Jane in NC Posted August 8, 2014 Share Posted August 8, 2014 You make a very good point. And, I agree that it is a flippant way to demarcate the list. The title sounds good, though, 50 by under-50, yada, yada. It's attention-grabbing & that is the point, rather than really assessing new books by female writers of any age. Perhaps here is a better article: Will #readwomen2014 change our sexist reading habits? (And some of the author lists are here.) I guess I feel badly about it partly because I work very hard to *not* click on some internet links (& therefore help drive their importance on the web), kwim? For example, I refuse to click on any link that is not a hard 'news' story on a news website because I don't want to contribute to frivolous material being considered important or newsworthy by the readership. ( :cursing: ) And, when reading news stories, I try to find a list of related stories about the topic, then choose the news source(s) carefully. Anyway... Unfortunately the glib titles of blog entries or newspaper articles often stereotype or marginalize within the surface of the soundbite. Reading the article often clarifies but the headline can be what remains. To be honest, I don't even consider the gender of the author when I read a book. I read a number of female authors--always have--and my favorite authors include a number of women (Barbara Pym, Dorothy Dunnett, Susan Howatch, Angela Thirkell, Olivia Manning, etc.) But my shelves are also filled with a number of the "boys". I have many volumes of Hemingway, Fitzgerald, E.M. Forster, P.G. Wodehouse. Funny, I am not even sure of the gender of some of the authors I picked up at the library today! I don't want to discount that some women have certainly had a difficult time--think of the need to use male pseudonyms in the past. And possibly in the present? Are there genres in which it is an advantage to be male? Please do not feel badly about this. Flavorwire irritates me often so I may be the curmudgeon in this case. XXOO, Jane Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jane in NC Posted August 8, 2014 Share Posted August 8, 2014 Of the 57 books I have read this year, 29 are by women. I do not even bother with my local library since it only stocks best seller type books which I don't read. To me, this is not a gender issue. I am simply more snobbish in my reading tastes. Frankly if I see any prejudice in my libraries, I see it against authors in translation. But this may be the American problem. We read our authors, some British authors, a few Canadians. But books that become touch points in other cultures may never even make it within our borders. This is why I am so thrilled with two publishers that you have introduced me to, Stacia: Europa and Archipelago. I also loved the old Penguin series from a few decades ago, Writers from the Other Europe. Talk about neglected! How many Czech, Hungarian, or Polish authors can the average American identify? On that note, I picked up a Europa edition at the library today. I had to pull it out of the bag to see the gender of the author. Laurence Cosse is female; the novel is translated from the French by a woman. (The translators on my list of this year's reading seem equally balanced between men and women too.) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Stacia Posted August 8, 2014 Share Posted August 8, 2014 (Sorry, had to pop off for a minute to check out the severe thunderstorm/tornado warning that we just had. I hate tornadoes!) And here's one more wrench to toss in... What about female writers like Catalina de Erauso? Well, technically, she wasn't a writer most of her life, but rather spent most of it as a soldier, dressed & pretending to be a man. There is a published 'autobiography' of hers, though, Lieutenant Nun. So, she didn't just write under a pseudonym, she posed/chose to pass as a man in her real life. Does she affect the count? And how? (I read her book, btw, a few years ago. It wasn't very deep or well-written but I think it is worth reading in that she led a very different life than most women in her age. My bil, who is Spanish, said she is considered a folk hero in Spain.) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Stacia Posted August 8, 2014 Share Posted August 8, 2014 Of the 57 books I have read this year, 29 are by women. I do not even bother with my local library since it only stocks best seller type books which I don't read. To me, this is not a gender issue. I am simply more snobbish in my reading tastes. Frankly if I see any prejudice in my libraries, I see it against authors in translation. But this may be the American problem. We read our authors, some British authors, a few Canadians. But books that become touch points in other cultures may never even make it within our borders. This is why I am so thrilled with two publishers that you have introduced me to, Stacia: Europa and Archipelago. I also loved the old Penguin series from a few decades ago, Writers from the Other Europe. Talk about neglected! How many Czech, Hungarian, or Polish authors can the average American identify? On that note, I picked up a Europa edition at the library today. I had to pull it out of the bag to see the gender of the author. Laurence Cosse is female; the novel is translated from the French by a woman. (The translators on my list of this year's reading seem equally balanced between men and women too.) I am like you in that respect, Jane (re: library stocks, generally speaking). Did you pick up A Novel Bookstore? