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Book a Week in 2014 - BW32


Robin M
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Happy August and happy Sunday, my lovelies!  Today is the start of week 32 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 - 100th Anniversary of World War I:  August 1st marks the anniversary of the beginning of World War I.  The event that sparked the war. On June 28, 1914, The assassination of Archduke Franz Ferdinand, heir to the Austro-Hungarian empire, along with his wife, Sofia,  by Gavrilo Princip in Sarajevo, Bosnia. 

In a nutshell:  Austria-Hungary blamed the Serbia government for the attack and declared war on them on July 28th and shelled the Serbian capital.  Russia, Serbia's ally mobilized again Austria-Hungary on August 1.  Then France allied with Russia; then France and Germany declared war against each other on August 3rd.  When the German army invaded Belgium, Allie Great Britain declared war against Germany. 

To honor the anniversary of World War I, join me in reading All Quiet on the Western Front or a book of your choice.  For more choices, check out Historical Novels selections about World War I,  or Goodreads selections of World War I historical fiction and Non Fiction.

 

 

History of the Ancient World:  Chapters 36 and 37

 

 

What are you reading this week?

 

 

 

 

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I'm currently in reread mode since in creative writing mood and study, plus planning 9th grade - reading J.D. Robb's Glory in Death (#2 in death series) 

 

Books in the works:

 

Online writing class:  Reading and studying writing book Alice LePlante's The Making of a Story

Bedside read:  Kelley Armstrong's Broken

Audiobook in car:  J.D.Robb's Naked in Death (#1 in death series)

 

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I finished three books:

 

Storm Front by Jim Butcher - Pretty much what you would expect - cheesy or repetitious here and there, a couple of head-scratching moments, but not so much that I wasn't able to enjoy the book. It was basically entertaining, and I'll try the second book soon - mainly because my IRL reading friend said he's not reading with me until he makes progress on this series. So I thought I'd just read it with him unless it was really awful. 

 

The Kreutzer Sonata by Leo Tolstoy - The philosophical conversation between the passengers at the beginning of the book was interesting, and I probably would have like the book better if that had continued through more of the book. The story told by Pozdnyshev, which took up most of the book, was interesting because of the detailed description of emotions and thoughts, but it was clinical , and I didn't connect to it emotionally. (The edition I linked to is the one I read. It has a few typos.)

 

Altazor by Vicente Huidobro - For me, there is poetry that speaks to the heart, but is intellectually just a bunch of goofy nonsense - and that porridge is too hot. Then there is poetry that is intellectually a neat trick, but devoid of passion - and that porridge is too cold. And there is poetry that uses some neat tricks to speak to my heart - and, ya know.

Excepting the preface, this book started too hot and ended too cold, with my favorite bit in between.

All the languages are dead
Dead in the hands of the tragic neighbor
We must revive the languages
With raucous laughter
With wagons of cackles
With circuit breakers in the sentences
And cataclysm in the grammar
Get up and walk
Stretch your legs and limber those stiff joints
Fires of laughter for the shivering language
Astral gymnastics for the numb tongues
Get up and walk

 

Also, a note about this translation. There were times when it seems to me, someone who hasn't studied Spanish in years, that the translator decided to favor showing the wordplay in the original language rather than keeping words with the same meaning. For example:

 

Aqui yace Marcelo mar y cielo en el mismo violoncelo   is translated as   Here lies Marcello heaven and hello in the same violoncello

 

La flor florecida y el flor floreciendo   is translated as   Her blossomed blossom his bliss in blissum

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After Stephen Crane's The Red Badge of Courage, I followed it up with his Maggie: A Girl of the Streets. It was okay. Very earnest, and the obtrusive dialect made me appreciate Twain's light touch. Yes, I get that they're bog Irish-American ghetto dwellers, without every "the" needing to be replaced by "deh."

 

On the topic of First World War reading, Middle Girl recently enjoyed the Landmark history "Lawrence of Arabia," which she pronounced to be one of the best of the Landmarks. And then I noticed it was by Alistair MacLean. No wonder it was such a page-turner. As far as I know it was the only children's book he wrote.

 

Can't decide what to read next. A little tired of fiction.

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Finished - The Waltzing Widow by Joan Smith - Normally I adore her books.  They are short funny little stories and she manages to pack a lot of character and plot into 200 some pages.  This was the exception.  I feel like a fool saying this because I was up until 4 am reading but at the end I just felt disappointed.  Lots of big misunderstandings followed by embarrassment followed by more big misunderstandings and then embarrassment and then somehow after spending 180 pages horribly insulting the heroine they decided to get married.  I feel like my book must have been missing the 30 pages that described them falling in love with each other.  

