdfc?ie=UTF8&node=7533915011&smid=A3T7DQBB0CKEM6&pf_rd_m=ATVPDKIKX0DER&pf_rd_t=701&pf_rd_s=left-new-1&pf_rd_r=0EF89GGV1XSDNMQKQ2VZ&pf_rd_i=20&pf_rd_p=1740370942

 

Having problems with links. I got ATree Grows in Brooklyn for 1.99.  :001_smile:

 

Thank you - Downloaded Richard Wright's  Native Son and Neal Stephenson's Cryptonomicon.

 

The Poisonwood Bible and Ahab's Wife are both on the list - both excellent and I highly recommend them

 

[Tress]

What? A new week already?! I haven't even read last week's thread :huh: .

 

I had a busy week and promised myself time to read the BaW thread as a treat after finishing everything. I probably shouldn't have put 'everything' as a condition. :willy_nilly:

 

Off to read last week's thread....

[Kim in Appalachia]

I finished The Long Road Home, by Alesa Teague.  I enjoyed it.  The writing was not the greatest, but she was still able to convey her jouney and her healing (She walked 800km on the Camino Trail).  I'm on my own journey (albeit, an inward one) this Lent, so it was a great kick-off for me. I may watch The Way, starring Martin Sheen, this afternoon.  It's also about a pilgramage on the Camino Trail.  

 

I'm still reading Henry Nouwen's, The Return of the Prodigal Son.  I'm enjoying it as well.  There are several aspects to this little book that speak to me, but probably the biggest draw for me, when a friend recommended it, was the profound impact the painting had on the author.  I love art, and I've found myself lost in paintings, never to the same degree as the author to that painting, but still, I can relate.  

 

I'll get back to Meyer's, The Son between my Lenten readings.  I was completely sucked into that novel, and it was a bit hard to put it aside.  It will be easy to jump back into it.

 

I want to go check out Amazon's sale, and then I don't.  I just bought Brandon Sanderson's, The Way of the Kings.  His new novel for that series just came out, so they had the first one down to 2.99.  I've wanted to read him so I bought it yesterday.  I may need to stay away from Amzaon for a bit.  The books on my Kindle are starting to pile up. :D

[Shawneinfl]

Here's an interesting list for those who like audiobooks:

 

The Best Book I Ever Narrated

[marbel]

Thanks for the great lead-off Robin!  You always have such an inviting start to the week!

 

I finished a couple more books this week.  My "follow the rules" tendencies make me want to catch up so my number of books completed is the same as the week number.  Yeah, I know, I know.   I'm getting close, though!  :hurray:   I had hoped and expected to finish A Circle of Quiet this week but I am stuck.  Determined to finish though.

 

My kids and I so loved The Code of the Woosters.   We were introduced to Jeeves and Wooster via the TV show, but of course the books have so much more.  It is fun though to read the scenes the episodes came from.  Unfortunately I can't do the voices/accents well.  They don't complain; they know if they do, I'll ask one of them to read.  And they are too cozy snuggled in their blankets. 

 

At the library this week I was attracted to the cover of In Times of Fading Light, so I brought it home and started it despite having other books I want to read.  It's about a German/Russian family in Berlin/East Berlin in the post-war years, through the demolition of the Berlin Wall, and through 2001.    I am really enjoying it (though the story is not really enjoyable) though my lack of knowledge of that period of history is showing.   The story is told in a nonlinear fashion which sometimes works and sometimes does not.  It's working for me, for this book. 

 

I doubt I will pick up any 14th century read this week.  I do have The Name of the Rose but I also promised a friend I would start reading Wolf Hall which is rather long and dense.  And the book group I facilitate for my church has chosen a couple of Pirandello plays (Six Characters in Search of an Author and Enrico IV for our next book.  The meeting isn't till May, but these will require a bit of time, and possible additional reading if I am going to lead a discussion!   This is a bit out of my comfort zone but I have to say I'm thrilled to be part of a group of women who want to read challenging books. 

 

In process:

 

In Times of Fading Light

Smart but Scattered Teens

The Count of Monte Cristo

The Civilization of the Middle Ages *

A Circle of Quiet

Basic Economics *

Bible reading plan - on track

 

Complete:

1. The Sweetness at the Bottom of the Pie

2. The Book Thief

3. Have His Carcase

4.  And Then There Were None
5. The Middle Ages *

6. The Raphael Affair    (5/5/5, art, #1)
7. Amazing Grace
8. The School of Essential Ingredients    (5/5/5, cooking #1)

9.  The Code of the Woosters (family readaloud)

*Homeschool books

 

 

 

[Mothersweets]

How to Create the Perfect Wife:Britain's Most Ineligible Bachelor and His Enlightened Quest to Train the Ideal Wife by Wendy Moore. Great read! My internet is being super slow - I'll try to come back and post a review later.

