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Book a Week in 2014 - BW15


Robin M
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I see your post...

 

 

 

And raise the ante...

 

 

 

:lol:

I'm pretty sure I have the best one ...

Front of Joan Fisher's Guide to Knitting

 

 

Back cover of Joan Fisher's Guide to Knitting.

 

But, inside the dust jacket?

 

The Book of Drinking. And a card stating "Defective" LOL

 

ETA pics removed in the Great Sept 2014 Photo Purge.

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I read -- and very much enjoyed -- a book that is definitely outside my usual reading choices.  I recommend it.

 

The Martian: A Novel by Andy Weir

 

I'd call this book a blend of (thinking movies here) Castaway meets Apollo 13.  I shared a number of snippets with my husband, and now he's interested in reading it, too, even though he only rarely reads fiction.

 

"Six days ago, astronaut Mark Watney became one of the first people to walk on Mars.

 

Now, he's sure he'll be the first person to die there.

 

After a dust storm nearly kills him and forces his crew to evacuate while thinking him dead, Mark finds himself stranded and completely alone with no way to even signal Earth that he’s alive—and even if he could get word out, his supplies would be gone long before a rescue could arrive.

 

Chances are, though, he won't have time to starve to death. The damaged machinery, unforgiving environment, or plain-old "human error" are much more likely to kill him first.

 

But Mark isn't ready to give up yet. Drawing on his ingenuity, his engineering skills—and a relentless, dogged refusal to quit—he steadfastly confronts one seemingly insurmountable obstacle after the next. Will his resourcefulness be enough to overcome the impossible odds against him?"

 

Regards,

Kareni

Adding to tbr list.  It already has 31 holds at my library, so maybe this summer.

 

Ooooohhh. Lots of cool bookshelves:

http://www.boredpanda.com/creative-bookshelves/

 

(I actually have #8 in red in my house! Totally love it though it's completely overloaded right now.)

 

I love #14 & #19. Absolutely would love to have them in my house.

 

Love this one too (#6):

 

creative-bookshelves-2-2.jpg

 

Which are your favorites?

The cat bookcase and the staircase bookcase.  The others were cute, but I tend to go for function over artistry in furniture.

 

I love the equation one but really ... I want the staircase one in my house.  

 

READ:

 

For one of my book clubs I finished Stardust by Neil Gaiman.  I had been meaning to read him for years because everyone seems to adore him.  I enjoyed the story but was suprised by it's adult situation and the ending was sad.  Not in a bittersweet way ... just sad.  ****

 

I jotted this one on my tbr list while catching up on the past two weeks of posts.  Thanks for the warning.  I'll move it from the fun fluffy category.

I see your post...

 

 

 

And raise the ante...

 

worst-book-covers-titles-40.jpg

 

:lol:

Love the pic.  Thanks for the laugh.

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Have you read Second Person Singular by Sayed Kashua? I read that last year & recommend it. I would like to read his book Dancing Arabs too.

 

51TssrjMCFL.jpg

 

 

You know, less than an hour after I wrote my post, I thought of Mel Brooks (& the Inquisition -- probably because I posted a photo of that last week). But, yes. Exactly.

 

I haven't come across Sayed Kashua -- thank you.  I'll look for him.

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Yikes!

 

Well, maybe it's an unfair comparison on my part. (Remember it was made pre-coffee.) It does remind me of Vonnegut in a teeny way because of cutting, sharp, precise, simple statements that show the absurdity of humans.

 

Mel Brooks is a pretty apt comparison, at least so far.... Just that this history being satirized is still fresh vs. being hundreds or thousands of years old.

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By the by I'm still reading mostly Flufferton Abbey books.

 

I did start History of the Ancient World, though.  Love it.  I'm also (theoretically) reading The Liberal Arts Tradition, Beauty in the Word, Till we Have Faces, and The Narnian.

 

Darling ... we are staying at the same place then this week.  Shall we meet in the morning room for tea?   :laugh:

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:smilielol5:

 

So, does the book have knitting patterns or cocktail mixes in it???

 

Definitely the drinks ... all about the drinks.  My husband loves the full-body knit suits the children are wearing on the cover.   He inherited the book from his grandfather who had a similar sense of humor ...

