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Book a Week in 2014 - BW17


Robin M
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Happy Easter dear hearts! Today is the start of week 17 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 - Pick a Random Book:  With the end of lent, my book buying ban for the year is officially over.  Unofficially, the ban didn't work very well, nor did my books cooperate as they reproduced like rabbits.   I have a tendency to shop when I'm depressingly stressed because it makes me feel soooo much better.   After finishing the taxes and writing a humongous check to the IRS last week, I had the need to meander through the Barnes and Noble shelves without any certain book destination in mind.  It's an interesting exercise because you'll never quite know what book is going to call your name.  This one by Mike Shevdon, a new to me author,  jumped out at me and after reading the first page, had to get it.

 

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I also tried out an interesting experiment in the science fiction/fantasy section by counting over 3 sections and down 2 shelves to the 15th book in the section.  There I found Anne Bishop's Written in Red and was instantly captivated.  

 

So, my challenge to you this week is go to the library or book store and pick a book based on its cover or its position on the shelf.  To choose a book based on its position on the shelf, decide in advance -  the genre, two numbers between 1 and 5,  and then a 3rd number between 1 and 30. Using those numbers, count over that certain number of sections in the aisle, go down that number of shelves and count to the 3rd number and that's the book you'll get.   Mix it up, start in the middle of the aisle and flip a coin, go left or right.  Most of all, have fun! 

 

 

History of the ancient World Readalong:  Chapters 7 and 8

 

 

What are you reading this week?

 

 

 

 

Link to week 16

 

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Traveled through 13th Century England and ancient Japan this past week.   I finished "Falls the Shadow" by Sharon Kay Penman and have to admire Simon de Montfort's tenacity and Nell for sticking by him come thick or thin. Also read the 2nd book in Lian Hearn's Tales from the Otori series "Grass for His Pillow."   Will have to jump into my my time machine and come back to the present to read Nora Robert's "The Collector".  Soon. For the moment, I'm at that stage where I not quite ready to move on.

 

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Today I'm off to Barnes and Noble to buy a moleskine for my bullet journal (stacia it's all your fault :laugh: in a good way)  and will be choosing a book at random using the counting method. Will let you know what the results are.  

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Didn't get much reading done this week as I fell into the book blahs. Gave up on Zanesville. Don't know what I will start next.

 

In the meantime, I'm nursing my serious Kevin Costner crush. :lol:  Truthfully, I may waste my reading time this week instead hitting up the dollar theater & watching the Costner movie again a time or two. :tongue_smilie: I already told dh I may be living at the theater. :D

 

So, did people in your house get books for Easter? We did. Trying to keep it simple/minimal this year, so a few books & a sweet treat (chocolate, cookies, or jam per personal preference). Our list:

 

Ds: The Rook

The Fuzzy Bunch

 

Dd: Eon

Dreams of Gods & Monsters (one she's been wanting really badly & has been holed up all morning reading it)

 

Dh: Never Go Back

 

Me: The Clockwork Scarab (officially not new as I got it a couple of months ago as an advance reader copy, but I haven't read it yet so I set it out w/ our various book piles & little bits of candy)

 

Love the challenge, Robin. Will have to try it if I can fit in a library run this week between our crazy schedule & my movie stops.

 

 

 

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Today I'm off to Barnes and Noble to buy a moleskine for my bullet journal (stacia it's all your fault :laugh: in a good way)  and will be choosing a book at random using the counting method. Will let you know what the results are.  

 

Hey, now! I'm not even a list-making type. More of a list-ignoring type.

 

I love lists, & the cool moleskine notebooks, & all the funky paper & pens & everything else. But, if I get real w/ myself, I never do stuff like that. Kind of me liking to read recipes. Enjoy reading the recipes, hate putting them into actual action.

 

I guess I'm lazy. I just want to go drool over man candy at the movie theater. Know thyself, eh? :rolleyes:

 

 

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So, did people in your house get books for Easter? We did. Trying to keep it simple/minimal this year, so a few books & a sweet treat (chocolate, cookies, or jam per personal preference). Our list:

 

Ds: The Rook

The Fuzzy Bunch

 

Dd: Eon

Dreams of Gods & Monsters (one she's been wanting really badly & has been holed up all morning reading it)

 

Dh: Never Go Back

 

Me: The Clockwork Scarab (officially not new as I got it a couple of months ago as an advance reader copy, but I haven't read it yet so I set it out w/ our various book piles & little bits of candy)

 

Love the challenge, Robin. Will have to try it if I can fit in a library run this week between our crazy schedule & my movie stops.