 

 

eta  -  I can't seem to copy and paste so I'll just link my review here - My review on Goodreads

[Ali in OR]

I finished Ursula LeGuin's Lavinia and appreciated that it didn't get bogged down in war. I thought it was well done. I'm almost done with Kristin Hannah's Winter Garden recommended here and am enjoying that one too--didn't realize it would tie in with our WWII and Stalin studies. Probably good I didn't know since I'm ready to move on from those topics, but I have really enjoyed this book. The mom is different than my mother, the daughters different than my sister and myself, and yet there are familiar themes for me.

 

Next up: I have Hollow City, the second Miss Peregrine's Home for Peculiar Children book, and that's a 14-day library loan, so that jumps to the top of the stack. Still have The Fault in Our Stars and God's Hotel waiting too. I've suspended all other library holds till the end of the month so I can get caught up.

[Murmer]

Finished: Ariana: The Making of a Queen by Rachel Ann Nunes (fine fluff)

The Courage of Sarah Noble by Alice Dalgliesh (why have I never read this before)

Witches in Flight by Debora Geary (in love and sad to be done with all the current books in the series)

The Choice by Suzanne Woods Fisher (turned out better than I thought)

I Didn’t Plan to be a Witch by Linda Eyres (fine enough)

 

Working on:

Fiction: The Lodger by Liz Adair

Kindle: Mozart’s Sister by Nancy Moser

Non-fiction: Dancing with the Pen by NZ Ministry of Education

Phone: Lies, Da** Lies, and Science by Sherry Seethaler

Computer: The 4 Levels of Joy by Richard Eyre

Well Education Mind: Pilgrim's Progress by John Bunyan

Angel Girl: The Aesop for Children by Aesop

Sweet Boy: Hans Christian Anderson Fairy Tales Book

Autobook: Tears of the Giraffe by Alexander McCall Smith

 

Total Read: 38

[Jane in NC]

Since it is the Lenten season, let me offer some historical perspective on avoiding meat.  This from Mortimer's book, The Time Traveler's Guide to Elizabethan England:

 

The medieval Church used to restrict the eating of meat on Wednesdays, Fridays, and Saturdays, as well as in Advent and Lent on the vigils of certain saints' feast days. In 1549 Edward VI reestablishes Fridays and Saturdays as nonmeat days, as well as Lent and other religious feasts. In 1563 Elizabeth's government imposes fasting on Wednesdays too, including a prohibition on slaughtering animals. There is an important difference compared to pre-Reformation times, however: avoidance of meat is no longer a religious observance but secular law.  The purpose of fasting on Wednesdays is specifically to encourage the eating of fish, to support the fishing industry. 

 

 

Mortimer goes on to explain the standard fines levied against those who eat meat on nonmeat days.  But note:

 

If you are really determined to eat meat all week, it is possible to buy a license to do so.  It will cost you £1 6 shillings 8 pence if you are a lord or a lady, 13 shillings 4 pence if you are a knight or his wthat ife , and 6s 8d if you are anyone else.  Even these licenses do not allow you to eat beef or veal between Michaelmas and May 1.

 

 

Later we learn that in addition to monetary fines, punishments like being pilloried may be suffered for eating meat in Lent. 

 

Can you imagine the outrage that would occur in America today if government were to impose such restriction in our lives? 

 

After reading several depressing novels, I found comfort and joy in an old friend, Angela Thirkell's Cheerfulness Breaks In. 

 

Now what to read this week?  The plan is to read a play by Shaw (Arms and the Man, I think), travel through France in Mastering the Art of French Eating, continue to find comfort with old friends in Barsetshire with Angela Thirkell (Before Lunch) and see what I have been missing by cracking open a Mary Stewart (The Moon-Spinners).  No way I'll conquer all of this within a week, but let's see where life and whims take me.

 

To date:

 

2014 5/5/5 Challenge:  Food Novels, Eastern/Middle European Authors, Shaw, Dorothy Dunnett, Dusty Books

Chunksters

 

1) The Lodger, Marie Belloc Lowndes, 1913--Dusty Book #1

2) The Blithedale Romance, Nathaniel Hawthorne, 1852--Dusty Book #2

3) Radiance of Tomorrow, Ishmael Beah, 2014

4) The Mission Song, John le Carre, 2006

5) The Debt to Pleasure, John Lanchester, 1996--Food Novel #1

6) The Cunning Little Vixen, Rudolf Tesnohlidek, 1920, 1985 translation--Dusty #3, Eastern/Middle Europe #1

7) Scoop, Evelyn Waugh, 1938--Dusty #4

8) The Upcycle, William McDonough and Michael Braungart, 2013

9) Red Gold, Alan Furst, 1999

10) Destination Unknown, Agatha Christie, 1954 (audio book)

11) Jane Eyre, Charlotte Bronte, 1847

12) Purge, Sofi Oksanen, 2008, Eastern European #2

13) The Red Badge of Courage, Stephen Crane, 1895 (audio book)

14) My Year of Meats, Ruth Ozeki, 1998--Food Novel #2

15) The Time Traveler's Guide to Elizabethan England, Ian Mortimer, 2013

16) Cheerfulness Breaks In, Angela Thirkell, 1940

[Just Robyn]

I finished a bunch of short stuff:

 

Paris Spleen by Charles Baudelaire

 

 

Perhaps you will say "Are you sure your story is the real one?" But what does it matter what reality is outside myself, so long as it has helped me to live, to feel that I am, and what I am?