 

Happy August and happy Sunday, my lovelies!  Today is the start of week 32 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 - 100th Anniversary of World War I:  August 1st marks the anniversary of the beginning of World War I.  The event that sparked the war. On June 28, 1914, The assassination of Archduke Franz Ferdinand, heir to the Austro-Hungarian empire, along with his wife, Sofia,  by Gavrilo Princip in Sarajevo, Bosnia. 

In a nutshell:  Austria-Hungary blamed the Serbia government for the attack and declared war on them on July 28th and shelled the Serbian capital.  Russia, Serbia's ally mobilized again Austria-Hungary on August 1.  Then France allied with Russia; then France and Germany declared war against each other on August 3rd.  When the German army invaded Belgium, Allie Great Britain declared war against Germany. 

To honor the anniversary of World War I, join me in reading All Quiet on the Western Front or a book of your choice.  For more choices, check out Historical Novels selections about World War I,  or Goodreads selections of World War I historical fiction and Non Fiction.

 

 

 

Have you read All Quiet before?  I've read it a number of times and love it and hate it at the same time.  

 

One of my favorite ww1 books has always been Rilla of Ingleside I might re-read that this week.

 

Can I read along with you?  This has been on my to read list for a long time.

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I've started reading a new (to me) series of contemporary romances.  It's the Rock Chick series by Kristen Ashley; it begins with Rock Chick.

 

"Indy Savage is a former wild child (okay, maybe not so Ă¢â‚¬Å“formerĂ¢â‚¬) and current used bookstore owner. Lee Nightingale is a former bad boy and now runs a private investigation service. Toss together a quiet barista with a not-so-lawful side-business, a crazy Vietnam Vet, a pothead, a drag queen, family and friends who will not mind their own business, a few stun guns and a bag of diamonds, and mix them all up with some shootings, a high speed chase and car bombs exploding, then hang on for your first wild Rock Chick ride."

 

 

I've read book one, Rock Chick Rescue (Volume 2), and am nearly finished with Rock Chick Renegade (Volume 4).  For some reason, my library neglected to order book three.  These definitely contain adult content so are not for all readers.

 

Regards,

Kareni

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I finished White Tiger.  I liked it.  It was a dark comedy of a book.  It was one of those books that transports you to the place.  I felt as if I was in the tea shop, hearing him speak as he wrote his letter.  The one negative of the book was that everyone was bad.  It's as if every man, woman, and child, whether rich or poor, in India is completely corrupt and devoid of any goodness.  I am, by nature, a cynical person, but this writer was almost over the top cynical.  But still, the characters were fun (I know that sounds odd, but...). The story was a fresh take on the whole Robin Hood trope, and I enjoyed feeling like I traveled the streets in India, even for a short time. I'm glad that someone here recommended the book. :)

 

I started and I am almost finished Shift.  I had read Wool over a year ago (maybe two years now), and while I did enjoy it, I didn't jump at reading Shift.  I put it on hold at the library a couple of months ago and it came up on Friday.  I should finish it today.  It's a fun and fast read.  He tells a good story.  There isn't much in the way of characterization, but the story grabs you and doesn't let you go.  

 

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Finished - The Waltzing Widow by Joan Smith - Normally I adore her books.  They are short funny little stories and she manages to pack a lot of character and plot into 200 some pages.  This was the exception.  I feel like a fool saying this because I was up until 4 am reading but at the end I just felt disappointed.  Lots of big misunderstandings followed by embarrassment followed by more big misunderstandings and then embarrassment and then somehow after spending 180 pages horribly insulting the heroine they decided to get married.  I feel like my book must have been missing the 30 pages that described them falling in love with each other.  

 

 

 

Have you read All Quiet before?  I've read it a number of times and love it and hate it at the same time.  

 

 

 

Can I read along with you?  This has been on my to read list for a long time.

Sure !

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I'm currently in reread mode since in creative writing mood and study, plus planning 9th grade - reading J.D. Robb's Glory in Death (#2 in death series) 

 

Books in the works:

 

Online writing class:  Reading and studying writing book Alice LePlante's The Making of a Story

Bedside read:  Kelley Armstrong's Broken

Audiobook in car:  J.D.Robb's Naked in Death (#1 in death series)

 

Robin,  I've never read any J.D. Robb. Any recommendations on where to begin?   And it may not seem like it while you are at the beginning planning stages, but high school is in many ways the best part of homeschooling.  It isn't necessarily easy and has its own unique stresses, but it is a special time of sharing books and exploring different topics together.   