 

No books here. Instead the beach bunny delivered the baskets with bathing suits for everyone. Oh, and they got some cool chocolate eggs with peeps hidden inside.

 

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So, did people in your house get books for Easter? We did. Trying to keep it simple/minimal this year, so a few books & a sweet treat (chocolate, cookies, or jam per personal preference).

 

James is getting a video game but I ordered it late so he won't get it until Monday.

 

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Today I'm off to Barnes and Noble to buy a moleskine for my bullet journal (stacia it's all your fault :laugh: in a good way) 

 

<bwa ha ha> Because you said this, I just had to go post another item in the bullet journal thread. ;) :001_tt2:

 

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Happy Easter! I did much reading: however most of it was of Thomas Mann's lengthy The Magic Mountain, which isn't yet finished. I read a couple of "Pocket Penguins," which I note but don't count as they are only excerpts of longer works (which I hope some time to read).

 

I spent a good chunk of the last few weeks in New Mexico, where I went wild at the marvellous COAS used bookstore, and read from a Collected Novels of Colette (in translation, having given up my attempt to read her in French).

 

We don't give gifts for Easter, but a friend's adult daughter was confirmed last night and I gave her a small set of Kempis' Imitation of Christ, a book of psalms, and a daily devotional, in hardy editions for her upcoming travels.

 

Read lately:

Waugh, "The Coronation of Haile Selassie"

11. Colette, Claudine at School

12. Colette, Gigi

13. Colette, Music-Hall Sidelights

Bates, "In the Heart of the Amazon Forest"

14. Thomas ĂƒÂ  Kempis, The Imitation of Christ (reread)

 

Currently reading:

Mann, The Magic Mountain

Francois Mauriac, The Life of Christ

 

By the way, I took that quiz this morning to find my literary soulmate. Dostoevsky. Hmmm.

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Happy Easter everyone! Robin, I love your "choose a book based on its position on the shelf" challenge.

 

I finished Insurgent and then read the last two volumes of Osamu Tezuka's Buddha series. This whole series was informative and entertaining. My only complaint is that I wish each book had an introduction or more footnotes or some way of telling me what the facts are in the book. I can guess to some extent what is true and what is fictional, and somethings I have already read or heard elsewhere, but in some cases I can't be certain without looking things up elsewhere - and a footnote or something within in the books would be so much easier and faster and make the series a better resource, imo.

 

I decided to abandon The History of the Ancient World. I am disappointed because I wanted to like these as much as I like the Story of the World books, but I found this book too dull to retain *anything* (or enjoy the book without retention). I have some other history books in mind that I'll try out after awhile. 

 

I started The Once and Future King, and I'm really enjoying it so far. 

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We don't celebrate Easter so no bunnies here and our Golden scared away all the bunnies that used to be in the yard. Oddly, they didn't care for his game of tag. Mostly our usual Sunday stuff - grocery shopping, documentary watching, and laundry. Plus, it's in the 70s!

 

I finished two books this week - The Language of Baklava and the second Harry Potter book. The Harry Potter book is my fifth or sixth trip through the series? It's a cozy reread and something different sticks out at me each time through. I have a little backlog of books building up, but since it took a few months to get Monuments Men, I've dropped everything and focused on it. I'm 226 pages in and enjoying the narrative history. No wonder classical homeschooling is such a good fit for us! :0)

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I'm a couple of chapters into A Red Herring Without Mustard and have been sampling Travels in Hyper-Reality. Eco compares Florida to California, then he visits Louisiana which he finds more authentic and less pretentious. After that he admits that he is starting to see things in a (kind of) new light. After all, the Romans stole from the Greeks and tried to imitate them. In fact, there have been many attempts through the ages to imitate and revive cultural elements from other civilizations. The Americans have just ramped it up a notch. We try to imitate everyone all at once, and better. :lol:

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I haven't managed to get much reading done.  Exhausting week, I came home from church today and had a couple of free hours and fell asleep.  I needed it but I suspect I could have finished one of my books.  Just realized I didn't get last week's HotAW done.  I will have to catch up.  

 

My current books are Black Roses by Jane Thynne, which looks great but I have only made it 50 pages in.  Shadow Spell by Nora Roberts on the kindle which will return it on the 22nd so a priority. Finally,  Josephine Tey's Daughter of Time due to the reviews here.  Really like what little I have read.  

 

The choose a book by location challenge sounds fun.  Will have to adapt a bit because small library but will go and do it when they reopen from Easter.  Someday I will do my library update.  Still upset about things and every time I start updating I quit because of frustration.