 

The Genealogy of Morals by Friedrich Nietzsche

 

 

In particular, let us not underestimate the extent to which, by the very sight of the judicial and executive procedure, the wrong-doer is himself prevented from feeling that his deed, the character of his act, is intrinsically reprehensible: for he sees clearly the same kind of acts practised in the service of justice, and then called good, and practised with a good conscience; acts such as espionage, trickery, bribery, trapping, the whole intriguing and insidious art of the policeman and the informer - the whole system, in fact, manifested in the different kinds of punishment (a system not excused by passion, but based on principle), of robbing, oppressing, insulting, imprisoning, racking, murdering.

 

Casino Royale by Ian Fleming

 

 

He sighed. Women were for recreation. On a job, they got in the way and fogged things up with s*x and hurt feelings and all the emotional baggage they carried around.

 

 

These blithering women who thought they could do a man's work. Why the hell couldn't they stay at home and mind their pots and pans and stick to their frocks and gossip and leave men's work to the men.

 

:ack2:

 

Twelfth Night by Shakespeare

 

Oh boy. I'm not looking for a quote from this because it's not on my Kindle so I can't look to see what I highlighted or search for a particular phrase. I don't think much stood out to me anyway, but it was fun enough.

[Just Robyn]

Since it is the Lenten season, let me offer some historical perspective on avoiding meat.  This from Mortimer's book, The Time Traveler's Guide to Elizabethan England:

 

...

 

After all that, I couldn't help but notice number fourteen on your book list:

 

14) My Year of Meats, Ruth Ozeki, 1998--Food Novel #2

[melmichigan]

I finished by Power Down: A Dewey Andreas Novel by Ben Coes last night.  Thanks for the recommendation Robin!  I have Coup d'Etat downloaded, but I am trying to restrain myself and use my library more right now so I'm waiting for books three and four to be transferred to my branch.  I'm still waiting for The Newcomer by Robyn Carr to be available from my library.   :toetap05:  I ordered it the end of January, but still have ten people in front of me.  The library wait is unreasonably long (for me at least  ;) ) for some books so I've preordered Night Broken (Mercy Thompson #8) by Patricia Briggs today.  Is it true that there is only one more book contracted for this series?  

 

I have to start reading school titles for next year but I'm just not ready yet!    :unsure:  :blushing:

[MelAR05]

Thank you - Downloaded Richard Wright's  Native Son and Neal Stephenson's Cryptonomicon.

 

The Poisonwood Bible and Ahab's Wife are both on the list - both excellent and I highly recommend them

 

 

I've read The Poisonwood Bible and loved it! I'm thinking of buying it just so I can reread it. :)

 

I just purchased American Gods because I thought it was time to try Neil Gaiman. 

 

I am also interested in The Alchemist. Any opinions or reviews? 

[Pam in CT]

How to Create the Perfect Wife:Britain's Most Ineligible Bachelor and His Enlightened Quest to Train the Ideal Wife by Wendy Moore. Great read! My internet is being super slow - I'll try to come back and post a review later.

 

This is based on a true story??!  (Shudder...)

[Onceuponatime]

I finished A Natural History of Dragons. It was good but not spectacular. Now I am reading Looking at Philosophy: The Unbearable Heaviness of Philosophy Made Lighter. I am on a whirlwind tour of the history of Philosophy. So far, we've been through 300 years in 54 pages. It appears that the author will be spending a little bit more time on Plato than other philosophers so far. That is where I am now. It is definitely Philosophy light. A few times the author goes through a topic so quickly that I have to go back and read it again to make sure I understand the connections. It's not boring, but it isn't especially challenging either. That's okay with me for now.

 

Monday I pick up new stacks of library books.

[Pam in CT]

I finished Ursula LeGuin's Lavinia and appreciated that it didn't get bogged down in war. I thought it was well done. I'm almost done with Kristin Hannah's Winter Garden recommended here and am enjoying that one too--didn't realize it would tie in with our WWII and Stalin studies. Probably good I didn't know since I'm ready to move on from those topics, but I have really enjoyed this book. The mom is different than my mother, the daughters different than my sister and myself, and yet there are familiar themes for me.

 

Next up: I have Hollow City, the second Miss Peregrine's Home for Peculiar Children book, and that's a 14-day library loan, so that jumps to the top of the stack. Still have The Fault in Our Stars and God's Hotel waiting too. I've suspended all other library holds till the end of the month so I can get caught up.

 

I've got Fault in Our Stars on my increasingly wobbly bedside table, and am curious about your take on it... let us know once you get through it!

[Pam in CT]

I finished listening to Suzanne Joinson's A Lady Cyclists' Guide to Kashgar: A Novel.  This was unexpectedly marvelous... two stories, one of a young female sort-of-missionary lurching through Silk Road cities; and the other, with another young woman and an illegal Yemeni man, set in modern day London; which ultimately come together.  Very well written, touching on all sorts of cross-cultural dynamics.  The audio is wonderfully narrated.

