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Robin M
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Just out of curiosity, do any of you read anything besides books - such as trade journals and the like, which take considerable time? I'm trying to decide how to balance my reading. 

 

(And those don't count for the thread... :(   ;) )

 

Well, I spend quite a bit of time here reading the WTM boards! And then there are a few blogs that I also read. There is little balance admittedly!

 

Regards,

Kareni

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Just out of curiosity, do any of you read anything besides books - such as trade journals and the like, which take considerable time? I'm trying to decide how to balance my reading. 

 

(And those don't count for the thread... :(   ;) )

 

I read all sorts of things other than books.  Newspapers and music, especially.  And yes playing music involves reading; the set of basic symbols on the page can encode some deep and profound ideas, my eyes run across the page left to right, top to bottom.  I need special glasses for each, lol!  Two hours spent sight reading Beethoven quartets with friends leaves me with the same sense of satisfaction I get from reading great literature. I read posts by favorite bloggers on the internet, more news on the internet, and far too much reading of the WTM boards even though I'm done homeschooling.  

 

Reading books, fiction and non-fiction, fluff and great books, is something I make a point of doing with my time, though.  It might just be a chapter I read while eating lunch, or the section of a book I can listen to while driving. Sometimes I just decide it will be an afternoon of reading.  I actually read more when I was a homeschool mom partly for an escape but mostly because I had time to kill while the little darlings were at one obligation or another. 

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I read all sorts of things other than books.  Newspapers and music, especially.  And yes playing music involves reading; the set of basic symbols on the page can encode some deep and profound ideas, my eyes run across the page left to right, top to bottom.  I need special glasses for each, lol!  Two hours spent sight reading Beethoven quartets with friends leaves me with the same sense of satisfaction I get from reading great literature. I read posts by favorite bloggers on the internet, more news on the internet, and far too much reading of the WTM boards even though I'm done homeschooling.  

 

Reading books, fiction and non-fiction, fluff and great books, is something I make a point of doing with my time, though.  It might just be a chapter I read while eating lunch, or the section of a book I can listen to while driving. Sometimes I just decide it will be an afternoon of reading.  I actually read more when I was a homeschool mom partly for an escape but mostly because I had time to kill while the little darlings were at one obligation or another. 

 

I read news and science articles during lunch and listen to lectures while driving...hmmm...maybe I need to chart it all out to see it more plainly because it keeps bothering me....

 

Thanks so much for the input so far!

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Just out of curiosity, do any of you read anything besides books - such as trade journals and the like, which take considerable time? I'm trying to decide how to balance my reading.

 

(And those don't count for the thread... :( ;) )

Well, right now I'm reading a lot of curriculum material. But at any given point I also read the NY Times, a few mags, various blogs, spiritual texts and commentary, recipes, Jungian material.

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I am slowly working my way through The Aeneid.  I have no idea how to even begin the essay for this class, which is due Sunday, so I doubt I'll get much extra reading done this week.  I am looking forward to the following (in no certain order): Blood Games: A Chicagoland Vampires Novel by Chloe Neill, Crave the Night: A Midnight Breed Novel by Lara Adrian, and Dark Skye (Immortals After Dark) by Kresley Cole.  They all release tomorrow.  I'll just  :drool5: for now.   :(

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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. :)

Thanks for posting the "official" date for the next Flavia.  My dd will be very happy to hear that in the morning! :)  We knew that they were supposed to continue but had no firm indications.

 

FYI  for Shukriyya who will notice that it is 4am in my part of the world -- I am not in the States ( most likely spending part of September there) but may very well be back to my old insomniac ways.  Big sigh...........

 

Almost done with Aunt Dimity's Death.  Hopefully will finish and go to back to sleep.  Big yawn.  This one is more of an introduction I think to the main event, the rest of the series.  I am 76% in and feel like the book is still out there waiting to be read but like the premise of the series and enjoy the characters so will continue with the next.  

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Crstarlette, you asked about Terry Pratchett's Discworld for a 12yo. Imo, they are fine if the 12yo can appreciate the humor. My 13yo devours them (though there are a couple that he still finds a little dark for his liking) & he has been reading the regular Discworld series regularly for about a year now. A few years ago, he read the Tiffany Aching books (also part of Discworld, but aimed more toward YA), which is what started him down the Discworld path. My 13yo says to mention that some of the books do have swearing, maybe mild mentions of sexual situations, etc.... Nothing that I'm uncomfortable with him reading, but ymmv.