 

 

 

Storm Front by Jim Butcher - Pretty much what you would expect - cheesy or repetitious here and there, a couple of head-scratching moments, but not so much that I wasn't able to enjoy the book. It was basically entertaining, and I'll try the second book soon - mainly because my IRL reading friend said he's not reading with me until he makes progress on this series. So I thought I'd just read it with him unless it was really awful. 

 

[snippety snip]

 

Also, a note about this translation. There were times when it seems to me, someone who hasn't studied Spanish in years, that the translator decided to favor showing the wordplay in the original language rather than keeping words with the same meaning. For example:

 

Aqui yace Marcelo mar y cielo en el mismo violoncelo   is translated as   Here lies Marcello heaven and hello in the same violoncello

 

La flor florecida y el flor floreciendo   is translated as   Her blossomed blossom his bliss in blissum

 

I got a kick out of Storm Front.  He wrote it during a creative writing class, wrote it to contradict everything his writing teacher was telling him!  I'm planning on reading more in the series, too, and wonder how his writing progresses.  I liked the cynical attitude of Harry Dresden!  And, by the way, fascinating snippets of the translation.  The choices translators make must be difficult, especially with poetry.

 

I finished White Tiger.  I liked it.  It was a dark comedy of a book.  It was one of those books that transports you to the place.  I felt as if I was in the tea shop, hearing him speak as he wrote his letter.  The one negative of the book was that everyone was bad.  It's as if every man, woman, and child, whether rich or poor, in India is completely corrupt and devoid of any goodness.  I am, by nature, a cynical person, but this writer was almost over the top cynical.  But still, the characters were fun (I know that sounds odd, but...). The story was a fresh take on the whole Robin Hood trope, and I enjoyed feeling like I traveled the streets in India, even for a short time. I'm glad that someone here recommended the book. :)

 

I keep hearing about this book and appreciate your review.   And I keep getting it confused with Nick Harkaway's new book Tigerman, my eye only sees the word Tiger in the title and I fill in whichever book has been most recently on my radar.  

 

I read All Quiet back in high school, and it made quite the impression on me about the horrors of war and the power of good writing.  I don't want to re-read it in order to keep that first impression pure.

 

No new reading to report at the moment.  

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After finishing 'The Lady and the Unicorn' on Monday and then ever so briefly starting 'The Hummingbird's Daughter' my reading ground to a complete halt. Granted I've been immersed in finalizing our curriculum choices for the upcoming year and have gotten lost in the dusty corridors of Latin instruction and the streamlined halls of pre-algebra as well as questing after that most elusive of beasts, a middle school writing program that both ds and I will tolerate. I find my inner 11 year old has some rather strong ideas on this with the word 'b-o-r-i-n-g' coming up fairly frequently. Naturally she and ds aren't allowed to confer on what might be acceptable :lol: My writing self bristles at the strictures of some of these programs along with the way they seem to suck the life out of what is actually an extremely enjoyable and useful practice. Ok, my somewhat non BaW-related rant shall pause for the time being.

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Robin,  I've never read any J.D. Robb. Any recommendations on where to begin?   And it may not seem like it while you are at the beginning planning stages, but high school is in many ways the best part of homeschooling.  It isn't necessarily easy and has its own unique stresses, but it is a special time of sharing books and exploring different topics together.   

 

 

I got a kick out of Storm Front.  He wrote it during a creative writing class, wrote it to contradict everything his writing teacher was telling him!  I'm planning on reading more in the series, too, and wonder how his writing progresses.  I liked the cynical attitude of Harry Dresden!  And, by the way, fascinating snippets of the translation.  The choices translators make must be difficult, especially with poetry.

 

 

With Robb's In Death series, start with # 1 - Naked in Death.    I also have Storm Front in my stacks and have yet to read it.  Little tidbits like yours make me want to read it sooner rather than later. 