 

I also read David Bezmogis' The Free World: A Novel, which tells the stories of an extended family of Soviet Jews, pausing for what turns out to be a very extended transit in Italy as they await visas for their final destination.  This has gotten a lot of raves; I liked it well enough, but would not really rave.  

 

As well, I read Ruth Ozeki's Tale of the Time Being, recommended on prior BAW threads.  Another two-interlinked-stories, one set perhaps ten years ago in Japan, of a young bullied girl whose overwhelmed parents are unable to help her; the other of a novelist in remote British Columbia who fears she is becoming untethered.  And perhaps she is -- the book veers towards surrealism, not my genre -- but I liked it anyway.

 

And for one of my IRL book groups, I read Nathan Englander's What We Talk About When We Talk About Anne Frank, eight (longish) stories exploring various Jewish divides (between people with differing levels of observance, between American Jews and Israelis, between generations, between those who've paid high prices for their identity vs. those who've had an easier road...).  I thought they were terrific, particularly the title story.

 

 

I'm still working on Robert Alter's The David Story.  I am learning a great deal, but it's slow going -- his commentary is 3-4x the length of the text, and tends to launch me off on various other rabbit trails, and my whole reason for doing it in the first place is to absorb the commentary.  I hope to finish it this week.

 

My 11 year old and I are about half through Elizabeth Wein's Rose Under Fire, which takes place a bit after Code Name Verity, with a few slightly overlapping characters.  It is also very good -- a bit darker / more detailed about what takes place in the camps.

 

She and my son and I have started listening to Philip Pullman's Golden Compass trilogy, but haven't gotten very far since we are rarely all three in the car together -- we'll make good headway once we take off on our roadtrip with the new dog next weekend!! :hurray:

 

And, in the meantime, I'm listening to Kaye Gibbons' Divining Women on audio.  I'm enjoying it, and greatly enjoying the audio -- it's read by the author, and is totally shifting the "voice" I heard in my head when I read her fabulous Ellen Foster many years ago.

[Pam in CT]

I finished A Natural History of Dragons. It was good but not spectacular. Now I am reading Looking at Philosophy: The Unbearable Heaviness of Philosophy Made Lighter. I am on a whirlwind tour of the history of Philosophy. So far, we've been through 300 years in 54 pages. It appears that the author will be spending a little bit more time on Plato than other philosophers so far. That is where I am now. It is definitely Philosophy light. A few times the author goes through a topic so quickly that I have to go back and read it again to make sure I understand the connections. It's not boring, but it isn't especially challenging either. That's okay with me for now.

 

Monday I pick up new stacks of library books.

 

I considered a Philosophy 5/5/5 category, and actually made my way through -- enjoyed, even -- Martin Buber, but the thought of doing four more seemed... unbearably heavy...  I haven't quite made up my mind...

[Kareni]

... I've preordered Night Broken (Mercy Thompson #8) by Patrician Briggs today

 

She sounds so very Roman!

 

Regards,

Kareni

[Negin]

I've read The Poisonwood Bible and loved it! I'm thinking of buying it just so I can reread it. :)

 

I am also interested in The Alchemist. Any opinions or reviews? 

Loved The Poisonwood Bible. 

The Alchemist was just okay - not the best and not the worst. A bit predictable for me. I've read at least one other book like that. For the price you're getting, it's worth it. 

[Negin]

As part of the Bingo Reading Challenge, I read:
Dog on It - a book with non-human characters - well the dog was the narrator, much like The Art of Racing in the Rain. 3 Stars

Dad is Fat - a humor book - 3 Stars. 

 

 

 

 

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.

[Negin]

nm

 

[shukriyya]

Posting from my phone while ds dances and sweats through the next couple of hours. It's rather grey here today. I'm about to settle in with Mary Stewart, some tea and some extra dark chocolate--salted pistachio to be exact. I've spent an enjoyable hour with NPR and catching up on all the wonderful posts here. Pam, your 'Divining Women' link took me on a little rabbit trail that resulted in a book being purchased :D

 

I'm very much enjoying hearing what all you prolific readers are soaking up.

[mlbuchina]

I got fed up with everything I was reading, so I have chunked it all.  Well, except for listening to Inkspell.  I'm not giving up on Brendan Fraser reading aloud to me.   :D

 

[edited to remove picture]

 

 

I haven't decided what I want to read next.  I really need to "shop" my shelves, as I have tons of books waiting for me to read.

 

[edited to remove picture]

[Narrow Gate Academy]

I only finished one book again this past week Agamemnon by Aeschylus (reviewed here). I didn't assign the remaining parts of the triology to DD, so I haven't decided if I'll read them this week of not.  I did download The Histories by Herodotus for our next ancient lit selection and picked up more holds at the library. :001_rolleyes:

 

To be read:

Eyeing a huge pile I thought rereading Getting Things Done by Allen might be an appropriate use of my time this week.  I've been in a bit of a slump and could use a kick to get me restarted :gnorsi: although the thought of the size of my to do list makes me fell more like this. :svengo:

 

In progress:

Bible - nearly finished with Deuteronomy and still on track

History of the Ancient World by Bauer - no chapters last week, will try to pick up the pace this week since I just ordered the next book for next year.