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jane in NC Posted August 8, 2014 Share Posted August 8, 2014 Did you pick up A Novel Bookstore? Yup. Have you read it? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mumto2 Posted August 8, 2014 Share Posted August 8, 2014 Interesting link Stacia. All I can contribute to the discussion is I have discovered that a couple of my fluffy books are actually male authors using a female pen name. Miranda James who wrote the Cat in the Stacks series that I enjoyed is a man. Several authors also have rather ambiguous first names that surprise me when I discover that their gender doesn't match my perception of them from the book. I have spent the past few hours happily reading Daniel Silva's An English Girl. I know, totally inappropriate for the current discussion. It was a really good thriller, rather James Bondish. All sorts of intelligence agencies involved and great pacing. Very hard to get bored and take a nap! ;) I was pleasantly surprised to discover that I have read some of this series in the past and like the main character quite a bit. I had forgotten who the author was so never continued reading them. I appear to have missed a couple..... :lol: Next up is Tampa by Alissa Nutting which I had already planned to read or at least try! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Stacia Posted August 8, 2014 Share Posted August 8, 2014 Yup. Have you read it? Well, you might like it because it is one that I didn't end up finishing. :lol: (I know we sometimes we have differing tastes in books.) I tried it sometime in the last year or so & liked the idea of it, but it just didn't hold my interest enough for me to continue. And to veer off our topic just slightly, I'll mention that I just don't have the greatest track record with reading French authors. For some reason, the few French books (by French authors) I've read/tried to read are often not things I like or enjoy. There have been enough that I've stopped part-way through that I've actually gotten to the point where I do consider if an author is French before I pick up the book. Perhaps I just do not have a French mindset. (My ethnic background ranges more to Russian/Caucasus/Polish & German backgrounds.) Does ethnicity play into one's choosing of authors/styles of writing/etc...? (Maybe my dh's Belgian/Flemish ways have rubbed off on me? ;) Of course, his family always says that it's just that the Flemings avoid the Walloons more than they avoid the French. According to them, a Fleming is more likely to travel to France rather than to a Walloon area of Belgium. You know those wild Belgians... always engaging in civil war like that.... <said with tongue firmly in cheek> :tongue_smilie: ) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Stacia Posted August 8, 2014 Share Posted August 8, 2014 Interesting link Stacia. All I can contribute to the discussion is I have discovered that a couple of my fluffy books are actually male authors using a female pen name. Miranda James who wrote the Cat in the Stacks series that I enjoyed is a man. Several authors also have rather ambiguous first names that surprise me when I discover that their gender doesn't match my perception of them from the book. That is interesting & not really an angle I had considered -- men writing under female pen names.... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Just Robyn Posted August 8, 2014 Share Posted August 8, 2014 Thank you LostSurprise and Stacia. It seems like there are probably a lot of really terrible moments in WWZ that I forgot about, so I'll stay on the safe side and tell him to wait a year or two. We have plenty of book ideas to keep him busy for awhile. 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 other things, but nothing regularly. I buy lit. mags now and then, but I don't subscribe to any. Right now on my shelf, I have partially read copies of Shimmer, Wicked Hollow, Lady Churchill's Rosebud Wristlet, and Poetry Magazine. I subscribe to Daily Science Fiction, but only sometimes read it. And there are a few blogs I occasionally read. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