 

 

After finishing 'The Lady and the Unicorn' on Monday and then ever so briefly starting 'The Hummingbird's Daughter' my reading ground to a complete halt. Granted I've been immersed in finalizing our curriculum choices for the upcoming year and have gotten lost in the dusty corridors of Latin instruction and the streamlined halls of pre-algebra as well as questing after that most elusive of beasts, a middle school writing program that both ds and I will tolerate. I find my inner 11 year old has some rather strong ideas on this with the word 'b-o-r-i-n-g' coming up fairly frequently. Naturally she and ds aren't allowed to confer on what might be acceptable :lol: My writing self bristles at the strictures of some of these programs along with the way they seem to suck the life out of what is actually an extremely enjoyable and useful practice. Ok, my somewhat non BaW-related rant shall pause for the time being.

We have gone through about every writing program (writing strands, word apprentice, wws, etc)  and most have been duds for us.  This year we are going to try Blackbird and Company's Intro to Composition.  We've done narration and outlining, here and there, but other than that, essays have always been a bust. So up till now, I'll just let him write his fan fiction, give feedback and editing tips. He'll spend hours writing if I let him.  Also noticed as he reads more and is maturing, that writing is getting better. He wrote a couple paragraphs on frustration for his dad the other day which was pretty impressive.  There's hope! 

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We have gone through about every writing program (writing strands, word apprentice, wws, etc)  and most have been duds for us.  This year we are going to try Blackbird and Company's Intro to Composition.  We've done narration and outlining, here and there, but other than that, essays have always been a bust. So up till now, I'll just let him write his fan fiction, give feedback and editing tips. He'll spend hours writing if I let him.  Also noticed as he reads more and is maturing, that writing is getting better. He wrote a couple paragraphs on frustration for his dad the other day which was pretty impressive.  There's hope! 

 

Thanks, Robin. I sense it's complicated by the fact that dh and I are both writers and both write intuitively which, of course, can't be taught but can be caught :lol: I've been having ds look at various programs that I can tolerate and he gave two of them an ok so we'll likely go back and forth with those.

 

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The girls and I did All Quiet on the Western Front as a read aloud this last school year. Very powerful--glad I've finally read it.

 

Finished The Wee Free Men and picked up the next, A Hat Full of Sky, which I'll start on the treadmill tomorrow. Read a little of Possession too--I think I passed the halfway point. I slow way down on the 19th century parts, but can go faster through the 20th century parts. I am so impressed with what Byatt has been able to create. I just feel like my understanding is just skimming the edges of the depths of her brilliance. I have to read it slowly to get as much out of it as I am.

 

No progress on HOTAW. Should read a few chapters just to not fall further behind! And then I think I need to read the books I'm assigning dd to read this year. We'll do the harder or more serious ones as read-alouds--her reading will be more historical fiction.

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Thanks, Robin. I sense it's complicated by the fact that dh and I are both writers and both write intuitively which, of course, can't be taught but can be caught :lol: I've been having ds look at various programs that I can tolerate and he gave two of them an ok so we'll likely go back and forth with those.

 

Exactly, writing intuitively.  Couldn't think of the right word. That's one of the problems I had myself while taking writing craft courses. Some things just stopped me in my tracks because my brain didn't work that way. Which in turn caused me to question my writing.  Lot more left brain thinking than right brain. 

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Exactly, writing intuitively.  Couldn't think of the right word. That's one of the problems I had myself while taking writing craft courses. Some things just stopped me in my tracks because my brain didn't work that way. Which in turn caused me to question my writing.  Lot more left brain thinking than right brain. 

 

For what it's worth, stubborn renegade that I am, I eschewed any and all writing programs and have turned out 2 good writers.  I liked The Lively Art of Writing as a reference tool for helping the boys learn to shape essays, but otherwise it was all intuitive. If it didn't come so naturally to them I might have done things differently.  

 

To tie this in with BaW, it was rather delightful when my youngest's love of Bill Bryson started influencing his own style of writing!

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For what it's worth, stubborn renegade that I am, I eschewed any and all writing programs and have turned out 2 good writers.  I liked The Lively Art of Writing as a reference tool for helping the boys learn to shape essays, but otherwise it was all intuitive. If it didn't come so naturally to them I might have done things differently.  

 

To tie this in with BaW, it was rather delightful when my youngest's love of Bill Bryson started influencing his own style of writing!

I just picked up The Lively Art of Writing a few days ago so glad to hear that. We haven't read anything by Bill Bryson yet. Will have to check him out.

 

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I have read three historical 's by Julia Quinn recently.  I am completely hooked and am anxiously awaiting the library transfer van!  I am waiting for the last of both the Bevelstoke and the Smythe/Smith series(thank you Kareni).