 

Rosie, I know you like Pratchett too. He just finished The Last Continent & from what he told me, it sounds as if this 'world' found in there is suspiciously like Australia ;-) with an amusing creation of the platypus (the wizards larking around & arguing).... Perhaps you would get a chuckle out of it (even if it is the wizards more than the witches).

 

Also, World War Z. It's been a few years since I've read it. And, I did manage to read it (& enjoyed it) vs. Hunger Games (which had too gruesome of a concept for me to finish). I think I found it a 'safer' read than some horror stories because it is told from the viewpoint of 'after' the bad stuff has happened. At the point of the story, humanity (what's left of it) is assessing/analyzing the zombie apocalypse, what worked & what didn't etc.... But some of the 'scare' factor was lessened for me because at least you know some of the people survived, society was slowly getting back to 'normal', etc.... Even so, zombies are pretty gross, there are some gross descriptions, certain parts with a lot of swearing (from what I remember), etc.... I loved the political analysis part of the book; the other (zombie-specific) parts were ok but that's not really my thing.

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Thanks for posting the "official" date for the next Flavia.  My dd will be very happy to hear that in the morning! :)  We knew that they were supposed to continue but had no firm indications.

 

FYI  for Shukriyya who will notice that it is 4am in my part of the world -- I am not in the States ( most likely spending part of September there) but may very well be back to my old insomniac ways.  Big sigh...........

 

Almost done with Aunt Dimity's Death.  Hopefully will finish and go to back to sleep.  Big yawn.  This one is more of an introduction I think to the main event, the rest of the series.  I am 76% in and feel lik the book is still out there waiting to be read but like the premise of the series and enjoy the characters so will continue with the next.  

 

Oh you poor dear, milky tea and digestive biscuits coming your way...

 

 
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'Even when we don't desire it,
God is ripening.
'

Well, I've spent the rest of the day with that last astonishing line from Rilke's poem breathing itself through the country of my body like a great bird, muscular and replete with grace, winging its way into my hearing with a staggering silence. When I stop and incline the ear of my heart to it the feeling is as that moment after the symphony has played the last note of a piece and the air is vibrating with a hush that is glorious with the music and possibility that preceded it.

Lost Surprise, thank you for bringing this back to my awareness. I'm reminded, too, of his book, 'Letters to a Young Poet' which you might enjoy.

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Finished Teen 2.0 and overall I think it's a good book to read. I agree with his main points. I will need to think about how I parent my 13 yr old and revise things.

 

Now, onto my next non-fiction that finally came from the library. I had it on hold since March. I can't renew it so I have read it now even though I'm in the mood for mind candy.

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'Even when we don't desire it,

God is ripening.'

 

Well, I've spent the rest of the day with that last astonishing line from Rilke's poem breathing itself through the country of my body like a great bird, muscular and replete with grace, winging its way into my hearing with a staggering silence. When I stop and incline the ear of my heart to it the feeling is as that moment after the symphony has played the last note of a piece and the air is vibrating with a hush that is glorious with the music and possibility that preceded it.

 

Lost Surprise, thank you for bringing this back to my awareness. I'm reminded, too, of his book, 'Letters to a Young Poet' which you might enjoy.

 

I'm glad. 

 

I've had Letters to a Young Poet on my Thriftbooks list for a long time. I have some small fear that I've past the age where I will truly 'get' it (like reading Catcher in the Rye when you're 30), but it's still on my Some-day list. 

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And just what is a "digestive biscuit" ?

Totally agree that they are not graham crackers but can be used for many of the same things......pie crusts, smores, eating with peanut butter.....but they have a higher sugar and fat content therefore way more filling.  Very similar to eating a cookie and here the term biscut means cookie.  Not sure that that explains it better but thought I would try.  :)

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Totally agree that they are not graham crackers but can be used for many of the same things......pie crusts, smores, eating with peanut butter.....but they have a higher sugar and fat content therefore way more filling.  Very similar to eating a cookie and here the term biscut means cookie.  Not sure that that explains it better but thought I would try.   :)

 

Though I haven't had them in an age I recall enjoying them with some extra sharp cheese...

 

 
 
 
 
 

 

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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.  

 

 

I recently read Strange Capers by Smith and felt that it, too, had a similar repetitive quality.  However, the repeated lies and misunderstandings were a part of the plot, I just thought they went on a little too long.  I enjoyed it, though, and am glad you introduced me to her.  It's great fluff.

 

 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. 

 

I am struggling with this concept as well.