shukriyya Posted August 8, 2014 Share Posted August 8, 2014 Still in progress - My 11 year old daughter and I are working through both The King of Attolia, the last of Megan Whalen Turner's trilogy; and also Thaliad by Marly Youmans. Shukriyya -- have you read this? I'm thinking of you often as we go through it...I have not. And I'm having a difficult time locating it. 'Thaliad' brings nothing up. Or is it 'The King of Anatolia' you were suggesting? ETA Ok, scratch that, it required putting in the author's name to find it. Gosh, this looks wonderful, Pam. If our library doesn't have it I may need to purchase it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kareni Posted August 8, 2014 Share Posted August 8, 2014 And here's one more wrench to toss in... Given the female author issue under discussion, at first I read this as 'wench' .... Regards, Kareni Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pam in CT Posted August 8, 2014 Share Posted August 8, 2014 Interesting link, Stacia... As I've said previously, I know my own reading is decidedly sexist in that I read many more male authors than female authors. (This year, reviewing my list, 11 of 45 books read are by females.) And, looking at my 'favorites' shelf over on Goodreads, I have a similar percentage, so it looks like generally my reading ranges from about 20 to 25% female authors vs. 75 to 80% male authors. Of the 57 books I have read this year, 29 are by women. I do not even bother with my local library since it only stocks best seller type books which I don't read. To me, this is not a gender issue. I am simply more snobbish in my reading tastes. I remember doing a similar tally in a thread here a few months ago and being surprised by how male-authored my own reading was last year... my sloppy record keeping notwithstanding, it looks like for this year so far, 43 out of 101 (43%) are by female authors. I group by fiction, non-fiction and poetry, and it turns out that I read a whole lot more fiction by female authors (63%) than non fiction (28%). Poetry is flat even. Based on that thread, I am this year consciously choosing female-authored books in two categories - war narratives, and country study (Nigeria, Israel, Afghanistan/Pakistan). I'm trying to select female-authored books about religion too, but the pickings are slim (particularly for prior generations, but even current books are overwhelmingly by men in that field...) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jane in NC Posted August 8, 2014 Share Posted August 8, 2014 I often end up assuming that anything with that extra twist of funky-ness is from Stacia, anything from Eastern Europe from Jane... and so on. My inner babushka is flattered! Please join me for a cup of tea and some chrusciki! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rosie_0801 Posted August 8, 2014 Share Posted August 8, 2014 Frankly if I see any prejudice in my libraries, I see it against authors in translation. But this may be the American problem. We read our authors, some British authors, a few Canadians. But books that become touch points in other cultures may never even make it within our borders. Do you read British authors that haven't been released in an American edition? I've always wondered why the powers at be think you need protecting from a bit of foreign dialect! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Robin M Posted August 8, 2014 Author Share Posted August 8, 2014 Thanks for all the hugs! I'm here in my corner, working on lesson plans and delving away with my writing courses. Speaking of women writers, the majority of the time, 8 out every 10 of the writers in every one of my online writing course are female. I'm still in my fluffy reread mode. You all make me proud and happy to see how much our little book group has grown over the years and the free flowing conversations. :cheers2: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Stacia Posted August 9, 2014 Share Posted August 9, 2014 Re: the earlier thread question about reading things other than books... I do read online quite a bit, mostly news, a few particular websites; sometimes I get into 'magazine' mode & will go pick up a few to read & enjoy (but I don't currently subscribe to any). The majority of my reading, though, is still books. Thank you LostSurprise and Stacia. It seems like there are probably a lot of really terrible moments in WWZ that I forgot about, so I'll stay on the safe side and tell him to wait a year or two. We have plenty of book ideas to keep him busy for awhile. You're welcome. Please share if you have any book suggestions for 13yos too! I keep wishing that I would make a note of who recommends things when I add them to my Amazon library lists, but I never end up taking that extra minute... I often end up assuming that anything with that extra twist of funky-ness is from Stacia, anything from Eastern Europe from Jane... and so on. Stacia, now I want you to read Heart of a Dog so I can see if your review is anything like the one my subconscious created on your behalf! :) I, too, wish I would make note of who mentioned which book. I just can't always remember by the time I actually get around to reading.... :lol: about the funky-ness. Funky-ness is probably my favorite form of fiction. Maybe I should make a Goodreads shelf on my page for favorite funky-ness fiction! Ah, even more