Urchin of the Riding Stars by McAllister - reading aloud with DS 9, nearing the end and will finish this week.  I got the OK to continue on to the next book when we finish this one. :thumbup:

 

Finished:

 

14.  Agamemnon by Aeschylus (ancient lit, Greece)

13.  One Corpse Too Many by Peters (12th century, England)

12.  Oedipus at Colonus by Sophocles (ancient lit, Greece)

11.  Oedipus the King by Sophocles  (ancient lit, Greece)

10.  The Week That Strings the Hangman's Bag by Bradley (BaW rec, England)

9.  Quiet:  The Power of Introverts in a World That Can't Stop Talking by Cain (non-fiction)

8.  Sandstorm by Rollins (BaW rec, Oman)

7.  The War of the Worlds by Wells (classic lit, Great Britain)

6.  A Morbid Taste for Bones by Peters (12th century, Great Britain)

5.  Anitgone by Sophocles (ancient lit, Greece)

4.  Secrets of an Organized Mom  by Reich (non-fiction)

3.  Phantastes by MacDonald (classic lit)

2.  The Sweetness at the Bottom of the Pie by Bradley (BaW rec, Great Britain)

1.  The Odyssey by Homer (ancient lit, Greece)

 

[melmichigan]

She sounds so very Roman!

 

Regards,

Kareni

Yep, sorry about that.  No more cut and paste for me. :)

[Stacia]

Didn't get much reading done this week, so I'm still working on A Moment in the Sun as well as A Novel Bookstore.

 

I think my reading is stalling out & there's not much hope for any progress this week as Irish Dance stuff is now in full swing. Just got back from dd dancing at an Irish Pub this afternoon & we will spend more than the upcoming week being busy, busy, busy with multiple dance appearances from pubs, to parks, to retirement homes, to libraries (!), & to parades!

 

So, happy reading this week & happy early St. Patrick's Day!

 

I'll be listening to & watching things like this all week. (I'm just the chauffeur & wardrobe assistant, though. :laugh: Even so, it's hard to read in the middle of a mob & Irish music & dancing, lol.)

 

 

 

 

 

 

[Angel]

Good deals today on Amazon - 2.99 or less, Books that Inspired a Love for Reading

 

http://www.amazon.com/Kindle-eBooks/b/ref=gbsl_tit_l-1_0942_6d9bcdfc?ie=UTF8&node=7533915011&smid=A3T7DQBB0CKEM6&pf_rd_m=ATVPDKIKX0DER&pf_rd_t=701&pf_rd_s=left-new-1&pf_rd_r=0EF89GGV1XSDNMQKQ2VZ&pf_rd_i=20&pf_rd_p=1740370942

 

Having problems with links. I got ATree Grows in Brooklyn for 1.99.  :001_smile:

 

Thanks for the link!  I got dd The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe for her Paperwhite (which she is LOVING and reading more this year than ever!).

 

I also picked up Poems for Two Voices, and I'm so excited about it!  We did this as an activity for my Jane Austen lit study and what a lot of fun!  For those who don't know it is poetry to be read by two people, sometimes alternately and sometimes simultaneously.  Lovely!

[LostSurprise]

I finished The Language of Baklava this weekend. I thought the early stories in her memoir (especially those about her time Jordan and her various relatives) were extremely vivid and exceptionally well done. The teen years were a little less interesting. Perhaps because you can order and morph early memories into the exact themes and dramatic arc you want, while teen memories are often too clear and frustrating to make the best stories. Too literal. Too similar to the experience of others. Still, that time was fine and it picked up again with her second trip to Jordan as an adult and had some interesting thoughts about the immigrant experience, trust vs. love in families, and accepting what life has to offer. Recommended, especially for those who are reading 'food novels.' This one has many recipes for Middle Eastern food and really celebrates how food is inseparably intertwined with family. 

 

 

Best Book of the Year **

10 Best Books *

 