 

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. 

 

 

 

:iagree:   and am so glad to hear more people saying this!  I thought it was just me!  I simply write.  I don't do outlines or follow all the rules.  I just write.  

 

Jenn (Happy Birthday!!) I somehow missed you when I was hitting multi-quote.  How did you teach/encourage your boys to write?  Did you follow more of a Charlotte Mason approach or just have them write about what they read?  I'd love some details!  I'm not sure where dd13 falls in this category.  She certainly doesn't struggle but I don't know that she is intuitive either.   I'm struggling right now with feeling I need to have her finish Writing with Style because she is probably on a college track unlike older dd, OR just letting her get comfy with writing and just do it.  I hate to see it suck the life out like Shukriyya said!  So enquiring minds want to know  :D

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Just out of curiosity, do any of you read anything besides books - such as trade journals and the like, which take considerable time? I'm trying to decide how to balance my reading. 

 

(And those don't count for the thread... :(   ;) )

 

I also read various writing magazines and the wall street journal.  Breakfast is devoted to faith read and lunch is always a fiction read. No reading during dinner, of course. Except when hubby's not home, we sometimes listen to an audiobook. 

 

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.

 

Same thing happened when I did a marathon read of Laurell Hamilton's Anita Blake series - brain was so full of that world, couldn't think or dream of anything else.

 

 

 

Today is James 15th birthday and found some cool books while at Barnes and Noble yesterday for him. Didn't like teen shelves selection (interesting what they are marketing to teens these days - mercy)  Went over to 3 to 6 grade level. Found lots of books I wanted to read.  :lol:   Boy, guess kids have gotten a lot more mature.

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Difficult to explain since there's not really an American equivalent (no, graham crackers are not the same. at all.) Here's a link that might explain them better.

 

So basically a bland cookie?

 

And because I'm gf I of course had to google a gf recipe. There are ready made versions to buy as well. The recipe actually sounds yummy with the seed mix.

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I'm listening to The Devil's Cub by Georgette Heyer and I kinda want to give up on it.  This guy is awful.  I'm not sure how he's going to become a reformed rake because I think he's sociopath.  Murder without remorse?  Eek.  I'm sure someone on here has read it ... does this guy ever redeem himself?  Am I ever going to like him?

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I'm listening to The Devil's Cub by Georgette Heyer and I kinda want to give up on it.  This guy is awful.  I'm not sure how he's going to become a reformed rake because I think he's sociopath.  Murder without remorse?  Eek.  I'm sure someone on here has read it ... does this guy ever redeem himself?  Am I ever going to like him?

 

It's been years since I read a Georgette Heyer book, so I no longer recall sufficient details to answer your questions.  Here is a link that might interest you though ~

 

Refining the Rake as Hero: Georgette HeyerĂ¢â‚¬â„¢s DevilĂ¢â‚¬â„¢s Cub

 

Regards,

Kareni

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[They are served with cheese frequently. I helped with some community lunches last fall where we served a nice homemade soup and fresh bread followed by a cheese board complete with digestives. Profits to a different charity each week and we were packed every single week, ran out of soup normally. Personally I like them plain with tea or coffee. Prefer something less sweet with cheese.

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Thank you all for the birthday greetings!   :001_wub:   And Robin, happy birthday to James!  Once upon a time in my pre-kid working days, I was talking with a mom and her kids, and it turned out the little girl's birthday was also August 5th. I commented on how wonderful a date it is, that we shared that birth day, and the little girl lost it.  "NO it can't be your birthday.  That's MY birthday!!"  Apparently she really felt it was her exclusive special day and I just burst that bubble.  I'm honored to share the day with James!

 

Quiet day here.  We took the dog out to breakfast then to dog beach, (nothing screams empty nesters like including the dog in everything) and after a lazy afternoon of reading I'm going to skype with the kids, then plan on watching the movie The Lunchbox over dinner.  

 

My birthday reading has been to finish my silly magic/urban fantasy/mystery/steampunk novel.  Its a total guilty pleasure, not a page turner, no compelling characters, really nothing to recommend it except it's world building, which is an atmospheric, alternate universe version of Victorian London!

 

 

 

 

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Today is James 15th birthday and found some cool books while at Barnes and Noble yesterday for him. Didn't like teen shelves selection (interesting what they are marketing to teens these days - mercy)  Went over to 3 to 6 grade level. Found lots of books I wanted to read.  :lol:   Boy, guess kids have gotten a lot more mature.

 Happy Birthday to James!  