 

I also finished the next book in the Ian Pears series, The Last Judgement.  This was an improvement from the Bernini Bust which was my last one so am a bit enthused about the series again.:)

 

Currently reading The Likeness by Tana French and am enjoying it.  I do think my knowledge of the main character from In the Woods is helping me.  Also reading Aunt Dimity's Death on my kindle,  it's good. Thank you to many of you who have recommended these over the years.

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I am reading Dickens' Great Expectations. First time and enjoying it so far.

 

Did anyone else get The Paper Magician for Kindle first? I thought it sounded kind of interesting.

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Started reading:

Crazy Busy: A Mercifully Short Book About a Really Big Problem by Kevin DeYoung

 

Still reading:

The Shadow of Night by Deborah Harkness

 

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)

24. The Valley of Amazement by Amy Tan (DEPRESSING)

25. No Place Like Oz by Danielle Paige (SO-SO)

26. 84 Charing Cross Road by Helen Hanff (DELIGHTFUL)

27. The Light Between Oceans by ML Stedman (WORST ENDING EVER)

28. Dreams of Gods and Monsters by Laini Taylor (SO-SO)

29. Mere Christianity by CS Lewis (BRILLIANT)

30. The Golem and the Jinni by Helene Wecker (WONDERFUL)

31. Eleanor and Park by Rainbow Rowell (CAN'T-PUT-IT-DOWN-READ-IT-ALL-IN-ONE-SITTING BOOK)

32. Dark Places by Gillian Flynn (SUPER CREEPY BUT REALLY GOOD)

33. A House in the Sky by Amanda Lindhout (WONDERFUL)

34. The Hypnotist's Love Story by Liane Moriarty (PRETTY GOOD)

35. The Book of Unknown Americans by Cristina Henriquez (HEART-BREAKING)

36. One Last Thing Before I Go by Jonathan Tropper (REALLY, REALLY GOOD)

37. The Glory of Heaven by John MacArthur (INTERESTING)

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I have read three historical 's by Julia Quinn recently.  I am completely hooked and am anxiously awaiting the library transfer van!  I am waiting for the last of both the Bevelstoke and the Smythe/Smith series(thank you Kareni).

 

 

 

If you're in the mood for more historical romances after reading your way through Julia Quinn's oeuvre, I'll recommend Lisa Kleypas' Wallflower and Hathaways series (both amusing and generally light) as well as Joanna Bourne's  Spymaster  series (these pack a bit more heft).

 

Regards,

Kareni

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Robin,  I've never read any J.D. Robb. Any recommendations on where to begin?  

 

 

With Robb's In Death series, start with # 1 - Naked in Death.   

 

 

I agree.  While each story stands alone in terms of the mystery/crime solving, the relationships between the characters develop as the series progresses.

 

Regards,

Kareni

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Thanks, Robin. I sense it's complicated by the fact that dh and I are both writers and both write intuitively which, of course, can't be taught but can be caught :lol: I've been having ds look at various programs that I can tolerate and he gave two of them an ok so we'll likely go back and forth with those.

 

 

 

Exactly, writing intuitively.  Couldn't think of the right word. That's one of the problems I had myself while taking writing craft courses. Some things just stopped me in my tracks because my brain didn't work that way. Which in turn caused me to question my writing.  Lot more left brain thinking than right brain. 

 

Yes, to both of these.

 

I had always thought of myself as a good writer.  When I started teaching writing to my kids and going over their writing programs, I began to have doubts.  Maybe I wasn't such a good writer after all, but I always got 90's on college papers.  Maybe they didn't know how to write either.   And so it went  until I figured out that maybe I am an intuitive writer.  I do all of those things but I don't  give them much thought, I just do it.   This makes it difficult to teach writing. 

 

Okay,  books.  I ditched  'Under a Wide and Starry Sky'  by Nancy Horan.  I have become an impatient reader in my old age.  if a book doesn't have me by page 30 then It's  over and I move on.   So I have moved on to  'The Snow Child'  by Eowyn Ivey.  This book has my attention so I am fairly certain I will finish it.

 

I am also hoping to finish  'Gift from the Sea'  by Anne Morrow Lindbergh  this week.  I am thoroughly loving this book.  I have filled two pages of my commonplace book with quotes from this book.  A sure sign of a fulfilling  book.

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Reading Teen 2.0 and wishing I could sit down and converse with the author. I understand and agree with the gist of his book, but I have some issues with many areas of the book. Like using the example of middle eastern countries and India as examples of "successful" marriages despite people marrying very young in western eyes.