incentive for me to read Heart of a Dog! I would be curious to know how well our reviews match too. Lol. Based on that thread, I am this year consciously choosing female-authored books in two categories - war narratives, and country study (Nigeria, Israel, Afghanistan/Pakistan). I'm trying to select female-authored books about religion too, but the pickings are slim (particularly for prior generations, but even current books are overwhelmingly by men in that field...) Would you mind listing the country study ones you've done when you have time? (I think I've asked you that before, so sorry that I'm asking yet again!) Not sure if you've read any of these... So Long a Letter by Mariama Bâ (Senegal) Broken Verses by Kamila Shamsie (Pakistan) The Nun by Simonetta Agnello Hornby (Italy) Lieutenant Nun by Catalina de Erauso (Spain; also much of it is set in South America) The Dream Life of Sukhanov by Olga Grushin (Russia) Broken Glass Park by Alina Bronsky (Russia -- but story is set in Germany) Picnic at Hanging Rock by Joan Lindsay (Australia) Aiding and Abetting by Muriel Spark (England) Hygiene and the Assassin by Amélie Nothomb (Belgium, though she grew up in Japan & many other places around the world as a dd of diplomats) Darkmans by Nicola Barker (England) anything by Isabel Allende (Chile) Ru by Kim Thúy (Vietnam & Canada) Women of the Klondike by Frances Backhouse (Canada; non-fiction) Daughters of Copper Woman by Anne Cameron (Canada) I wish you could move here to Seattle and we could plot our book requests together... Me too! Do you read British authors that haven't been released in an American edition? I've always wondered why the powers at be think you need protecting from a bit of foreign dialect! Well, you know our little American brains might explode if we see things like colour (all those extra "u"s and whatnot that the British put in), shaking us to the core -- our very fibre of being. ;) Apparently, we also can't handle knowing about a philosopher's stone as only a sorcerer's stone will do. :001_rolleyes: I certainly would/try to read British authors that haven't been released in an American edition, but they're not always easy (or affordable) to find! ...side note to the side note: my eldest now lives in a state when gun use and ownership is very different than here in Seattle & she has been to a shooting range a couple of times... which made me think I should try going with her some day... why? I realized that one of my motivations is that it would enrich my reading... that having the physical experience, feeling, sight, sound, smell? would give me more to draw on when I read... An acting teacher once told me that everything one learns or experiences in life enriches one's acting and has the potential to make one a better actor... I'm now officially extended that and asserting that every life experience can make one a 'better' reader... (and vice verse, book experiences can make me a better 'me' in real life too...) Well, that's certainly something to ponder, Eliana. Thank you. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JennW in SoCal Posted August 9, 2014 Share Posted August 9, 2014 Do you read British authors that haven't been released in an American edition? I've always wondered why the powers at be think you need protecting from a bit of foreign dialect! Oh heavens! Just think of what that might unleash! First we'd get comfortable with calling sweaters "jumpers" and it would be a quick slippery slope all the way downhill to having roundabouts instead of 4 way stops and other unAmerican notions. What Random House has been protecting us from, however, BBC America is blithely promoting, laughing all the way to the bank! #1: Judith Tarr wrote a blog bost over at Book View Cafe earlier this summer Dispatches from the Crone Wars (partially in response to another blog article, which she links near the beginning) that talks about the challenges of older women writing in the SFF field. #2: Isn't it heartbreaking? ...even worse when the book in question is oop and libraries are the only real chance for a reader to encounter it. Side note: At the fair yesterday I saw a Buff Orpington! ...and I was so happy and excited! Now when I reread Busman's Honeymoon, I'll have a proper image rather than a generic chicken... and photos just aren't the same. ...side note to the side note: my eldest now lives in a state when gun use and ownership is very different than here in Seattle & she has been to a shooting range a couple of times... which made me think I should try going with her some day... why? I realized that one of my motivations is that it would enrich my reading... that having the physical experience, feeling, sight, sound, smell? would give me more to draw on when I read... An acting teacher once told me that everything one learns or experiences in life enriches one's acting and has the potential to make one a better actor... I'm now officially extended that and asserting that every life experience can make one a 'better' reader... (and vice verse, book experiences can make me a better 'me' in real life too...) Thank you for the links! It's hard turning invisible just at a time in life when I'm actually blossoming. A friend recently told me she did not forward me an e-mail about a gig because the event planner was looking for a "good looking, young woman who plays electric violin". Ouch. I only fit one of the 3 criteria, I guess. (My electric fiddle is a green 5 string!!) I think it is time for a re-read of Gaudy Night. (PS -- we had a blast, almost literally, target shooting with some serious bb guns last year while visiting family in the deep, deep South. I got to fire one shot with a real shot gun -- holy cow that thing was loud and the recoil was fierce!!) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Stacia Posted August 9, 2014 Share Posted August 9, 2014 ... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
-M- Posted August 9, 2014 Share Posted August 9, 2014 Hello, BaWers! Late to the thread again. Will go back to read the other posts, but here is what I've recently completed: ■Brave New World (Aldous Huxkley (1932); 2006 ed. 288 pages. Fiction.)■What the Best College Teachers Do (Ken Bain; 2004. 207 pages. Non-fiction.)■Big Little Lies (Liane Moriarty; 2014. 480 pages. Fiction.)■Shakespeare: The World as a Stage (Bill Bryson; 2013. 208 pages. Non-fiction.) Since my last post in Week 30, I've spent a lot of time seeing plays: The Dance of Death at the Writers' Theatre, the Globe-to-Globe production of Hamlet at the Chicago Shakespeare Theater, and Much Ado about Nothing, Elizabeth Rex, and Antony and Cleopatra at the Shakespeare Festival. The latter three worked as a wonderful piece of theatrical symmetry. In Timothy Findley’s historical fantasy Elizabeth Rex, it is the eve of the Earl of Essex's execution for treason, and the queen has commanded Shakespeare’s troupe to entertain the court with Much Ado about Nothing. Afterward, she makes her way to the stables where the actors are passing the night, and there, she learns, among many other things, that the playwright’s as yet unfinished Antony and Cleopatra is patterned, to a degree, on her own reign. We were fortunate to see the plays in an order that ensured full appreciation of all of the clever casting decisions and related doubling of roles: the “original practices†production of Much Ado, featuring an all-male cast; followed by Elizabeth Rex, which offered the same cast, now “themselves†— actors passing a long evening in the court stables; followed by Antony and Cleopatra, in which Elizabeth becomes, in fact “the serpent of the Nile.†In one of those moments in which time folds in upon itself and leaves me breathless, I read in the Festival program that Christopher Prentice is a founding member of the Signal Theatre Ensemble, where, in 2003, he played Benedick in Much Ado. Eleven years ago, my son and I saw that production at a studio of the Anthenaeum Theatre on the grounds of St. Alphonsus Church in Chicago. Prentice was a wonderful Benedick but a far more impressive Beatrice and then a perfect Ned in Elizabeth Rex. (Never doubt how quickly time passes.) Regarding the other two plays, I read the Strindberg well in advance of seeing it but am glad I ran out of time to revisit Hamlet because although the production employed a worn-out framing device, it also offered a new (to us) perspective on the titular character: What if he weren’t melancholy at all? It took several scenes for us to embrace the idea fully, but we did, and it made for spirited conversation on the (long) trip home. With this interpretation in mind, I hope to reread the play over the next week. The Misses and I are also planning to read Pericles, which will be their thirtieth Shakespeare play. Regarding the books I recently finished, I want to recommend Moriarty, especially since the covers of her books scream. "Ignore me. I'm pedestrian women's fiction." I've read What Alice Forgot, The Husband's Secret, and, most recently, Big Little Lies and think that Moriarty pens smart, entertaining, insightful (if lighter) fiction. I last read Brave New World in 2005 with my son. Our family book club tackled it this time. It does hold up on reexamination. (Again, never doubt how quickly time passes.) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mumto2 Posted August 9, 2014 Share Posted August 9, 2014 First, I actually think I own the pattern for that reindeer!!!! Never knitted it but I think ds said the last time the patterns were out he wouldn't mind that one, but he actually likes it when I knit him stuff. Especially unusual stuff like a vest (waistcoat here) with a huge red dragon. Roundabouts are actually being replaced here in places for traffic control supposedly. The only problem is those intersections seem to have light posts all over and are very unforgiving in terms of lane control. Over the years I have grown very fond of roundabouts, I like the fact that when I have no idea which road to turn onto I can just go completely around once in the middle lane then pull off the second time around after I have looked at all the signs and know which is the right exit. I gave up on Tampa already. Somewhere I had seen a warning that it was sexually explicit. I thought it meant certain scenes but it seemed to be somewhat continual. Too far out of my comfort zone to continue with considering the size of my stack. Farewell young female author, I tried. ;) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