 

Lots of Easter chocolate here.  Friends gave us a huge Thonton's egg as a surprise this morning.  Looks yummy.  Easter Chocolate Eggs are super popular here.  They literally start appearing as soon as Christmas is cleaned up in the stores and we see people with their cart full of them from late January on.  An amazing amount of chocolate gets consumed in honour of the Easter bunny here. :) We take things a bit easy-- although having discovered the bliss of a Smarties egg this morning (hollow milk choc stuffed with pastel colour smarties which are creamy mm's) and I will buy a supply if I can find them tomorrow!  No book presents but we now have the second season of Land of the Giants on DVD.  Watching it now. ;)

 

Stacia,  I have a tremendous urge to watch No Way Out now.  Need to pull it out. I need to knit a pink baby outfit quickly so tv is in my future.  The baby is due in a couple of weeks and I think my elbow is recovered enough.  No baby girl outfits in my stash of premade presents.  I need to make some ahead too.

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Well, I've come to the conclusion that if I don't post on Sunday, I never get caught up and so just stay away.  I've missed this thread but it's so overwhelming to look at it on Monday or Tuesday and have to start at the beginning.  And, bullet journals!   So, I'm back, but behind again on my reading, with too many books in process, as my family has been in read-aloud mode lately.

I did finally finish The Count of Monte Cristo!  What a ride that was.  In the end I really don't know what I think about the Count.   I'm struggling with Wolf Hall but so want to finish.  It is due back at the library on Tuesday, though, so I will have to return it and get it again.   But will I?  Hmm... Once it's out of sight... 
 

We don't do gifts for Easter though I bow to family tradition and fill a basket with candy for my kids.  I don't hide it any more, just place it on the kitchen table for them to see when they come into the room. 
 
But, I did buy my daughter a few books this week, Kindle and paper.  She has spent the last year immersed in YA novels and I've been waiting (mostly) patiently for her to up her game a notch.  Last week she picked up Jane Eyre and loved it.  Next came Pride and Prejudice, which she had attempted at age 12 or 13 and didn't like.  Loved it this time around.  Next came The Importance of Being Earnest and now Persuasion is in process. Wuthering Heights is next - I've never understood why that is a classic but I'm keeping my mouth shut and letting her go...

 

In process:

 

The Living Page: Keeping Notebooks with Charlotte Mason

Sable Island : The Strange Origins and Curious History of a Dune Adrift in the Atlantic * readaloud

The Renaissance:  A Short History * readaloud, 5/5/5 Renaissance nonfiction

Michelangelo and the Pope's Ceiling * readaloud, 5/5/5 Renaissance nonfiction

Wolf Hall

The Prince *

Smart but Scattered Teens (supposed to be going through with my son but he is resistant, which is part of the reason I want to go through this with him...)

Basic Economics *

Bible reading plan - on track

 

Complete:

 

1.  Till We Have Faces

2. The Sweetness at the Bottom of the Pie

3. The Book Thief

4. Have His Carcase

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

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

10.  The Code of the Woosters (family readaloud)

11. The Civilization of the Middle Ages *
12. 
A Circle of Quiet
13. 
The Count of Monte Cristo

 

*Homeschool books

 

 

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Count me in as another who didn't get much reading done this week  :seeya:  The only book I finished was an audio one. I'm reading the hard copy and enjoying it and re-listening to the audio which is Untie the Strong Woman (or 'Unite the Strong Woman' which Angel reads it as and which works for me too :D) I'm still reading The Midwife of Venice and thought I'd be finished by now but various other activities took over so that's ongoing and is a good read. I'm behind in my HotAW reading, too. Will try to fix that this week.

 

And it goes without saying that there is lots of chocolate happening this morning in the Shukriyya household.

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Hello everyone! I have set aside my library books for a mystery, a paperback with which I am traveling. The Return of Captain John Emmett by Elizabeth Speller is set in post WWI Britain. I am finding it to be a compelling read with good character development.

 

I am in my hometown which I last visited for Dad's memorial. This Easter holiday brings many memories, a bittersweet experience.

 

I cannot remember the first line but the last two lines of a favorite childhood haiku come to mind:

 

"Come to my Easter garden.

A seed is risen. "

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Hello everyone! I have set aside my library books for a mystery, a paperback with which I am traveling. The Return of Captain John Emmett by Elizabeth Speller is set in post WWI Britain. I am finding it to be a compelling read with good character development.

 

I am in my hometown which I last visited for Dad's memorial. This Easter holiday brings many memories, a bittersweet experience.

 

I cannot remember the first line but the last two lines of a favorite childhood haiku come to mind:

 

"Come to my Easter garden.