 

Um, really? Divorce rates are low in those countries not because marriages are necessarily successful but because divorce is highly stigmatized even when technically legal. If women have no rights and no options out of marriage then, yeah, she's not getting divorced. If she faces being killed or maimed for dishonoring her family with divorce, she's not going to get divorced. If she has no way to support her children, or more likely will not be allowed contact with her children if she's divorced, she's not going to get a divorce. 

 

And, yes, perhaps I'm too "western" in my attitude about young people because I am not okay with a person in their mid 30s having a sexual and/or romantic relationship with a 12 yr old. Nope. Not even a little bit okay with it. I realize this used to be the norm (at least with older men and younger women, uh, girls) but I'm not okay with it. I fully admit it's probably due to my growing up in this age and not back when it was normal. Doesn't change the fact that if a woman in her 30s tried to have a relationship with my 12 yr old ds, I'd very likely cause her bodily harm.

 

Yes, lots I would love to discuss with the author.

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I am reading Dickens' Great Expectations. First time and enjoying it so far.

 

Did anyone else get The Paper Magician for Kindle first? I thought it sounded kind of interesting.

 

Ooh! Me! I got The Paper Magician. And I started Oliver Twist today, so we're both on Dickens, too.

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Which perspective is it taking? Empowered artistic autonomy or disenfranchised as a result of the patriarchy?

 

Both. The book is told in a style of various excerpts of the artist's journals, interviews with friends & family, articles that had been written, etc.... Everyone has their own viewpoints & pieces to share, so the mosaic is being built with all the viewpoints playing a part.

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If you're in the mood for more historical romances after reading your way through Julia Quinn's oeuvre, I'll recommend Lisa Kleypas' Wallflower and Hathaways series (both amusing and generally light) as well as Joanna Bourne's  Spymaster  series (these pack a bit more heft).

 

Regards,

Kareni

Thank you,  I just put a request in for the first in the Hathaway series.  I also picked up White Wedding by Milly Johnson today because I am going to go hear her speak in about a month. A friend heard her recently and really enjoyed her.  Anyway I have been told I need to read one of her books first.  ;)

 

Jenn,  I agree JD Robb is best started at (or very near) the beginning and read sequentially.  There are some really enjoyable characters in this series so their lives need to be read in order!  

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Internet issues prevent me from joining the conversation here-- much as I would like.

 

Jenn, I really liked the fourth book in the Comissario Ricciardi series (Day of the Dead) by de Giovanni and will seek out the others. Since we seem to share similar taste in mysteries, you might want to look at this series.

 

Shaw's Saint Joan, including the lengthy preface, is a worthwhile and often entertaining read. Frankly I think Shaw's sermons ( the prefaces) would have been wasted on me in my student days. Glad I saved them for later in life.

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I keep meaning to ask - does anyone remember if there is anything in WWZ that might be objectionable? My 12 yo ds wants to read it, and since it's been a couple years since I read it, I just can't remember for sure. And while I'm asking, how about the Discworld books? Okay for middle schoolers?

 

ETA: ***Spoiler***

 

 

 

 

 

I just remembered some army situation in the book where the soldiers are broken up into groups of ten and each group has to choose one person to kill. That's pretty awful. But is that any worse than The Hunger Games? 

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I keep meaning to ask - does anyone remember if there is anything in WWZ that might be objectionable? My 12 yo ds wants to read it, and since it's been a couple years since I read it, I just can't remember for sure. And while I'm asking, how about the Discworld books? Okay for middle schoolers?

 

 

I can't remember anything in WWZ that would be a specific reason not to let a 12yo read. It is pretty dark though. Lots of death, families being separated, nuclear war, genocide, starvation, etc. The ideas are pretty horrific. DS15 was just telling me a child who was turned into a zombie is chained to a table and struggles so hard to escape he breaks off his own leg. I don't remember that at all, but it might be disturbing to a 12yo...or not...depends on the 12yo. I probably wouldn't recommend it, but I could see a 13 or 14 year old reading it, so it depends on your son. 

 

 

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It's been a crazy 2 weeks, so I decided to read more serendipitously, library orders and found books only. I'm sorry, this post is going to be hideously long.

 

Finished The Physic Book of Deliverance Dane by Katherine Howe. 

 

 

 

A PhD candidate historian in Colonial America investigates her family background and finds a relationship to a woman accused of witchcraft during the Salem Witch Trials but blotted out of the historical record. I enjoyed the way Howe allowed each generation of the family to experience and use their gifts differently, according to their experience and personality. The plot was a bit contrived at times (if I can spot which direction a Harvard historian should be going...before she does...then yeah, it's a bit contrived) but that seemed more like a rookie mistake. I generally enjoyed this, and wish I had a tiny New England cottage with overgrown courtyard garden. 