 

 

My ds just read my Mr. Penumbra's 24 Hour Bookstore and really liked it.  Since I think you mentioned it was in your stack,  at some point it might be a good one for James.

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Hello Everyone!

 

Back in NC after a travel day that convinced me I need to invest in blinders and noise canceling headphones.  The two hour bus ride to the airport was peaceful.  My two flights were smooth and early.  Unfortunately I was assigned to the nut zone on both planes. Fortunately I had a good book to lose myself in and I always nap on planes--even when the teenage boy next to me is seat dancing.  At least he was not singing aloud, just bouncing his legs, waving his hands and arms, rocking his shoulders.  The best news is that he too can sleep on planes and crashed as well.  But, to be fair, he was a teenager whose parents apparently never told him that it might be considered rude to enter into another person's seat space with waving arms while seat dancing to Ipod tunes.  But there is absolutely no excuse for adults who subject fellow passengers to inappropriate cell phone conversations within the confines of airplanes on the tarmac, boarding queues, etc. 

 

The book that held my interest is The Nautical Chart by Arturo Perez-Reverte.  My husband and I have enjoyed several of his other books which tend to be historical thrillers. The Club Dumas and The Flanders Panel come to mind.  It has been a while since I have read one of Perez-Reverte's novels so I am glad to re-encounter him.  So far so good...

 

My quick weekend read was The Oxford Murders, a disappointment to be honest. The book is written by an Argentinian mathematician.Guillermo Martinez, so I wanted to like it.  Nice idea but stilted.  The question remains whether that was due to the author or the translation.

 

Other reading news:  While out of town, the first book in my Archipelago subscription arrived, poetry by Marina Tsvetaeva, Moscow in the Plague Year.  The New Yorker calls it one of the books to watch out for in August--which means that I am considerably ahead of the curve.  Usually I lag a few decades behind.

 

 

 

I had also requested another item from Archipelago back in July which allows me to chime in on the Rilke discussion.  I had no idea that Rilke served briefly as Rodin's secretary.  Rilke's essays on Rodin have also been published by Archipelago with photos of some of Rodin's work.  Yowsers--gorgeous book!

 

On Woodland's question about other reading:  I rarely read trade journals but there are a few magazines that I like (Piecework comes to mind). One reason that I don't subscribe to the New Yorker or The Economist is that I find I only read one out of three or four issues.  It is just too much with my daily newspaper, Internet forums, etc. Balance can be challenging.  My husband reads loads of trade journals and definitely fewer books than I do. 

 

One other bit of travel related news:  Those of you who frequent the high school/college boards here know in Nan in Mass.  She and I had a wonderful afternoon together at the Isabella Stewart Gardner museum in Boston last month.  She is a Well Trained Treasure!

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On Woodland's question about other reading:  I rarely read trade journals but there are a few magazines that I like (Piecework comes to mind). One reason that I don't subscribe to the New Yorker or The Economist is that I find I only read one out of three or four issues.  It is just too much with my daily newspaper, Internet forums, etc. Balance can be challenging.  My husband reads loads of trade journals and definitely fewer books than I do. 

 

 

Thanks!  The Economist is one of our weeklies. I often tell myself I could fly through a light book in the time it takes me to read the magazine.  Balance can be challenging, for sure!  I appreciate your perspective; thanks so much for posting.

 

Welcome home! What good news about your afternoon with Nan!

 

I should probably mention a book on this thread! :ph34r:

 

One of my favorite summer reads has been March of the Microbes.  It was one that my daughter and I read separately and discussed. We're now reading The Prince, along with a few others. As is often the case when reading a book, we are now seeing references everywhere. Machiavelli was even mentioned in March of the Microbes,  which was a fun sighting. Lily does lament the usage sometimes. It's interesting to see her so concerned about someone long-dead. She wonders what he would think about seeing his name referenced in some of the works. Then there is always the question: Was Machiavelli truly Machiavellian? ;)

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Thanks!  The Economist is one of our weeklies. I often tell myself I could fly through a light book in the time it takes me to read the magazine.  Balance can be challenging, for sure!  I appreciate your perspective; thanks so much for posting.

 

Welcome home! What good news about your afternoon with Nan!