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Well, maybe it's an unfair comparison on my part. (Remember it was made pre-coffee.) It does remind me of Vonnegut in a teeny way because of cutting, sharp, precise, simple statements that show the absurdity of humans.

 

Mel Brooks is a pretty apt comparison, at least so far.... Just that this history being satirized is still fresh vs. being hundreds or thousands of years old.

 

Stacia, have you seen The Producers?  

 

(When we went on a family outing to the musical version, the director came round to our seats before the performance began and gestured subtly that she wished to speak to me privately... Turns out, she was concerned for the sake of my youngest, who was perhaps six at the time (and who's so much younger than her siblings that we've ended up dragging her to wildly inappropriate places and performances all.over.the.world).  I assured her it was OK.  "But... but.." she spluttered.  "Are you aware of what it's about?"

 

"Singing Nazis?" I said.

"Complete with chorus line?" my husband added.  

"With naked ladies?" added my maybe ten year old eavesdropping son.

"Not naked," my husband corrected.  "They're wearing, like, flower blossoms, or something."

"Er..." said the clearly flummoxed director.)

 

Talk about tasteless.  (Not for everyone!)

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Stacia, have you seen The Producers?  

 

(When we went on a family outing to the musical version, the director came round to our seats before the performance began and gestured subtly that she wished to speak to me privately... Turns out, she was concerned for the sake of my youngest, who was perhaps six at the time (and who's so much younger than her siblings that we've ended up dragging her to wildly inappropriate places and performances all.over.the.world).  I assured her it was OK.  "But... but.." she spluttered.  "Are you aware of what it's about?"

 

"Singing Nazis?" I said.

"Complete with chorus line?" my husband added.  

"With naked ladies?" added my maybe ten year old eavesdropping son.

"Not naked," my husband corrected.  "They're wearing, like, flower blossoms, or something."

"Er..." said the clearly flummoxed director.)

 

Talk about tasteless.  (Not for everyone!)

 

No, I've never seen The Producers. I guess I'm tasteless because that clip did make me laugh (esp. the Bavarian pretzel pasties). Love Gene Wilder too.

 

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Ooooohhh. Lots of cool bookshelves:

http://www.boredpanda.com/creative-bookshelves/

 

(I actually have #8 in red in my house! Totally love it though it's completely overloaded right now.)

 

I love #14 & #19. Absolutely would love to have them in my house.

 

Love this one too (#6):

 

 

 

Which are your favorites?

When first started looking at the shelves, my really practical side was skeptical since I have an overabundance of books and these will only hold a few, so the only one that resonated was the cat one.  So I told my practical side to shut up and dream a little.   I really like the teacups, and the # 6 Has Been Read is very cute, and #16 Read your Bookcase. My practical side can't stand it anymore so  :leaving:

 

 

Don't know how to segue from there into poetry so just going to jump - flavorwire has 50 Essential books of Poetry which everyone should have. Robert Frost's book is free on Kindle  - yeah! 

 

And speaking of poetry came across Ray Bradbury's advice on reading one short story, one poem and one essay every night for 1000 nights.  Sounds like an interesting idea not only for writers, but readers as well.  Will certainly fill our brains up.

 

And here's an interesting article on the 2014 London Book Fair on looking beyond the book and to the internet. What do you think?

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Lying here in the backseat of the car with my pillows and a view of the swaying trees and blue sky having just finished listening to 'The Red Shoes' read by the author, Clarissa Pinkola Estes. Very good and read in her inimitable style though not quite as resonant as Saturday's listen to 'Warming the Stone Child' which got a re-listen yesterday. I've got several more of hers cued up to listen to. A latte is at hand while I wait for ds to finish up.

 

Today's chat is rambling hither and thither as I tag along following thought-trails of singing nazis, well-endowed manly knitting men, peculiar-looking and questionably efficient bookshelves, knitting while drinking and, oh yeah, books :lol:

 

Thanks for the wildly divergent ride and laughs, ladies.

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I'll raise your Manly Art of Knitting with Knitting With Balls: A Hands-On Guide to Knitting for the Modern Man by Michael Del Vecchio which I first spotted in my library while shelving.  I recommended it to my twenty-five year old nephew who crochets.