 

Let's Pretend This Never Happened by Jennie Lawson

 

 

 

I suggested this to someone in the last few weeks so when I saw it at the library I picked it up. It seemed like a nice fluffy read. It was funny. Some of the things which were supposed to be funny seemed more normal to me. Maybe because I grew up in rural areas so impregnating cows in high school and a father with an obsession for taxidermy don't seem that odd? I did enjoy Lawson's openness about her struggle with anxiety. It really opened up her character into something more than a crazy, Texas I-Love-Lucy knockoff.  

 

We watched a documentary called Room 237 which is about crazy and detailed interpretations of Kubricks' The Shining (so of course we had to watch that too because neither of us could really remember much about it). 

 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cYDjemvPE6Q

 

I'm not sure I would recommend that documentary unless you have an interest in Kubrick or how people create meaning for themselves. I watched most of it while surfing because the stuff is a little out there (The Shining is Kubrick's apology for faking the moon landing, it's a symbolic history of America's ethnic cleansing of Native Americans, etc.) but some of it is interesting details. 

 

Recently, I read that Stephen King's latest book (Doctor Sleep, I think) is centered on the character of the little boy, Danny, in that book/movie. He's grown up. There's also a significant difference between the way King and Kubrick envisioned the characters. There's an interesting difference in choice and fate. This encouraged me to pick up The Shining, which I thought I read but I had not.

 

 

 

 It was surprisingly tight for a novel with so few characters and 600+ pages. I thought Jack's journey was well done. It wasn't all given to you, but it was understandable. Interestingly enough, it wasn't the supernatural occurrences which were scary. It was how protectiveness became patriarchy became verbal abuse because total self-centered murderous behavior. He was so broken and in pain that he needed a scapegoat. Ambition was also an interesting motivator. I wasn't expecting that. In the movie, he seems more possessed then anything else. Or at best mentally unhinged before the movie even starts. 

 

And weirdly, when I was on my Kubrick/King tangent I received Night Film by Marisha Pessl. I've had it on library order for a long time. 

 

 

 

This one is a wandering mystery about an investigative reporter (and friends he picks up along the way) who's investigating the death of the daughter of a famous horror film director. The director is much like Kubrick in some ways. The story is sort of magical. At least 60% of the book is finding more and more clues which build a stronger and gloriously strange case but never really take you anywhere. I enjoyed that. The beginning was very balanced (although I was kind of skeptical about the relationship of the 3 friends), @ page 400 it changes though. You start to have doubts. Losing that faith does make an interesting twist, but you lose the magic of the first 2/3 of the novel. I'm not sure Pessl ever recovered that sense of magic, but she does add a credible ending which doesn't leave anything hanging. 

 

I think part of this is my fault though. Part of the ending was telegraphed 100 pages earlier, so I didn't really want to wander anymore. I wanted to see if I was right. Once you lose the love of the journey, the novel becomes more frustrating. 

 

An interesting use of multimedia too (web pages, articles, photographs). And very New York. Recommended if you like books which are more about the journey then the destination. 

 

Working on: 

 

  

 

 

 

DS won Boxers and Saints at the library's summer reading program. 

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Started reading:

Crazy Busy: A Mercifully Short Book About a Really Big Problem by Kevin DeYoung

 

Still reading:

The Shadow of Night by Deborah Harkness

 

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)

24. The Valley of Amazement by Amy Tan (DEPRESSING)

25. No Place Like Oz by Danielle Paige (SO-SO)

26. 84 Charing Cross Road by Helen Hanff (DELIGHTFUL)

27. The Light Between Oceans by ML Stedman (WORST ENDING EVER)

28. Dreams of Gods and Monsters by Laini Taylor (SO-SO)

29. Mere Christianity by CS Lewis (BRILLIANT)

30. The Golem and the Jinni by Helene Wecker (WONDERFUL)

31. Eleanor and Park by Rainbow Rowell (CAN'T-PUT-IT-DOWN-READ-IT-ALL-IN-ONE-SITTING BOOK)

32. Dark Places by Gillian Flynn (SUPER CREEPY BUT REALLY GOOD)

33. A House in the Sky by Amanda Lindhout (WONDERFUL)

34. The Hypnotist's Love Story by Liane Moriarty (PRETTY GOOD)

35. The Book of Unknown Americans by Cristina Henriquez (HEART-BREAKING)

36. One Last Thing Before I Go by Jonathan Tropper (REALLY, REALLY GOOD)

37. The Glory of Heaven by John MacArthur (INTERESTING)

 

Heather, just wanted to say I love your helpful book descriptions.