21. The Language of Baklava by Diana Abu-Jaber~memoir, 2nd generation American immigrants, Jordan, food. 

20. Bread Givers by Anzia Yezierska~semi-autobiographical fiction, Jewish immigrants, women's issues. Dusty Book *

19. Harry Potter and the Half Blood Prince by JK Rowling~youth fiction, fantasy, wizards. Dusty Book *

18. Where the Red Fern Grows by Wilson Rawls~youth fiction, dogs, hunting, read aloud.

17. The Painted Veil by W. Somerset Maugham~fiction, classic, China, male-female roles. Dusty Book *

16. Replay by Ken Grimwood~speculative fiction, time travel, multiple lives.  Finally Finished/Dusty Book

15. Home Cooking: a Writer in the Kitchen by Laurie Colwin~ memoir, cooking, recipes, essays, humorous. 

14. Mr. Penumbra's 24-Hour Bookstore by Robin Sloan~fiction, mystery, cults, printing, Google.

13. By Nature's Design by Pat Murphy and William Neill~non-fiction, natural patterns, science, Exploratorium series. 

12. The Lives of the Heart by Jane Hirschfield~poetry, relationships, 1990s. *

11.  The Titian Committee by Iain Pears~mystery, Venice, Art History, Argyll series. 

10. Mort by Terry Pratchett~fantasy, Disc world series, Death.

9. Code Name Verity by Elizabeth Wein~youth fiction, WWII, female pilots and spies.

8. Still Life by Louise Penny~mystery, Inspector Gamanche series, Quebec. 

7. The Maid's Version by Daniel Woodrell~literary fiction, mystery, multiple narrators.

6. The Master Butcher's Singing Club by Louise Erdrich~fiction, northern plains, WWI/WWII, relationships, Finally Finished!/Dusty Book. 

5. Curtsies & Conspiracies by Gail Carriger~youth fiction, boarding school, spies, steampunk.  

4. Cinnamon and Gunpowder by Eli Brown~fiction, pirates, food, colonialism.

3. The Man of Numbers: Fibonacci's Arithmetic Revolution by Keith Devlin~non-fiction, Mathematics, 13th century, Indian-Persian numbers.

2. The Door in the Wall by Marguerite De Angeli~youth fiction, 13th century, disability, read-aloud.

1. Tale for the Time Being by Ruth Ozeki~fiction, story within a story, Japan/Canada, Zen. *

 

Working on: 

 

The Labyrinths (Borges)

When I was a Child I Read Books (Robinson)

Zoo in my Luggage (Durrell)

Omelet and a Glass of Wine (David)

The Divine Comedy (Dante)

[Jane in NC]

 

I finished The Language of Baklava this weekend. I thought the early stories in her memoir (especially those about her time Jordan and her various relatives) were extremely vivid and exceptionally well done. The teen years were a little less interesting. Perhaps because you can order and morph early memories into the exact themes and dramatic arc you want, while teen memories are often too clear and frustrating to make the best stories. Too literal. Too similar to the experience of others. Still, that time was fine and it picked up again with her second trip to Jordan as an adult and had some interesting thoughts about the immigrant experience, trust vs. love in families, and accepting what life has to offer. Recommended, especially for those who are reading 'food novels.' This one has many recipes for Middle Eastern food and really celebrates how food is inseparably intertwined with family. 

 

 

And that would be me.  Thank you for the recommendation!

 

Jane

[shukriyya]

 

I finished The Language of Baklava this weekend. I thought the early stories in her memoir (especially those about her time Jordan and her various relatives) were extremely vivid and exceptionally well done. The teen years were a little less interesting. Perhaps because you can order and morph early memories into the exact themes and dramatic arc you want, while teen memories are often too clear and frustrating to make the best stories. Too literal. Too similar to the experience of others. Still, that time was fine and it picked up again with her second trip to Jordan as an adult and had some interesting thoughts about the immigrant experience, trust vs. love in families, and accepting what life has to offer. Recommended, especially for those who are reading 'food novels.' This one has many recipes for Middle Eastern food and really celebrates how food is inseparably intertwined with family. 

Glad to hear of the good rec for this book as I randomly chose it a couple of months ago as one of my 5/5/5 food novels :D I read a lot of Claudia Roden in my twenties just for fun so I'm hoping for some good recipes with this as well as the author's memoirs.

[shukriyya]

Didn't get much reading done this week, so I'm still working on A Moment in the Sun as well as A Novel Bookstore.

 

I think my reading is stalling out & there's not much hope for any progress this week as Irish Dance stuff is now in full swing. Just got back from dd dancing at an Irish Pub this afternoon & we will spend more than the upcoming week being busy, busy, busy with multiple dance appearances from pubs, to parks, to retirement homes, to libraries (!), & to parades!

 

So, happy reading this week & happy early St. Patrick's Day!

 

I'll be listening to & watching things like this all week. (I'm just the chauffeur & wardrobe assistant, though. :laugh: Even so, it's hard to read in the middle of a mob & Irish music & dancing, lol.)

 

Well, no pub performances happening here but it seems we both share the chauffeur duties of driving to various dance venues. Here's the kind of dance my ds does though he's obviously not in this clip, randomly chosen from youtube but a good demo of kathak....

 

[Mom-ninja.]

I finished The Little Nugget on audio because I love Wodehouse on audio. Loved it. I laughed a lot. Wodehouse has a way with words that just cracks you up.

[prairiegirl]

My mom had heart surgery on Fri. (she is doing very well) so I am heading out this week to help out.  I will be having a long day of travel plus  I am going without children so  I will have oodles of time for reading.   I have  a bunch of books that I will be bringing with me.  I will be bringing along Goldfinch  by Donna Tartt  to read while I am waiting for my connecting flight.  I also have the new Flavia book, ' Her Husband's Secret' by Liane Moriarty,  and ' A Tale for the Time Being'  by Ruth Ozeki.  I went to the books store today and  bought  'Boy, Snow, Bird'  by Helen Oyeyemi  and 'Dinner'  by Herman Koch.   so I am ready for a few weeks of fluff reading.   I am also bringing  some  more heavier reads just to balance it all out.