 

Regards,

Kareni

 

Here's one that looks like fun: Men Who Knit and the Dogs Who Love Them. I just wish this one had the "see inside" feature.

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In other news, my missing copy of Hare with the Amber Eyes was hiding on my nightstand under a stack of, I kid you not, Superman comic books.  I didn't see Angel's missing science textbook in the stack, however  :laugh:

Well, darn!  I'm glad you found your book, though!  Maybe one day we will find that book...

 

By the by I'm still reading mostly Flufferton Abbey books.

 

I did start History of the Ancient World, though.  Love it.  I'm also (theoretically) reading The Liberal Arts Tradition, Beauty in the Word, Till we Have Faces, and The Narnian.

I picked up a few Flufferton Abbey books at the library book sale Saturday!

 

Are the bolded books by C.S. Lewis or about C.S. Lewis?  Having just read through the whole Chronicles of Narnia with my co-op group, I'm very interested in reading more by/about Lewis.  

 

I finished The Last Battle yesterday for my co-op class today.  I was totally blown away by the concepts Lewis broached in this book. To take these concepts and make them accessible to kids through the continuing story of Narnia is just brilliant.  Quite frankly, I was surprised by the connections that I made while reading. I am much richer for having read this series this year and seeing it through the eyes of my Christian faith.  Not to mention sharing the experience with my co-op class and seeing their own reactions and connections. I totally have to eat my words that these books are nothing more than a great fantasy series that just happened to be written by a Christian.  As well as the words that Christians need to stop over-analyzing these books and stop putting ideas and allegories there that are not.  I was wrong.  I have much more that I would love to share but will not because I would not want to offend any of my friends here with overly Christian content.   ;)  I am sad to see this study with my class coming to an end.

 

 *1 – The Women of Christmas by Liz Curtis Higgs (Isarel)

*2 – Michael Vey: The Prisoner of Cell 25 by Richard Paul Evans (USA)

 

*3 – The Silver Chair by C.S. Lewis (Dusty, Narnia)

 

*4 – Michael Vey:  The Rise of the Elgen by Richard Paul Evans (USA/Peru)

 

*5 – Soulless by Gail Carriger (England, BaW rec)

 

*6 – Speaking from Among the Bones by Alan Bradley (England)

 

*7 – A Morbid Taste for Bones by Ellis Peters (12th Century, England/Wales,BaW rec)

 

*8 – Michael Vey: Battle of the Ampere by Richard Paul Evans (Peru)

 

*9 - Divergent by Veronica Roth (USA)

 

*10 - Anna of Byzantium by Tracy Barrett (Turkey, 11th/12th Century, Dusty Book)

 

*11 – Austenland by Shannon Hale (England, Dusty Book)

 

*12 – The Horse and His Boy by C.S. Lewis (Narnia)

 

*13 – Etiquette and Espionage by Gail Carriger (England, BaW rec)

 

*14 – The Magician’s Nephew by C.S. Lewis (Narnia)

 

*15 – Wrapped by Jennifer Bradbury (England)

 

*16 – Imprudent Lady by Joan Smith (England, BaW rec)

 

*17 – Beorn the Proud by Madeleine Polland (Denmark, 9th Century)

 

*18 – The Mark of Athena by Rick Riordan (audiobook) (USA/Italy)

 

*19 – The Dead in their Vaulted Arches by Alan Bradley (England)

*20 - The Last Battle by C.S. Lewis (Narnia)

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And here's an interesting article on the 2014 London Book Fair on looking beyond the book and to the internet. What do you think?

 

I've wondered if handmade/artsy books will become more popular with the internet and all the nooks and such.  Buying a physical book maybe will be more of an investment, a treasure for a home library instead of a whim.

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I read two Sisterchicks books by Robin Jones Gunn and will not be checking out the rest from the library. One was kind of refreshing in a chick lit kind of way. The second one, I had to force myself to get through. I don't remember NOT finishing a book, unless you count Wuthering Heights which I threw across my bedroom and refused to pick up again. I was fifteen. Maybe I should try it again as an adult. ;)

 

Starting Gillian Flynn's Gone Girl.