shukriyya Posted August 9, 2014 Share Posted August 9, 2014 It's late but we'll be on the road again early in the morning and I wanted to read and post before the thread got away from me. We've just returned from an inspired production of 'The Tempest' which is ds's and one of the dh's favorites of Shakespeare's plays. The interpretation was engaging, the set and staging was fabulously creative. All in all a very enjoyable experience. Ds felt that Prospero was rather more contemplative than he would have liked, a more subdued Prospero. I particularly enjoyed Ariel whose interpretation was far earthier than I've seen but once I got used to that I settled in quite nicely with her (she was clearly female in this production). And Caliban was wonderfully compelling, moving with a grounded grace that added to his earthy, base nature. I'm always surprised at how moved I am by Caliban's unfoldment by the end of the play and this production was no exception. As he left the stage for his final exit (having been given Prospero's cloak in a rather nicely explicit gesture on Prospero's part rather than the implicit interpretation one often sees) one felt a curious sense of empathy and compassion, as if one had been given a glimpse into something shared but for us now refined and shaped into something less tangible but something of the animal realm nonetheless. He was very good! On another note, I have not read 'Gaudy NIght' so perhaps that will go on my tbr list. Good night BaWers, sleep tight. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LostSurprise Posted August 9, 2014 Share Posted August 9, 2014 Based on that thread, I am this year consciously choosing female-authored books in two categories - war narratives, and country study (Nigeria, Israel, Afghanistan/Pakistan). I'm trying to select female-authored books about religion too, but the pickings are slim (particularly for prior generations, but even current books are overwhelmingly by men in that field...) Novel Without a Name by Duong Thu Huong (Vietnam) was good. I'm still in my fluffy reread mode. You all make me proud and happy to see how much our little book group has grown over the years and the free flowing conversations. :cheers2: I want to thank you ladies for having so many interesting things to say. I can't always reply but I devour it. This is my home on the internet. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
shukriyya Posted August 9, 2014 Share Posted August 9, 2014 Based on that thread, I am this year consciously choosing female-authored books in two categories - war narratives, and country study (Nigeria, Israel, Afghanistan/Pakistan). I'm trying to select female-authored books about religion too, but the pickings are slim (particularly for prior generations, but even current books are overwhelmingly by men in that field...) What religions are you interested in and what format? If you want first-hand accounts there is a wealth of material in the Muslim and Catholic voice...many books about life as a nun, or life after the nunnery and the process of 'removing the habit of God' (I believe this is an actual title or something close to it, its poetry caught my fancy as well as the image). Many books about life as a Muslim woman or the conversion process which is always interesting for its unwritten subtext, the places between the words that are oftentimes more interesting than the text. Probably less from the Buddhist pantheon though Tsultrim Allione has some really interesting material. Hindu, there's a fair bit, Zoroastrian not so much, Sufi there's a good amount, mostly modern because the Sufi women were quiet except for their poetry though Rabia of Basra and Mirabai are two of the greats that come to mind. Protestant again a good amount, Jewish, you seem to have that one covered fairly well. I know I've missed a bunch but that's a start. The thing is these are all scattered and you just have to keep following rabbit trails and then voila you find a gem. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