 

I will be gone for two weeks.  I don't know if I will be able to get on my parent's  laptop or not so I may be quiet for awhile.

 

Oh,  I am reading The Circle by Dave Eggers  right now.  I have to read 200 pages by tomorrow as its due on Tues.  I am really liking this book so I am hoping that I can polish it off in time.

[Jane in NC]

My mom had heart surgery on Fri. (she is doing very well) so I am heading out this week to help out.  I will be having a long day of travel plus  I am going without children so  I will have oodles of time for reading.   I have  a bunch of books that I will be bringing with me.  I will be bringing along Goldfinch  by Donna Tartt  to read while I am waiting for my connecting flight.  I also have the new Flavia book, ' Her Husband's Secret' by Liane Moriarty,  and ' A Tale for the Time Being'  by Ruth Ozeki.  I went to the books store today and  bought  'Boy, Snow, Bird'  by Helen Oyeyemi  and 'Dinner'  by Herman Koch.   so I am ready for a few weeks of fluff reading.   I am also bringing  some  more heavier reads just to balance it all out.

 

I will be gone for two weeks.  I don't know if I will be able to get on my parent's  laptop or not so I may be quiet for awhile.

 

Oh,  I am reading The Circle by Dave Eggers  right now.  I have to read 200 pages by tomorrow as its due on Tues.  I am really liking this book so I am hoping that I can polish it off in time.

Sending your mom best wishes.  I hope your travel proves to be uneventful and that you can fit some reading in.

 

Good luck!

 

Jane

[prairiegirl]

I've read The Poisonwood Bible and loved it! I'm thinking of buying it just so I can reread it. :)

 

I just purchased American Gods because I thought it was time to try Neil Gaiman. 

 

I am also interested in The Alchemist. Any opinions or reviews? 

 

I've read  The Alchemist but it was just so-so for me  but I didn't  like  Poisonwood bible either so you might just like it.  :laugh:

[shukriyya]

My mom had heart surgery on Fri. (she is doing very well) so I am heading out this week to help out.  I will be having a long day of travel plus  I am going without children so  I will have oodles of time for reading.   I have  a bunch of books that I will be bringing with me.  I will be bringing along Goldfinch  by Donna Tartt  to read while I am waiting for my connecting flight.  I also have the new Flavia book, ' Her Husband's Secret' by Liane Moriarty,  and ' A Tale for the Time Being'  by Ruth Ozeki.  I went to the books store today and  bought  'Boy, Snow, Bird'  by Helen Oyeyemi  and 'Dinner'  by Herman Koch.   so I am ready for a few weeks of fluff reading.   I am also bringing  some  more heavier reads just to balance it all out.

 

I will be gone for two weeks.  I don't know if I will be able to get on my parent's  laptop or not so I may be quiet for awhile.

 

Oh,  I am reading The Circle by Dave Eggers  right now.  I have to read 200 pages by tomorrow as its due on Tues.  I am really liking this book so I am hoping that I can polish it off in time.

 

Blessings on your mom's recovery and your travels :grouphug:

 

[Stacia]

Sending :grouphug:  & good wishes for your mom to have a speedy & healthy recovery. Hoping you also get all the reading time you want (& need)!

 

My mom had heart surgery on Fri. (she is doing very well) so I am heading out this week to help out.  I will be having a long day of travel plus  I am going without children so  I will have oodles of time for reading.   I have  a bunch of books that I will be bringing with me.  I will be bringing along Goldfinch  by Donna Tartt  to read while I am waiting for my connecting flight.  I also have the new Flavia book, ' Her Husband's Secret' by Liane Moriarty,  and ' A Tale for the Time Being'  by Ruth Ozeki.  I went to the books store today and  bought  'Boy, Snow, Bird'  by Helen Oyeyemi  and 'Dinner'  by Herman Koch.   so I am ready for a few weeks of fluff reading.   I am also bringing  some  more heavier reads just to balance it all out.

 

I will be gone for two weeks.  I don't know if I will be able to get on my parent's  laptop or not so I may be quiet for awhile.

 

Oh,  I am reading The Circle by Dave Eggers  right now.  I have to read 200 pages by tomorrow as its due on Tues.  I am really liking this book so I am hoping that I can polish it off in time.

 

Oh, can't wait to hear what you think of The Circle & also Boy, Snow, Bird. (I SO want to read Oyeyemi's book.) Really hope you enjoy both The Goldfinch & A Tale for the Time Being as I loved both of those.

 

I've read  The Alchemist but it was just so-so for me  but I didn't  like  Poisonwood bible either so you might just like it.  :laugh:

 

I really disliked both of those books, lol.

[mumto2]

I hope you have a safe journey Prairiegirl. Enjoy the time with your parents!