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I love you girls!

 

Much on my plate at the moment. I am reading a Josephine Tey mystery, The Franchise Affair.

 

Ali--Colwin's a lovely writer though, even if you don't want to try her recipes.

 

Aggieamy--Images will be forthcoming, that is if I can figure out how to post them. My ability to attach things has been limited.

 

Thanks for the entertaining posts!

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In addition to buying a stack of reading material, I found some 1950's and 1960's knitting pattern books at our library sale.  What a hoot!  The one below cracks me up because of the styling.  Apparently men have to hold things.  The models are posed with cigarettes, pipes, skis, rifles, golf clubs, steering wheels....

 

 

Here's one that looks like fun: Men Who Knit and the Dogs Who Love Them. I just wish this one had the "see inside" feature.

 

Jane, you'll note from the book cover that Shawne posted that men STILL need to hold things (in this case, a dog)!  I guess things haven't changed much in fifty or so years.

 

Regards,

Kareni

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In Boxer, Beetle, I just read a section covering invented languages, which had me musing back on a book I read a few years ago, Joseph Skibell's A Curable Romantic. Love reading books that interconnect to various others with topics, thoughts, research, much of it overlapping through serendipity.... Quite a few overlaps so far between this one & various other books I've read through the years.

 

Also, I just realized this book won a 2011 National Jewish Book Award for Outstanding Debut Fiction.
 

Pam, not that all of these books would be set in Israel, but have you looked at the National Jewish Book Council award winners for ideas?

http://www.jewishbookcouncil.org/awards/njba-list

(Not that you probably need to further extend your tbr list, lol! But more lists of books are always good, right? :laugh: )

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No, I've never seen The Producers. I guess I'm tasteless because that clip did make me laugh (esp. the Bavarian pretzel pasties). Love Gene Wilder too.

 

Heh, well then that makes two (three?) of us because I've seen that version of "The Producers" and loved it.

 

Last week put me through the wringer so reading has slowed to a snails pace. I did finish two this week, though - the last of the "A Bad Day..." series that I hadn't yet read and the second Phryne Fisher book. I adore Phryne Fisher!

 

I'm also making my way through "Their Eyes Were Watching God" and "The Language of Baklava."

 

I think I'm at 41 for the year.

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Are the bolded books by C.S. Lewis or about C.S. Lewis?  Having just read through the whole Chronicles of Narnia with my co-op group, I'm very interested in reading more by/about Lewis.  

 

I have "TheDiscarded Image" by CS Lewis waitiNg to be read. Somewhere I saw it listed as a spine to pair with a study of medieval literature.  It looks very interesting and I really should read it!  One of my 5/5/5 is CS Lewis.  Hoping to do this, the Prelandrea 3, and Screwtape Letters.

Starting Gillian Flynn's Gone Girl.

 

My e library now has search choice titled "books like Gone Girl".  Driving me nuts because they got rid of a very sensible new ebook choice for that.  Hope you enjoy it,  I never managed to decide if I actually liked that book or not.  

  What Angels May Fear by CS Harris - recommended by mumto2.  About 50 pages in and enjoying it so far.  

Glad that you are enjoying it.  Some characters shift around a bit in book three and then the series gets really really good.  How is that for incentive to keep reading?

 

If this post turns out to be a complete mess please excuse it.  I am experimenting a bit.

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Are the bolded books by C.S. Lewis or about C.S. Lewis?  Having just read through the whole Chronicles of Narnia with my co-op group, I'm very interested in reading more by/about Lewis.  

 

I finished The Last Battle yesterday for my co-op class today.  I was totally blown away by the concepts Lewis broached in this book. To take these concepts and make them accessible to kids through the continuing story of Narnia is just brilliant.  Quite frankly, I was surprised by the connections that I made while reading. I am much richer for having read this series this year and seeing it through the eyes of my Christian faith.  Not to mention sharing the experience with my co-op class and seeing their own reactions and connections. I totally have to eat my words that these books are nothing more than a great fantasy series that just happened to be written by a Christian.  As well as the words that Christians need to stop over-analyzing these books and stop putting ideas and allegories there that are not.  I was wrong.  I have much more that I would love to share but will not because I would not want to offend any of my friends here with overly Christian content.   ;)  I am sad to see this study with my class coming to an end.