A seed is risen. "

Well your book does look good and has been requested by me.  While looking at it on Goodreads I discovered The Josephine Tey murder mysteries by Nicola Upson http://www.nicolaupson.com/an_expert_in_murder/ .  I ended up requesting the first in that series too. :lol:  Has anybody read this series?

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Nope.  This analogy just doesn't quite work for this tired violinist but maybe I'm being too literal after a long Easter morning!

7:30 am warm up and rehearsal, then 2 services with a big pot luck breakfast in between.  This, after a week that included a Good Friday service, a memorial service and a program at an Alzheimer's unit with a rehearsal for each.  I'm all violined out and can't be metaphorically comparing the instrument and its music to the books I haven't had time to read!!

 

I'm totally down with the bullet journals, btw.  I've always been a list maker but it had never occurred to me to keep them in a nice journal. That thread and the website made be slap forehead and say "d'oh! Why hadn't I thought of that before!"  

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In the meantime, I'm nursing my serious Kevin Costner crush.   

You too? We both have good taste.  :lol:

 

the second Harry Potter book. The Harry Potter book is my fifth or sixth trip through the series? It's a cozy reread and something different sticks out at me each time through. 

I love re-reading them also. I've only read them twice, but definitely plan on reading them again. 

 

Lots of Easter chocolate here.  Friends gave us a huge Thonton's egg as a surprise this morning.  Looks yummy.  Easter Chocolate Eggs are super popular here.  

I miss that about Britain. Love, love, love Britain. :) 

 

I am in my hometown which I last visited for Dad's memorial. This Easter holiday brings many memories, a bittersweet experience.

:grouphug: 

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I am in my hometown which I last visited for Dad's memorial. This Easter holiday brings many memories, a bittersweet experience.

 

I cannot remember the first line but the last two lines of a favorite childhood haiku come to mind:

 

"Come to my Easter garden.

A seed is risen. "

 

:grouphug:

 

There is something so viscerally human in your description, Jane. Your young self being called up by the spare poetic verse with its intimations of livingness and hope and intimacy...the grown woman visiting with the memory of her father... and love, the arc that joins all selves--young girl, grown woman and the trajectory between the two. One has the sense of grace reaching both backwards and forwards in the same breath. We are so many facets refracting light.

 

Nope.  This analogy just doesn't quite work for this tired violinist but maybe I'm being too literal after a long Easter morning!

7:30 am warm up and rehearsal, then 2 services with a big pot luck breakfast in between.  This, after a week that included a Good Friday service, a memorial service and a program at an Alzheimer's unit with a rehearsal for each.  I'm all violined out and can't be metaphorically comparing the instrument and its music to the books I haven't had time to read!!

Also known as being all strung out... :lol:

 

 

I'm totally down with the bullet journals, btw.  I've always been a list maker but it had never occurred to me to keep them in a nice journal. That thread and the website made be slap forehead and say "d'oh! Why hadn't I thought of that before!"

 

I posted on that bullet journals thread after coming across them on someone's blog a month or so ago. As I said in the thread, I love the idea, seriously love the idea...in theory. There's no way  I could keep it up unless I viewed the whole process as an art project. I have lots of moleskins lying around because i love the look of them but they're often only used to keep track of various knitting patterns I'm working on.

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After bragging here that I was 2 away from the top of the Monuments of Men list something appears to have gone wrong???? Just checked, part of my bedtime rituals :lol: and it seems to have disappeared from my request list. Do not have a clue how,  I haven't removed it and the library was closed for Easter!!! Back at the bottom so maybe July read for me???? Going to check other libraries,  maybe somewhere else now has it thanks to the movie.  Can not believe this!!!!!!

 

ETA. I am number one, yes one, on the list in a different system. Still might take awhile but definitely should have it for May! 

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Time and Again by Jack Finney. A big THANK YOU to the ladies here who recommended this book! I enjoyed this so much! The time travel mechanics were plausibly explained, characters interesting and likeable, and the twist at the end was a big surprise. Loved it!

 

DH and I read that a few years ago.  Awesome.  I might reread it this year actually.

 

Happy Easter! I did much reading: however most of it was of Thomas Mann's lengthy The Magic Mountain, which isn't yet finished. I read a couple of "Pocket Penguins," which I note but don't count as they are only excerpts of longer works (which I hope some time to read).

 

 

 

Happy Easter!  Welcome back friend.

 

Hello everyone! I have set aside my library books for a mystery, a paperback with which I am traveling. The Return of Captain John Emmett by Elizabeth Speller is set in post WWI Britain. I am finding it to be a compelling read with good character development.