[ladydusk]

I'm still reading That Hideous Strength ... but I'm close to done.  I like it quite a bit.

 

My son was asking for books about China to read, and I found Grace Lin's Starry River of the Sky at the local teacher/bookshop.  The proprietor gave me her Where the Mountain Meets the Moon on audio CD to listen to (Newberry Honor). We listened to that on some of our weekend driving, am looking forward to finishing it.  Unfortunately, we have to wait until Daddy is riding with us ... he hates to miss out on stories.  It's excellent so far, so I'm thrilled about the other one (I had chosen it because it has a boy protagonist).

 

If you know of any similar literature for India for a 9yo girl who reads very well (devouring Redwall books right now), I'm all ears ...

[Pam in CT]

:grouphug:   Wishing your mom a speedy recovery.

 

My mom had heart surgery on Fri. (she is doing very well) so I am heading out this week to help out.  I will be having a long day of travel plus  I am going without children so  I will have oodles of time for reading.   I have  a bunch of books that I will be bringing with me.  I will be bringing along Goldfinch  by Donna Tartt  to read while I am waiting for my connecting flight.  I also have the new Flavia book, ' Her Husband's Secret' by Liane Moriarty,  and ' A Tale for the Time Being'  by Ruth Ozeki.  I went to the books store today and  bought  'Boy, Snow, Bird'  by Helen Oyeyemi  and 'Dinner'  by Herman Koch.   so I am ready for a few weeks of fluff reading.   I am also bringing  some  more heavier reads just to balance it all out.

 

I will be gone for two weeks.  I don't know if I will be able to get on my parent's  laptop or not so I may be quiet for awhile.

 

Oh,  I am reading The Circle by Dave Eggers  right now.  I have to read 200 pages by tomorrow as its due on Tues.  I am really liking this book so I am hoping that I can polish it off in time.

 

My eldest left me The Circle when she returned to college -- it's around here, somewhere... it sounds intriguing.

[MelAR05]

Today I finished the Husband's Secret by Liane Moriarty. I'm glad to have found such a fun and enjoyable read from another Australian author.

[JennW in SoCal]

Dance seems to be the theme today here in BaW land!  The last 5 days of my life revolved around playing in a ballet orchestra, and being totally humbled by the demands of great Russian composers.  The best part, though, was the audience reaction when the curtain opened to this ballet, which is excerpted in the below clip from Pacific Northwest Ballet.  We'd start playing with the theater dark, the curtain closed, and when it rises there are the ballerinas standing with their arms raised.  There was an audible sigh at that moment in every performance, and today, applause.  Here's some of what I couldn't see from the pit....

 

 

 

What does this have to do with reading?  Well, I listened to more of The Ionian Mission on the commute to and from the theater, but still have an hour left!  I thought for sure I'd be in the car enough to finish it!  I'm enjoying Mr. Penumbra's 24 Hour Bookstore, and thought I'd get some reading in the musician's greenroom before the show and during intermissions, but didn't get more than a few pages read -- the place was a bit too lively!  But, I am far enough into the book to say that I like it very much.  I like the fantastical, quirky setting and characters.  It is the real world through a whimsically artistic lens, something I thoroughly love. 

 

And a canto a day is the way to tackle Dante.  I'm using the Musa translation which is very, very user friendly!

 

 

[shukriyya]

Dance seems to be the theme today here in BaW land!  The last 5 days of my life revolved around playing in a ballet orchestra, and being totally humbled by the demands of great Russian composers.  The best part, though, was the audience reaction when the curtain opened to this ballet, which is excerpted in the below clip from Pacific Northwest Ballet.  We'd start playing with the theater dark, the curtain closed, and when it rises there are the ballerinas standing with their arms raised.  There was an audible sigh at that moment in every performance, and today, applause.  Here's some of what I couldn't see from the pit....

 

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=t4ra_L_wPo0

 

 

What does this have to do with reading?  Well, I listened to more of The Ionian Mission on the commute to and from the theater, but still have an hour left!  I thought for sure I'd be in the car enough to finish it!  I'm enjoying Mr. Penumbra's 24 Hour Bookstore, and thought I'd get some reading in the musician's greenroom before the show and during intermissions, but didn't get more than a few pages read -- the place was a bit too lively!  But, I am far enough into the book to say that I like it very much.  I like the fantastical, quirky setting and characters.  It is the real world through a whimsically artistic lens, something I thoroughly love. 

 

And a canto a day is the way to tackle Dante.  I'm using the Musa translation which is very, very user friendly!

 

Loveliness! Ds and I enjoyed watching this as he pointed out to me various differences from kathak in the rhythmical structure of the music and body positions of the dancers :lol:

 

Irish dance vids were fun also!

 

 

[shukriyya]

To continue the dance theme...Some of those Irish dancing vids were interesting in that there seem to be parallels with tap to my uninformed eye. All these rhythmic forms, really, share some kind of lineage, if only the tapping/stomping out of time with the feet. Kathak and tap for example have joined forces in this amazing series of performances...