 

I should probably mention a book on this thread! :ph34r:

 

One of my favorite summer reads has been March of the Microbes.  It was one that my daughter and I read separately and discussed. We're now reading The Prince, along with a few others. As is often the case when reading a book, we are now seeing references everywhere. Machiavelli was even mentioned in March of the Microbes,  which was a fun sighting. Lily does lament the usage sometimes. It's interesting to see her so concerned about someone long-dead. She wonders what he would think about seeing his name referenced in some of the works. Then there is always the question: Was Machiavelli truly Machiavellian? ;)

 

Thanks for mentioning March of the Microbes.  On my summer sojourns, I regularly have meals with two microbiologists who rhapsodize over the microbes appearing at the dinner table in our wine, cheese, pickles, etc.

 

Was Machiavelli Machiavellian?  Off the cuff I would say no but this is certainly a question that will continue to be debated, particularly because of his discourses on the role of organized religion in society.  In my opinion, The Prince should be a part of everyone's classical high school education. 

 

I like your daughter's thoughtfulness.  It must be fun having her as a reading partner!

 

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Thanks for mentioning March of the Microbes.  On my summer sojourns, I regularly have meals with two microbiologists who rhapsodize over the microbes appearing at the dinner table in our wine, cheese, pickles, etc.

 

Was Machiavelli Machiavellian?  Off the cuff I would say no but this is certainly a question that will continue to be debated, particularly because of his discourses on the role of organized religion in society.  In my opinion, The Prince should be a part of everyone's classical high school education. 

 

I like your daughter's thoughtfulness.  It must be fun having her as a reading partner!

 

 

What delightful dining companions! I must confess my envy!

 

You have my agreement with the bolded!

 

Yes, it is a joy to have such a reading partner! It's a little uncomfortable at times, though. She sees right through my excuses when I get behind... ;)

 

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Yesterday I spent half the day in bed with The Sugar Queen by Sarah Addison Allen, the literary equivalent of a soaps and bon bon marathon. I felt amazingly refreshed afterward. Pure escapism.Today I work on school plans, we start back up in 2 weeks and our books arrived Monday. I've been schooling myself to read one chapter of the Evolution of God a day, and I've been snatching a few glimpses of Stuff Matters.

 

My Dad has stabilized. They got his kidneys back in order, fitted him out with a defibrillator vest, and sent him to a rehab facility, after that he will move in with my brother. So, things are a little less stressful for the moment. I hope everyone else's parents are doing well also.

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Dd & I ran by B&N this afternoon. Didn't find the item we had gone looking for, but dd picked up a fun-looking book called Camelot Burning. Wanted to mention it to those of you w/ teens who might enjoy it. She started it in the car & said it's good so far. Seems like it's a mix of Arthurian legend & steampunk. (Dd has always had a fondness for all things related to Arthurian legend....)

Seventeen-year-old Vivienne lives in a world of knights and ladies, corsets and absinthe, outlaw magic and alchemical machines. By day, she is lady-in-waiting to the future queen of Camelot--Guinevere. By night, she secretly toils away in the clock tower as apprentice to Merlin, the infamous recovering magic addict.

 

Then she meets Marcus, below her in class, destined to become a knight, and just as forbidden as her apprenticeship with Merlin. When Morgan le Fay, the king's sorceress sister, declares war on Camelot, Merlin thinks they can create a metal beast powered by steam and alchemy to defeat her. But to save the kingdom, Vivienne will have to risk everything--her secret apprenticeship, her love for Marcus, and her own life.

I picked up The Iron Wyrm Affair off the clearance/discount shelf for myself. Looks like fun, light, steampunk reading for me too.

Emma Bannon, forensic sorceress in the service of the Empire, has a mission: to protect Archibald Clare, a failed, unregistered mentath. His skills of deduction are legendary, and her own sorcery is not inconsiderable. It doesn't help much that they barely tolerate each other, or that Bannon's Shield, Mikal, might just be a traitor himself. Or that the conspiracy killing registered mentaths and sorcerers alike will just as likely kill them as seduce them into treachery toward their Queen.

 

In an alternate London where illogical magic has turned the Industrial Revolution on its head, Bannon and Clare now face hostility, treason, cannon fire, black sorcery, and the problem of reliably finding hansom cabs.

 

The game is afoot..

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 .

 

My Dad has stabilized. They got his kidneys back in order, fitted him out with a defibrillator vest, and sent him to a rehab facility, after that he will move in with my brother. So, things are a little less stressful for the moment. I hope everyone else's parents are doing well also.

 

I am so happy for you that your dad is doing better and that you have a plan once he is out of rehab.  I'm glad that the stress level has decreased.