 

I am in my hometown which I last visited for Dad's memorial. This Easter holiday brings many memories, a bittersweet experience.

 

I cannot remember the first line but the last two lines of a favorite childhood haiku come to mind:

 

"Come to my Easter garden.

A seed is risen. "

 

And that sounds just like my type of book.  I think I'll reserve it from the library.  And then I really should go and quit my job and enroll my kids in school because that's the ONLY way I'm going to get all the reading done that I want.   :lol:

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Well, I've come to the conclusion that if I don't post on Sunday, I never get caught up and so just stay away.  I've missed this thread but it's so overwhelming to look at it on Monday or Tuesday and have to start at the beginning.  

 I totally agree. It's why I haven't posted in awhile. I just finished Outliers which I loved. I was in need of a good non-fiction book. I'd heard a lot of Gladwell's ideas before but found the fuller discussion really fascinating. I'm also reading The Goldfinch which I'm enjoying. I'm not super far into it yet but it's definitely intriguing. Lots of promise. I have an enormous stack on my shelf from the library so hoping to get some good reading time in the next few weeks. 

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I read Orphan Train this week which I enjoyed. It's about the perfect book for me at this time--not too long, interesting, easy read. I am now reading Philomena which I'm reading in a non linear manner (a big reason I prefer paper to kindle). Trying to get that done because I picked up The Goldfinch at the library and have just 14 days (12 now) to get through it. It's too big! Please write shorter books! (Haven't started it yet). Still on track with History of the Ancient World.

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Hey, now! I'm not even a list-making type. More of a list-ignoring type.

 

I love lists, & the cool moleskine notebooks, & all the funky paper & pens & everything else. But, if I get real w/ myself, I never do stuff like that. Kind of me liking to read recipes. Enjoy reading the recipes, hate putting them into actual action.

 

I guess I'm lazy. I just want to go drool over man candy at the movie theater. Know thyself, eh? :rolleyes:

 

 

 

I, too, enjoy reading recipes *and* putting them into action *and* enjoying the perfect fruits of my labors...in a parellel universe. :lol:

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Ok, I'm finally going to try and catch up a little here.  I don't think I've updated since Week 12 so I'll just list some highlights.  

 

The Lucky One by Nicholas Sparks

The Seven Series, and Mageri Series by Dannika Dark

The Darkness Series by K. F. Breene

The Newcomer (Thunder Point), The Hero (Thunder Point), and Sheltering Hearts by Robyn Carr

Alpha Instinct (Moond Shifter) by Katie Reus (I will work on the rest of the series once I get my kindle caught up enough to turn the wifi back on :o )

various fluff

 

I am currently reading The Columbus Affair by Steve Berry.  I am waiting to read The King: A Novel of the Black Dagger Brotherhood by J.R. Ward, but the library copy has been misplaced.  :toetap05: I am behind in the read along; I think I am on chapter 3. 

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By the way, I took that quiz this morning to find my literary soulmate. Dostoevsky. Hmmm.

Yay! So glad you're back, VC. Even though I didn't voluntarily give up anything for Lent, missing my BaW friends who didn't post here during that time was kind-of like an unintentional Lenten sacrifice for me. I've missed seeing you here. :grouphug:

You are such a tease. But they are cool. And I'll raise you one.

 

How about some Fabric Book Covers

You know, that makes me *have* to post the following song....

 

 

 

:lol: (not so much the lyrics, just the title ;) )

Dropping in for a second before trying to get some cooking done for the last 2 days of Pesach (Passover)... and hoping enough gets done that we can have some lovely family time w/ visiting family w/out stress or guilt!

Hope you have a lovely & peaceful remainder of Passover, Eliana. Missing seeing you around here too -- hopefully you'll find more time to post again later.

 

And to everyone who celebrates Easter, I hope you've had a lovely, peaceful celebration today.

Monuments Men, I've dropped everything and focused on it. I'm 226 pages in and enjoying the narrative history.

So glad you are enjoying it!

Stacia, I have a tremendous urge to watch No Way Out now. Need to pull it out. I need to knit a pink baby outfit quickly so tv is in my future. The baby is due in a couple of weeks and I think my elbow is recovered enough. No baby girl outfits in my stash of premade presents. I need to make some ahead too.

Girl, if you were here, we'd be running out the door very soon to go see the next showing of the movie! In fact, I just sent out an emergency 'friend-in-need' text to my pal & she's meeting me at the theater in less than an hour. Wish you could join us!!!