 

 

 

I haven't read the others, but Till We Have Faces is Lewis' and is a quite interesting take on the Cupid-Psyche myth.  Of interest to Christians and feminists alike, I would say.  

 

If you're launching a Lewis unit, Mere Christianity is probably the-read classic (straight theology-like prose, though he is very careful to differentiate it as one  man's thoughts, not official doctrine); also Screwtape Letters (demonic satire -- not Mel Brooks in the slightest, but a different mode of thought-provoking funny).  Of all of his books, I personally (not Christian, FWIW) go back most to Great Divorce, which is an allegorical journey to the afterlife and which posits startling ideas about where hell resides and what loss of the self/union with the divine really entails.  I've read this one maybe four times and keep going back to it.

 

In Boxer, Beetle, I just read a section covering invented languages, which had me musing back on a book I read a few years ago, Joseph Skibell's A Curable Romantic. Love reading books that interconnect to various others with topics, thoughts, research, much of it overlapping through serendipity.... Quite a few overlaps so far between this one & various other books I've read through the years.

 

Also, I just realized this book won a 2011 National Jewish Book Award for Outstanding Debut Fiction.

 

Pam, not that all of these books would be set in Israel, but have you looked at the National Jewish Book Council award winners for ideas?

http://www.jewishbookcouncil.org/awards/njba-list

(Not that you probably need to further extent your tbr list, lol! But more lists of books are always good, right? :laugh: )

 

Yes, thank you -- I'm in two IRL book groups that uses that list as a go-to for ideas!  They do a good job with the selections, imo.

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you all are scaring me....I just started Gulliver's Travels...and I really do want to finish it....but now I am scared that it will be like don quio...which I gave up on after the 1st part

 

 

I realized last night that Gulliver's Travels reminds me of the Monty Python skits.  My imagination was taking the whole thing too seriously before.

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This week I read The Light Between Oceans by M.L. Stedman. My apologies to those who loved it, but it just seemed poorly written to me. I actually laughed out loud at this sentence: "The flame, throwing shadows that twitch with the rhythm of her daughter's breath, catches the golden glint of her hair, or the glistening of a fine filament of dribble that trails from the corner of the translucent pink mouth." The plot felt too predictable as well. I think it might have worked as a movie; the setting of the island lighthouse would have been dramatic on film. I found myself speed reading toward the end of the book, though, to get it finished. Now I am beginning A Tale for the Time Being and continuing to trudge along in Gulliver's Travels . Ds and I also started Henry V together today, which I am excited about.

Elaine

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This week I read The Light Between Oceans by M.L. Stedman. My apologies to those who loved it, but it just seemed poorly written to me. I actually laughed out loud at this sentence: "The flame, throwing shadows that twitch with the rhythm of her daughter's breath, catches the golden glint of her hair, or the glistening of a fine filament of dribble that trails from the corner of the translucent pink mouth." The plot felt too predictable as well. I think it might have worked as a movie; the setting of the island lighthouse would have been dramatic on film. I found myself speed reading toward the end of the book, though, to get it finished. Now I am beginning A Tale for the Time Being and continuing to trudge along in Gulliver's Travels . Ds and I also started Henry V together today, which I am excited about.

Elaine

:lol: to the bolded.

 

I was dreading Henry V when I taught Shakespeare, but I ended up really enjoying it.

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Anticipating this book, All the Light We Cannot See, by Anthony Doerr. Though it's a little more intense than I usually choose something about it has captured my interest. From the GR blurb...

 

"From the highly acclaimed, multiple award-winning Anthony Doerr, a stunningly ambitious and beautiful novel about a blind French girl and a German boy whose paths collide in occupied France as both try to survive the devastation of World War II.

Marie Laure lives with her father in Paris within walking distance of the Museum of Natural History where he works as the master of the locks (there are thousands of locks in the museum). When she is six, she goes blind, and her father builds her a model of their neighborhood, every house, every manhole, so she can memorize it with her fingers and navigate the real streets with her feet and cane. When the Germans occupy Paris, father and daughter flee to Saint-Malo on the Brittany coast, where Marie-Laure's agoraphobic great uncle lives in a tall, narrow house by the sea wall.