 

My dad is doing better, too.  He has an official diagnosis of COPD (I think the initials stand for Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease or Disorder, not sure.)   He has nurses and respiratory therapists coming to the  house, helping him with his medication and sorting things out for him.  So we are happy with how things are turning out.  It is looking like a nursing home will be far in the future.  Yay!

 

I finished  Gift from the Sea by Anne Morrow Lindbergh.  I think I am going to buy that book.  It was so helpful to me and was beautifully written.   I have now started The Rock that is Higher  by Madline L'Engle.  I think this is gong to be a keeper as well.  

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Glad to hear that at least a few of the parents on the BaW board are improving... :grouphug:  I'm keeping all of you in my thoughts.

 

I finished  Gift from the Sea by Anne Morrow Lindbergh.  I think I am going to buy that book.  It was so helpful to me and was beautifully written. 

 

I still have her book North to the Orient to read....

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Oh, Jenn. When I was in B&N, I saw a book that I thought you might like....

 

Saving Mozart by RaphaĂƒÂ«l Jerusalmy (& it's from the ever-lovely publisher Europa Editions).

 

RaphaĂƒÂ«l JerusalmyĂ¢â‚¬â„¢s debut novel takes the form of the journal of Otto J. Steiner, a former music critic of Jewish descent suffering from tuberculosis in a Salzburg sanatorium in 1939. Drained by his illness and isolated in the gloomy sanatorium, Steiner finds solace only in music. He is horrified to learn that the NazisĂ¢â‚¬â„¢ are transforming a Mozart festival into a fascist event. Steiner feels helpless at first, but an invitation from a friend presents him with an opportunity to fight back. Under the guise of organizing a concert for Nazi officials, Steiner formulates a plan to save Mozart that could dramatically change the course of the war.

 

ETA: And, for the many of you on here that like Georgette Heyer, I thought this Europa book might appeal: The Thoughts and Happenings of Wilfred Price, Purveyor of Superior Funerals by Wendy Jones. (Of course, I've never read Heyer, so I have no idea if this storyline would be appealing to Heyer fans or not! :lol:  But, still, I thought of all the Heyer fans on the thread. Maybe the cover art made me think you would like it....)

 

The year is 1924, and Wilfred Price is a naĂƒÂ¯ve, kind-hearted funeral director who has just come of age in a small Welsh town. His business is prospering, and he reckons he will soon need a wife. At a spring picnic with Grace, a girl he barely knows, he is overcome by the beauty of the day and impulsively asks her to marry him. She accepts, and before he can explain his foolish mistake, she rushes off to tell her parents. 

 

What begins as a delightful tale of romantic mishap soon becomes a complex comedy of manners that addresses of the nature of love, the demands of duty, and the consequences of secrecy. Wilfred is caught between his sense of responsibility to Grace, whom he neither loves nor wishes to marry, and his growing attraction to the mysterious Flora. 

 

Using blended humor to unveil its multifaceted characters, Wendy Jones allows her character-driven novel to expand from whimsy to responsibility while avoiding sentimentality. Things are never straightforward when it comes to love or the fundamental human question: How can we fully and honestly live our lives without hurting other people? 

 

Optioned for a mini-series by the company that produces Downton Abbey for the BBC and PBS, this novel is populated with compelling characters whose choices have consequences. Its humor is generous, never mean spirited, and the awkward all-too-human quest for love is depicted with emotional honesty.

 

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It's been years since I read a Georgette Heyer book, so I no longer recall sufficient details to answer your questions.  Here is a link that might interest you though ~

 

Refining the Rake as Hero: Georgette HeyerĂ¢â‚¬â„¢s DevilĂ¢â‚¬â„¢s Cub

 

Regards,

Kareni

 

Thank you for posting that.  I shall continue on.  That gal writes a hella good review.  

 

 

The drought continues...

 

May17_shelves1.JPG

 

 

Sad picture.

 

17997591.jpg    12899734.jpg

 

Dd & I ran by B&N this afternoon. Didn't find the item we had gone looking for, but dd picked up a fun-looking book called Camelot Burning. Wanted to mention it to those of you w/ teens who might enjoy it. She started it in the car & said it's good so far. Seems like it's a mix of Arthurian legend & steampunk. (Dd has always had a fondness for all things related to Arthurian legend....)

 

 

I picked up The Iron Wyrm Affair off the clearance/discount shelf for myself. Looks like fun, light, steampunk reading for me too.

 

Does your DD have any Arthurian books she would recommend to a 10 year old girl with a high reading level?  I think DD would love that era and I don't know where to get started.  

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