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:grouphug:

 

There is something so viscerally human in your description, Jane. Your young self being called up by the spare poetic verse with its intimations of livingness and hope and intimacy...the grown woman visiting with the memory of her father... and love, the arc that joins all selves--young girl, grown woman and the trajectory between the two. One has the sense of grace reaching both backwards and forwards in the same breath. We are so many facets refracting light.

 

 

What really reminded me of Dad today was seeing a Jim Dine sculpture, one with tools. I brought Dad to a Dine show which he loved---not because of the sculptures themselves but because of the tools Dine incorporates in them. His comments were along the lines of "That is a useful wrench." Here is an example of a Dine piece.

 

http://photos.mlive.com/grandrapidspress/2011/01/jim_dines_sculptures_at_meijer_4.html

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Yay! So glad you're back, VC. Even though I didn't voluntarily give up anything for Lent, missing my BaW friends who didn't post here during that time was kind-of like an unintentional Lenten sacrifice for me. I've missed seeing you here. :grouphug:

 

 

You know, that makes me *have* to post the following song....

 

 

 

:lol: (not so much the lyrics, just the title ;) )

 

 

Hope you have a lovely & peaceful remainder of Passover, Eliana. Missing seeing you around here too -- hopefully you'll find more time to post again later.

 

And to everyone who celebrates Easter, I hope you've had a lovely, peaceful celebration today.

 

 

So glad you are enjoying it!

 

 

Girl, if you were here, we'd be running out the door very soon to go see the next showing of the movie! In fact, I just sent out an emergency 'friend-in-need' text to my pal & she's meeting me at the theater in less than an hour. Wish you could join us!!! Here's what I'll be 'reading' for the next couple of hours. :D

 

 

I wish I could join you! Instead of having a great girls night out I spent the evening with Nemo, the kids movie! :lol: I really need to go to bed now!
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Back from Barnes and Noble with my moleskine cahier squared journal which couldn't find anywhere in the store until I went up to check out.  Oy!  Thought I'd have to resort to office depot.  The results of pick a random shelf after a few trial nah's - ended up with Maltese Falcon (kid you not) and a new to me paranormal series In Shade and Shadow by Barb and J.C.Henlee.

 

And instead of diving into Nora Robert's latest, started reading a steampunk mystery - A Study in Silks by Emma Jane Holloway which is set in victorian era. Just not quite ready to come back to the present era. :) 

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Finished: DonĂ¢â‚¬â„¢t Just Do by Richard Eyre

The Writing Road to Reading by Romalda Bishop Spalding

The Awakening by Richard Eyre

Life as We Knew It by Susan Beth Pfeffer

 

Working on:

Fiction: Nappily Faithful by Trisha Thomas

Kindle: The Enchanted April by Elizabeth Von Arnim

Non-fiction: Mere Christianity by C.S. Lewis

Phone: The Anvil of the World by Kage Baker

Computer: Life Balance by Linda and Richard Eyre

Well Education Mind: Gulliver Travels by Johnathan Swift

Angel Girl: Water Babies by Charles Kingsley

Sweet Boy: Hans Christian Anderson Fairy Tales Book

Audiobook: Peter and the Starcatchers by Dave Berry and Ridley Pearson

 

Total Read for 2014: 56

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I seem to be concentrating on Richard III lately due to my 15th century book and now the Daughter of Time by Josephine Tey.  Tey's book is going rather slow because I keep googling everything trying to really picture the life and times.  Would love to be able to keep all the people and places straight.  To that end I have found a really great website http://www.richardiii.net/richards_world.php which is helping greatly.  Shakespeare's Richard III is requested from the library in several forms.  Field trips in my future to see some of the sites.  

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Started reading:

The Valley of Amazement by Amy Tan

 

Still reading:

The Light Between Oceans by ML Stedman

 

Finished reading:

1. The Curiosity by Stephen Kiernan (AVERAGE)

2. The Last Time I Saw Paris by Lynn Sheene (GOOD)

3. Unwind by Neal Shusterman (EXCELLENT)

4. The Husband's Secret by Liane Moriarty (EXCELLENT)

5. The Rage Against God: How Atheism Led Me to Faith by Peter Hitchens (AMAZING)

6. Champion by Marie Lu (PRETTY GOOD)

7. Drive: The Surprising Truth About What Motivates Us by Daniel Pink (INCREDIBLE)

8. Cultivating Christian Character by Michael Zigarelli (HO-HUM)

9. Detroit: An American Autopsy by Charlie LeDuff (um...WOW. So amazing and sad)

10. Pressure Points: Twelve Global Issues Shaping the Face of the Church by JD Payne (SO-SO)

11. The Happiness Project: Or Why I spent a Year Trying to Sing in the Morning, Clean My Closets, Fight Right, Read Aristotle, and Generally Have More Fun. by Gretchen Rubin (GOOD)