 

 

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Let's Pretend This Never Happened by Jennie Lawson

 

lets-pretend.jpg

 

I suggested this to someone in the last few weeks so when I saw it at the library I picked it up. It seemed like a nice fluffy read. It was funny. Some of the things which were supposed to be funny seemed more normal to me. Maybe because I grew up in rural areas so impregnating cows in high school and a father with an obsession for taxidermy don't seem that odd? I did enjoy Lawson's openness about her struggle with anxiety. It really opened up her character into something more than a crazy, Texas I-Love-Lucy knockoff.  

 

We watched a documentary called Room 237 which is about crazy and detailed interpretations of Kubricks' The Shining (so of course we had to watch that too because neither of us could really remember much about it). 

 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cYDjemvPE6Q

 

I'm not sure I would recommend that documentary unless you have an interest in Kubrick or how people create meaning for themselves. I watched most of it while surfing because the stuff is a little out there (The Shining is Kubrick's apology for faking the moon landing, it's a symbolic history of America's ethnic cleansing of Native Americans, etc.) but some of it is interesting details. 

 

Recently, I read that Stephen King's latest book (Doctor Sleep, I think) is centered on the character of the little boy, Danny, in that book/movie. He's grown up. There's also a significant difference between the way King and Kubrick envisioned the characters. There's an interesting difference in choice and fate. This encouraged me to pick up The Shining, which I thought I read but I had not.

 

9780345806789_p0_v1_s260x420.JPG

 

 It was surprisingly tight for a novel with so few characters and 600+ pages. I thought Jack's journey was well done. It wasn't all given to you, but it was understandable. Interestingly enough, it wasn't the supernatural occurrences which were scary. It was how protectiveness became patriarchy became verbal abuse because total self-centered murderous behavior. He was so broken and in pain that he needed a scapegoat. Ambition was also an interesting motivator. I wasn't expecting that. In the movie, he seems more possessed then anything else. Or at best mentally unhinged before the movie even starts. 

 

And weirdly, when I was on my Kubrick/King tangent I received Night Film by Marisha Pessl. I've had it on library order for a long time. 

 

01592fa6-fc18-4b9a-8c54-3e74a930b134Medi

 

This one is a wandering mystery about an investigative reporter (and friends he picks up along the way) who's investigating the death of the daughter of a famous horror film director. The director is much like Kubrick in some ways. The story is sort of magical. At least 60% of the book is finding more and more clues which build a stronger and gloriously strange case but never really take you anywhere. I enjoyed that. The beginning was very balanced (although I was kind of skeptical about the relationship of the 3 friends), @ page 400 it changes though. You start to have doubts. Losing that faith does make an interesting twist, but you lose the magic of the first 2/3 of the novel. I'm not sure Pessl ever recovered that sense of magic, but she does add a credible ending which doesn't leave anything hanging. 

 

I think part of this is my fault though. Part of the ending was telegraphed 100 pages earlier, so I didn't really want to wander anymore. I wanted to see if I was right. Once you lose the love of the journey, the novel becomes more frustrating. 

 

 

 

 

 

I found Let's Pretend kind of a Meh. I'm not sure if I even finished it.

 

On the other hand, I think it would be interesting to re-read The Shining as an adult. I probably read it when I was 16 or 17.

 

 

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Robin, I read the In Death series one after another when I was on bedrest with my fourth child. I started having the weirdest dreams in Eve's world.

 

Bill Bryson is great. He makes me belly laugh in several of his books. His bear story in A Walk In The Woods made me wake my husband because I was lauging so hard.

 

Almost done with Anansi Boys. I haven't had a ton of time to read so it feels like I'm taking forever with it. Hopefully I can finish it tonight but it was a loooo-ooong day so I might fall asleep reading. Going through a homeschooling book too called Plan To Be Flexible. Not bad. 

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Read the Bacchae and Oedipus Rex and Book #5 of the Flavia de Luce books.  Starting Aeneid this week and will probably read Book #6 of Flavia. (Then I'll be waiting until March  2015 for the next one.)  I also put Clockwork Scarab and A Very Bad Beginning on my ipod. :)

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