In another world in Germany, an orphan boy, Werner, grows up with his younger sister, Jutta, both enchanted by a crude radio Werner finds. He becomes a master at building and fixing radios, a talent that wins him a place at an elite and brutal military academy and, ultimately, makes him a highly specialized tracker of the Resistance. Werner travels through the heart of Hitler Youth to the far-flung outskirts of Russia, and finally into Saint-Malo, where his path converges with Marie-Laure.

Doerr's gorgeous combination of soaring imagination with observation is electric. Deftly interweaving the lives of Marie-Laure and Werner, Doerr illuminates the ways, against all odds, people try to be good to one another. Ten years in the writing, All the Light We Cannot See is his most ambitious and dazzling work
."

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Anticipating this book, All the Light We Cannot See, by Anthony Doerr. Though it's a little more intense than I usually choose something about it has captured my interest. From the GR blurb...

 

So you've changed your mind about reading it? Based on your original response to it, I'm curious why you are going to try to tackle it as it seemed to really strike an emotional chord in you when you first posted about it. Is it because the story seems beautiful, are you trying to read more fiction (vs. non-fiction), or ....? No pressure to answer if you don't want to, just always curious to hear what makes readers reject, then reapproach books. I know for myself there are certainly times when I'm either in the mood or not in the mood for particular topics, or genres, or styles of writing. Or the seasons. Or my crankiness level on a particular day. Yada, yada. I know all you readers know what I mean, lol. :tongue_smilie: ;)

 

I will be looking forward to your review if you read it. I'm wondering if it might fit in w/ some of the other WWII books I've read both lately & long ago, adding more intersections to my reading.... It's one I want to read but will also have to be in the right mood to read it.

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So you've changed your mind about reading it? Based on your original response to it, I'm curious why you are going to try to tackle it as it seemed to really strike an emotional chord in you when you first posted about it. Is it because the story seems beautiful, are you trying to read more fiction (vs. non-fiction), or ....? No pressure to answer if you don't want to, just always curious to hear what makes readers reject, then reapproach books. I know for myself there are certainly times when I'm either in the mood or not in the mood for particular topics, or genres, or styles of writing. Or the seasons. Or my crankiness level on a particular day. Yada, yada. I know all you readers know what I mean, lol. :tongue_smilie: ;)

 

I will be looking forward to your review if you read it. I'm wondering if it might fit in w/ some of the other WWII books I've read both lately & long ago, adding more intersections to my reading.... It's one I want to read but will also have to be in the right mood to read it.

 

Wow, I didn't remember that post or your linking of the book though when I reread it just now it all came back to me.  Interestingly when I was writing out the recent post I thought of you, that it would be a book you'd enjoy.

 

So to answer your question, one of my aspirations when signing on with the BaW group was to enlarge my aperture. There are so many books out there that are beautifully written but that just have felt too intense for me. I have felt somewhat hampered by that thin-skin and narrow aperture because I sense I'm missing out on some spectrum of the human experience, you know the one about poignancy, the more beautiful-sad aspects of humanity and so forth. Too much. But it appears, after several months of reading and hanging out here, that I have been widened a little based on my first response to the Doerr book and my current response. I'm still not sure it won't be too much but I'm enlarged enough to want to try it out for the sheer beauty of the writing alone. Also I do think there are seasons in one's life where a book is just the right fit, when certain kinds of material resonate with whatever inner music is playing. And I do feel a shift within based on the kinds of books I'm now choosing to read or listen to.

 

If I do go ahead with the book I will be sure to post my thoughts.

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So to answer your question, one of my aspirations when signing on with the BaW group was to enlarge my aperture.

 

:thumbup1:

 

Still, though (for me at least), there are certain topics/books/movies that are just *too* much for me. Sometimes it's worth the pain (heartbreak, etc...) because the story or the message is beautifully told; other times, I'm just not going to go there. Kwim?