12. Reading and Writing Across Content Areas by Roberta Sejnost (SO-SO)

13. Winter of the World by Ken Follet (PRETTY GOOD)

14. The School Revolution: A New Answer for our Broken Education System by Ron Paul (GREAT)

15. Lost Lake by Sarah Addison Allen (LOVED IT)

16. Beyond the Hole in the Wall: Discover the Power of Self-Organized Learning by Sugata Mitra (GOOD)

17. Can Computers Keep Secrets? - How a Six-Year-Old's Curiosity Could Change the World by Tom Barrett (GOOD)

18. You Are Not So Smart: Why You Have Too Many Friends on Facebook, Why Your Memory Is Mostly Fiction, and 46 Other Ways You're Deluding Yourself by David McRaney (GOOD)

19. Hollow City by Ransom Riggs (OK)

20. Follow Me by David Platt (GOOD)

21. The Antidote: Happiness for People Who Can't Stand Positive Thinking by Oliver Burkeman (SO-SO)

22. Falls the Shadow by Sharon Kay Penman (OK)

23. A Neglected Grace: Family Worship in the Christian Home by Jason Helopoulos (GOOD)

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Didn't get much reading done this week as I fell into the book blahs. Gave up on Zanesville. Don't know what I will start next.

 

In the meantime, I'm nursing my serious Kevin Costner crush. :lol:  Truthfully, I may waste my reading time this week instead hitting up the dollar theater & watching the Costner movie again a time or two. :tongue_smilie: I already told dh I may be living at the theater. :D

 

So, did people in your house get books for Easter? We did. Trying to keep it simple/minimal this year, so a few books & a sweet treat (chocolate, cookies, or jam per personal preference). Our list:

 

Ds: The Rook

The Fuzzy Bunch

 

Dd: Eon

Dreams of Gods & Monsters (one she's been wanting really badly & has been holed up all morning reading it)

 

Dh: Never Go Back

 

Me: The Clockwork Scarab (officially not new as I got it a couple of months ago as an advance reader copy, but I haven't read it yet so I set it out w/ our various book piles & little bits of candy)

 

Love the challenge, Robin. Will have to try it if I can fit in a library run this week between our crazy schedule & my movie stops.

My kids were given nature journaling supplies- sketch book, traveling art supplies, a bird identification book and The Nature Connection outdoor book.  DD has been busy at work all ready.  DS is busy but I'm not sure if what he's doing qualifies as nature journaling. At least he's having fun.

 

Hello everyone! I have set aside my library books for a mystery, a paperback with which I am traveling. The Return of Captain John Emmett by Elizabeth Speller is set in post WWI Britain. I am finding it to be a compelling read with good character development.

 

I am in my hometown which I last visited for Dad's memorial. This Easter holiday brings many memories, a bittersweet experience.

 

I cannot remember the first line but the last two lines of a favorite childhood haiku come to mind:

 

"Come to my Easter garden.

A seed is risen. "

 

Enjoy your trip Jane.  My thoughts and prayers are with you.

 

 

I tried hunting for your haiku and found a gardening site with haikus but wasn't successful in tracking down your specific one.  

 

 

I am procrastinating and may ban myself from the computer for the remainder of the week.  I'm still reading The Language of Baklava and am really enjoying it.  I was struck by how she described cooks and bakers as being at odds with each other.  My mother and I are very different and, Easter morning, I showed up at her door with a swaddled dish of roasted herb maple syruped veggies, a beautiful dish that I had never made before.  She had everything orderly (like the layered jello) and was putting her two types of homemade bread in baskets when I arrived.  It makes me wonder about my own children and our cooking adventures.  DD is a whirlwind in the kitchen of ideas and loves rice.  DS tells me he wants to make bread, or biscuits and loves measuring things out. I seldom bake bread but with DS helping this last month, we've made it every week.

 

I have to rewash all the winter gear and optimistically pack it up again.  The house is a wreck from all my closet purging and I can see that the closet purging will take only half a day to finish if I can stop procrastinating.  And then there's the violin distraction- The Language of Bach-Love-Ya.  

 

Cheers All!  And Happy Reading!

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I seem to be concentrating on Richard III lately due to my 15th century book and now the Daughter of Time by Josephine Tey.  Tey's book is going rather slow because I keep googling everything trying to really picture the life and times.  Would love to be able to keep all the people and places straight.  To that end I have found a really great website http://www.richardiii.net/richards_world.php which is helping greatly.  Shakespeare's Richard III is requested from the library in several forms.  Field trips in my future to see some of the sites.  