shukriyya Posted August 9, 2014 Share Posted August 9, 2014 Are those fun, silly books? I only seem to be able to read them when I have the flu, or am otherwise feverish and unwell, but I devour them then... I hope this lull is preparing you for whatever new reading path you might next encounter... Yes, very fun. The silly part for me is the reductive colonial lens the author has Amelia view things through, though 'silly' is a poor term to describe the scope of this mindset. All in all good fun peppered with Egyptian history throughout. As for the reading lull, well Spinoza is a comfort, nature abhoring a vacuum and all that... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jane in NC Posted August 9, 2014 Share Posted August 9, 2014 It is a dreadfully humid, rainy weekend here. When the weather works against us, I often suggest going to the movies--and then find that there is nothing that we want to see. But that was not the case this weekend. My husband and I both enjoyed The Hundred-Foot Journey, despite its predictability. It is a feel good movie that resonates for someone like me who associates certain smells and tastes with memories. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Violet Crown Posted August 9, 2014 Share Posted August 9, 2014 I took Wee Girl to a movie today likewise for weather reasons: highs above one hundred, and free air conditioning at the theater for the kids' special. On the other hand, it meant I had to watch An American Tail. The only thing that kept me from fainting from boredom was pondering how the producers didn't get the pants sued off of them by Art Spiegelman. So you saw a grown-up movie, Jane? In a real theater and all? And rain, too? Want to swap? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jane in NC Posted August 9, 2014 Share Posted August 9, 2014 So you saw a grown-up movie, Jane? In a real theater and all? And rain, too? Want to swap? We are soggy here. I would love to send you rain! Apparently we had ten inches last weekend with scattered showers about every day since. Standing water abounds which means that mosquito swarms shall follow. Ugh. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kareni Posted August 9, 2014 Share Posted August 9, 2014 No movies for me, however, my husband (the movie guru) enjoyed The Lego Movie last night which I had requested from the library upon hearing favorable reviews on the board. He thought it an intriguing combination of LOTR, Matrix, and something else (Star Wars, perhaps?). ETA: Yes, he said Star Wars and also Harry Potter. Today, I finished Kristen Ashley's contemporary romance Lady Luck (Colorado Mountain Book 3) which I enjoyed. Be forewarned that this is NOT for the conservative reader. "Since birth, Lexie Berry has had nothing but bad luck. Orphaned at an early age, she had a rough childhood and a boyfriend who was murdered. Now the beautiful, stylish Lexie is determined to change her luck and her life. But first she's got to make good on a promise: to pick up Ty Walker from prison. One look at the gorgeous ex-convict and Lexie knows she's in trouble-and already thinking about taking a walk on the wild side . . .For five years, Ty was imprisoned for a crime he didn't commit. Now he wants revenge on the people who framed him. Yet when the high-stakes poker player sees the leggy Lexie, he suddenly has other desires on his mind. Realizing that Ty is innocent, Lexie tries to stop his plan for vengeance and help him become a better man. But as Ty battles his inner demons, dirty cops and criminals plot to take him out. Can he and Lexie find a way to escape the past?" Regards, Kareni Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Angel Posted August 10, 2014 Share Posted August 10, 2014 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. 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 loved The Sugar Queen! And so glad your dad has stabilized! I'm in a re-reading rut. I've mostly been reading (and even more listening) to David Eddings David Eddings is my favorite fantasy author! Which books have you been listening to? Is the reader good? DS is away for two weeks with the in-laws, so I have declared myself on vacation! :hurray: I just took my dd's to my parents for a week. It's a win/win situation. They love to spend the time there and my parents adore having them. (PS -- we had a blast, almost literally, target shooting with some serious bb guns last year while visiting family in the deep, deep South. I got to fire one shot with a real shot gun -- holy cow that thing was loud and the recoil was fierce!!) Woo Hoo! You go girl! On a literary note. The dd's and I are reading Little Women. Surprisingly, Aly,dd13, is liking it a lot and is far ahead of me and Skye. I plan to finish it this week while they are away. Also hoping to get planning done on our lit study for the upcoming year. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TeacherZee Posted August 10, 2014 Share Posted August 10, 2014 David Eddings is my favorite fantasy author! Which books have you been listening to? Is the reader good? I've been listening to the Elenium and the Tamuli. The reader of the Elenium is okay the one of the Tamuli is moderately horrible. He makes Aphrael sound smug and annoying. Drives me pretty batty but...:) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Woodland Mist Academy Posted August 10, 2014 Share Posted August 10, 2014 moved to new thread Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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