 

It's a fine balance too, I think, because it's very hard to 'un-see' or 'un-read' something you wish you hadn't.... :tongue_smilie:

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And speaking of poetry came across Ray Bradbury's advice on reading one short story, one poem and one essay every night for 1000 nights.  Sounds like an interesting idea not only for writers, but readers as well.  Will certainly fill our brains up.

 

Not that I'm gonna do this - but when I try to think of essays I'd like to read, very few things come to mind. I want to finally read some Emerson, and I'd probably enjoy some more Rousseau. My library has a book of essays written by female Zen priests that's on my to-read list. (In fact, I'll put that on hold now.)

 

Anyway, any essay recommendations? Books of essays or just single essays found on the Internet?

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Not that I'm gonna do this - but when I try to think of essays I'd like to read, very few things come to mind. I want to finally read some Emerson, and I'd probably enjoy some more Rousseau. My library has a book of essays written by female Zen priests that's on my to-read list. (In fact, I'll put that on hold now.)

 

Anyway, any essay recommendations? Books of essays or just single essays found on the Internet?

 

No recommendations yet as I am still looking. The female Zen Priests sounds intriguing. What's the title?

 

 

And speaking of priests, finished James Rollins Blood Gospel - holy priest vampires vs evil vampires searching for another Gospel supposedly written by Jesus.  I was expecting them to make Jesus a vampire at some point, but thank goodness no.  However, turns out Lazarus was turned into a vampire and when Jesus let him out of the cave, he sanctified him for the good and Lazarus was the father of the holy vampire order. Yes, no kidding.  Interesting premise but the writing fell short, was too dumbed down and left no emotion to the imagation. They had to be sure to not only show, but tell how the person was feeling which half the time was ridiculous given the circumstances.   I have no desire to read the rest of the trilogy when it eventually comes out. 

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Anyway, any essay recommendations? Books of essays or just single essays found on the Internet?

 

Some time ago, I read and enjoyed The Three-Legged Woman and Other Excursions in Teaching by Robert Klose.

 

"Since 1986, Robert Klose has taught biology at a "small, impoverished, careworn" college in central Maine. Located on a former military base, the school became first the South Campus of the University of Maine, or SCUM, and later, Penobscot Valley Community College, then Bangor Community College, and most recently University College of Bangor. Despite its improved nomenclature, University College of Bangor remains an open-admissions environment at which "one never knows what's going to come in over the transom." Klose's nontraditional students have included, in addition to single parents and veterans, the homeless, the abused, ex-cons, and even a murderer (who was otherwise "a very nice person").

 

Chronicling his experiences teaching these diverse students, Klose describes with equal doses of care and wry wit those who are profoundly unfit for college, their often inadequate command of the lingua franca, and the alacrity with which they seize upon the paranormal (the three-legged woman) while expressing skepticism about mainstream science. He reflects on the decline of reading for enjoyment and the folly of regarding email as a praiseworthy substitute for expository writing. He details what works in the classroom, identifies what has failed, and relates stories of the absurd, the sublime, and the unanticipated, such as one student's outburst following a discussion of evolution: "For what you have taught today you shall be damned to everlasting fires of hell!"

 

Tempering thoughtfulness with a light touch and plenty of humor, these essays prove that teaching, an "imperfect occupation," remains a "special profession.""

 

The look inside feature on Amazon gives a nice sample of the author's writing.

 

I haven't read it yet, but I'm looking forward to reading Jo Walton's What Makes This Book So Great.

 

Regards,

Kareni

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Not that I'm gonna do this - but when I try to think of essays I'd like to read, very few things come to mind. I want to finally read some Emerson, and I'd probably enjoy some more Rousseau. My library has a book of essays written by female Zen priests that's on my to-read list. (In fact, I'll put that on hold now.)

 

Anyway, any essay recommendations? Books of essays or just single essays found on the Internet?

 

The Solace of Open Spaces by Gretel Ehrlich. She is a writer with an innate understanding of the pulse and circuitry between language, land and body. I read her wonderful book, 'This Cold Heaven : Seven Seasons in Greenland' three times in the past few years.

 

How about some Virginia Woolf? She was quite an accomplished essayist as seen here in The London Scene. Or you could start at the beginning with The Essays, Vol 1 : 1904-1912 or maybe a selection of her best in Selected Essays.