 

I am so envious of your ability to take cool field trips!  I love England.  We had so much fun the last trip there.  

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Started and finished Red Misty by Patricia Cornwell.  (why???)  It wasn't as good as her early books and not as bad as the last few of hers I have read, so...so-so. Dd, 14, has finished all of Harry Potter and ds, 15, has finished the Eragon books, so they both are in search of another series to start. 

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Started and finished Red Misty by Patricia Cornwell.  (why???)  It wasn't as good as her early books and not as bad as the last few of hers I have read, so...so-so. Dd, 14, has finished all of Harry Potter and ds, 15, has finished the Eragon books, so they both are in search of another series to start. 

 

DD (10 yos) is reading/listening to as an audiobook all the Alcatraz series by Brandon Sanderson and loving them.  She highly recommends them and they are in that genre.  I will warn you that DH and I listened to the first one with her and didn't enjoy it.  We thought it was a little silly.  So YMMV.  

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Hi Everyone!

 

I was at two speech and debate tournaments over the past couple of weeks with dd and was working my tail off so I missed a lot of reading time. She did really well to close out the regular season of her senior year. One high school tournament left-Nationals-later in May.

 

I did finish Lost Lake by Sarah Addison Allen on Saturday. I really enjoy her books. I loved this one. They are so sweet and whimsical. 

 

Started Orphan Train  last night. It's already a day overdue at the library. Hopefully I can finish it within 2 days or so. I don't want to turn it in until I've read it because I was on a long waiting list for it before I finally got it. :)

 

Enjoying catching up on what you all have been reading! :D

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Well, I've come to the conclusion that if I don't post on Sunday, I never get caught up and so just stay away.  I've missed this thread but it's so overwhelming to look at it on Monday or Tuesday and have to start at the beginning.  

 

That's why I've been gone for a few weeks too. I get so far behind that I just don't participate. I want to change that.

 

:grouphug: Jane :grouphug:

 

Does anyone watch House of Cards on Netflix? That peach in Gaffney had a big part in one of the early episodes. :)

 

Bullet Journals. - I peeked at that thread, but creating the journal looked like more work than it was worth. I want something I can quickly and easily use. It doesn't have to look good but it has to work. Anyway, I've gone mostly digital with that kind of stuff so I know it isn't aimed at me. 

 

So, on to reading.

 

Current Fiction: 

 

Les Miserables - I'm a bit behind  the group schedule but I think I'll be able to catch up. We have about six weeks to go.

 

Ru - This was my choice for my IRL book club. 

 

A Song of Ice and Fire - Game of Thrones book one. Dh and I are watching the show and are ahead of the book (he's reading it too).

 

Current Non-Fiction:

 

Hitler's Furies - eye opening

 

Believing Bullsh!t: How not to Get Sucked into an Intellectual Black Hole - a very slow read

 

My current audio book is David Copperfield. I had a hard time finding an audio book that interested me, and started & stopped a few before settling on Dickens.

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I am halfways through Ten Ways to Destroy the Imagination of Your Child. I am enjoying it. I'm also hoping to start Hild by Nicola Griffith, which I picked up solely because of the pretty cover. :D

 

 

This year's books:

 

14. A Proud Taste of Scarlet and Miniver by E.L. Konigsburg (4/5)

13. Reading and Writing by Robertson Davies (4.5/5)

12. The Goldfinch by Donna Tartt (4.5/5)

11. Liesl and Po by Lauren Oliver (4/5)

10. Norms and Nobility by David V. Hicks (5/5)

9. Desiring the Kingdom by James K.A. Smith (5/5)

8. The Abolition of Man by C.S. Lewis (5/5)

7. Leisure: The Basis of Culture by Josef Pieper (5/5)

6. Socratic Circles by Matt Copeland (5/5)

5. 1001 Arabian Nights by Geraldine McCaughrean (5/5)

4. Clockwork Princess by Cassandra Clare (3.5/5)

3. Clockwork Prince by Cassandra Clare (3.5/5)

2. Smart but Scattered - Dawson and Guare (4/5)

1. Anna Karenina - Tolstoy (5/5)

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This looks amazing. I just read the first few small paragraphs on the sample on Amazon. It looks to be very poetic. I bought it - only 2.99 on Kindle! I'm so glad you mentioned it here. 

 

I'm really enjoying it. The chapters are very short but powerful. After finishing a chapter I have to stop and think, then I realize how much was implied in so few words. It's wonderful.

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