 

If you'd like something esoteric you could try this collection of essays about the great sufi master who brought sufism to the west in the 1920s, A Pearl in Wine :: Essays on the Life, Music and Sufism of Hazrat Inayat Khan or perhaps some Jung, The Essential Jung :: Selected Writings

 

Well, that should keep you busy for a while :)

 

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Have any of you been following the Bullet Journals thread? I finally looked at it & browsed through it & think some of you (list-making &/or doodling &/or planning types) might enjoy it. I'm not really a list-maker (except of books); I long ago learned that if I made lists, I would promptly ignore them. :lol:

 

Anyway, if you check the thread & the original link given & are busy browsing, check the 'Collection' section, which has a sample book list. Can I say I'm a surrealist book nerd to be happy to see that she listed quite a few Jonathan Carroll books? :laugh:

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Anyway, any essay recommendations? Books of essays or just single essays found on the Internet?

 

I'm reading A Supposedly Fun Thing I Will Never Do Again by David Foster Wallace right now. I think he also did one about lobsters (Consider the Lobster? or something like that). I'd recommend him with conditions. You can't mind verbosity, extreme footnotes, or random tangents. I usually think he's worth it, but I don't find him as funny as others do. I find him intensely sad and lonely even at his most funny. 

 

David Sedaris is humorous and usually considered an essayist. 

 

Are Women Human? by Dorothy Sayers

Umberto Eco has some linguistic ones which are interesting

 

 

I have Susan Sontag, Carl Jung, and Joan Didion on my Life List but haven't read them yet. 

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Reading my 15th century story set in England The Novice's Tale by Margaret Frazer. Good so far.

 

 

Thank You Cstarlette and Shukriyya for ideas on essays. I also leaning toward my favorite monk Thomas Merton and found a lovely old book on our shelves of selected English essays that includes Bacon, Lamb, Addison and Chesterson to name a few.

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However, turns out Lazarus was turned into a vampire and when Jesus let him out of the cave, he sanctified him for the good and Lazarus was the father of the holy vampire order. Yes, no kidding.

I have to admit that ever since I read this earlier today, I've been :lol: at the bizarreness of it ever since.

 

I think you win the book Oscar for weirdest book of the week!

 

However, I did start Moonwalking with Einstein on audio. This has been on my tbr list forever. I promptly fell asleep.

That doesn't sound good. (It's been on my tbr pile forever too.)

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Today I finished The Orchid Thief by Susan Orlean.  It was interesting to see how some orchid afficionados live but, given its length, it felt like it took years to finish. It wasn't a book I could easily sit and read for hours on end. About an hour in I would get bored or fall asleep.  Perhaps it is because I found that I couldn't stand either the author or the man that she was working with. 

 

I think next I'm going to start Divergent by Veronica Roth.

 

 

 

1. The Wednesday Letters by Jason F. Wright

2. Winnie Mandela: Life of Struggle by Jim Haskins

3. Herbal Antibiotics by Stephen Harrod Buhner

4. When Did White Trash Become the New Normal? by Charlotte Hays

5. Family Herbal by Rosemary Gladstar

6. Romeo and Juliet by Shakespeare

7. Medicinal Herbs: A Beginner's Guide by Rosemary Gladstar

8. The Hot Zone by Richard Preston

9. War of the Worlds by H.G. Wells

10. The Time Machine by H.G. Wells

11. The Telenovela Method by Andrew Tracey

12. Orange is the New Black by Piper Kerman

13. The Orchid Thief by Susan Orlean

 

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Today I finished The Orchid Thief by Susan Orlean. It was interesting to see how some orchid afficionados live but, given its length, it felt like it took years to finish. It wasn't a book I could easily sit and read for hours on end. About an hour in I would get bored or fall asleep. Perhaps it is because I found that I couldn't stand either the author or the man that she was working with.

 

Did you watch the movie Adaptation? (I think it's worth it for seeing Chris Cooper's performance alone.)

 

Finished Boxer, Beetle. Eh. I guess reading the rave reviews & the initial dark humor/strange premise pulled me in, but the book did not sustain the pace, imo. So, it was ok overall but not quite what I had hoped for.

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