Book a Week in 2014 - BW40

[ladydusk]

Anyone know about Margaret Frazer's Sister Frevisse mysteries? Are they good and do they have to be read in order?

[Stacia]

52 Books Blog - October Spooktacular:  October is the month we read all things spectacularly spooky and sinister and shockingly thrilling and chilling.  If you aren't into blood and guts horror, like me, there is much fun to be had in reading spine tingling, nail biting, don't read in bed or alone psychological thrillers.  Or how about an out of this world, give me goose bumps, paranormal.   Even an tantalizing thriller should suffice.

 

If you haven't read the staples of the spooky genre - Frankenstein or Dracula, Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde, The Picture of Dorian Grey or Something Wicked This Way Comes - now is your chance.  Put away your expectations, because you just may be surprised when they don't turn out how you suspect they will.

 

I have a few chiller thrillers in my stacks for this month including Mr. Wicker, a new book recently released by an old roommate and friend, Maria Alexander.  She has been nominated for the Bram Stoker award numerous times for her short stories.  Also in my stack are:  Dean Koontz 2nd book in his Frankenstein series City of Night and two new to me authors Mike Shevdon's Sixty-one Nails and Barb Hendee's In Shade and Shadow.

 

I have no idea what I'll read for spooky October. Probably the first time in years I haven't got at least one or two books waiting....

 

Staying away from the "spooktacular" for pure pleasure. My next book is The Gardener's Year by the great Czech writer Karel Capek with delightful illustrations by his brother Josef. This 1929 classic was reprinted in 2002 as part of the Modern Library Gardening series editted by Michael Pollan (before Omnivore's Dilemma, etc.)

 

Is this one you picked up on your travels?

 

I need to do some reading for school and stop indulging my vampire kick, but I may try and fit The Historian in before I let it go.

 

Vampire kick -- we sound like soul sisters! Lol. Love The Historian. I (obviously) need to find at least one vampire book for October.

 

carried over from last week's thread:

Wow.  Thanks.  Some of these look really great.

 

Re: some of the books banned in the Middle East. Please let us know if you read any of them. I plan to read at least a couple (but it looks like the last one may not even be out in an English translation...?).

 

And, I also wanted to do the Great Honey Report:

 

Love this. Thanks for sharing all the details (& photos)!

 

This is just wonderful! And you're right buckwheat honey tastes best on a thick slice of very dark rye with a smear of strong, raw butter. The cheesy flavor of the butter and the sharpness of the rye balance out the strength of the buckwheat. I'm definitely in the thicker, grainier, rawer texture camp. And being a buckwheat honey lover I will choose it over most varieties although Really Raw  does compete fairly rigorously. I remember when I first tasted it several years back, wow, plus it's got all the pollen and propolis and waxy bits on the top of each jar. Between the buckwheat and this I'm set for honey.

 

I have a dumb question about eating honey -- do you eat the waxy bits on top? What about the wax honeycomb part?

[Stacia]

Just wanted to thank everyone for their concern regarding my poor sleep patterns. I seem to sleep much better on days when I am able to take my normal walk and because this week has been hectic no walking which has resulted in really poor sleep patterns even when exhausted. Hopefully the schedule returns to normal tomorrow.

 

Violet Crown -- I started a note earlier on last week's thread but had to abandon it. I am so glad to hear how well your dh is doing. I will continue to send prayers. :grouphug:

 

Hope your week is back in a normal routine, mumto2.

 

And, Violet Crown, I'm glad to hear that things continue to improve.

 

:grouphug:

 

I have picked up  The Moonstone again and my soul is sighing with relief.  I will stay here for awhile.

 

That's another one I still need to read.

 

I reread her first book Still Forms on Foxfield (Quakers in space!  No, really.)  It is her roughest book, but, like all her books, it raises questions of conscience, of ethics, of politics, of science, and of theology... and it still grabs my heart.

 

Lol about Quakers in space! I haven't clicked on the link (yet), but did you ever read The Sparrow by Mary Doria Russell? (Jesuits in space!)

 

Y'all are some beautiful women, you know that? Thank you for your support right now. Things are a lot better. Now if we can just get some useful test results.

 

<snip>

 

I nominate Samuel Johnson as patron saint of TBR piles. Because the year he died--while he was very ill and knew he wasn't likely to live more than a couple of months--he placed an order for a set of thirty books which he had seen displayed at a bookseller's, and thought he might like to look into. (Boswell has the list of titles, and they actually sound pretty intriguing! "Curiosities of England." "Unparalleled Varieties." "Surprizing Miracles of Nature and Art.")

 

Hope some answers come your way soon.

 

What a neat fact. Love picturing him as the patron saint of TBR piles. :laugh:

 

That sounds so fun (and yummy)!  Thanks for the reviews!

Good Omens is definitely not spooky, but super fun. Gaiman has lots of fun spooky stuff, though.  Did I post before about Gaiman's All Hallows Read?

 

Wow.  This week's thread really has my brain going.  Such great discussion and lots of fun books for me to check out! 

 

Spooky books-I always try to read spookier books in October.  I think I might let my oldest read The Forest of Hands and Teeth or Rot and Ruin.  I also have Asylum and Hollow City coming from ILL. I have to quickly read The Rithmatist and Gone Girl and find something scary.  I should try The Historian again but it gave me awful nightmares. 

 

Speaking of Gone Girl, wow.  I had no idea what it was about, so I am really surprised.  But I'm also taken aback about how real it seems.  Eerily similar to a lot of marriages I know, actually.  So far I wouldn't consider it a true thriller except for being similar to a lot of struggling marriages I know. :p  I am trying very hard not to skip ahead to the end.  I'm weak.  :lol:

 

Agreeing with you on Good Omens.

 

See, I think Gone Girl would be scary for me (I don't even want to read it), but I have no problem with The Historian. It's not even really scary, imo.

 

 

Stacia.  You rock too.  What a conversation...

 

Thanks! Hoping it has been as interesting & as fun for others as it has been for me.

[mumto2]

Anyone know about Margaret Frazer's Sister Frevisse mysteries? Are they good and do they have to be read in order?

I just did some research because the descriptions sound familiar but they were published when I didn't record what I had read. The Novices Tale sounds like I might have read it, if it is the book I am thinking of it was good. ;) My main library has it supposedly and I requested it. If all goes well it should be here Thursday so will let you know when I see it.

 

I went into a who writes like site that my library just started subscribing to and two of the authors mentioned as having a similar style and subject matter are Ellis Peters and Ariana Franklin. My real life best friend recently devoured all four of Franklin's Mistress of the Art of Death books so I have the first one sitting in the stack waiting. Her books are also availiable on my overdrive account.

 

Walking obviously didn't help my sleep problems! :lol: Hoping to fall back to sleep soon!

[shukriyya]

Sorry about the inadvertent resurrection of Week 35. I was skimming through my content and must have clicked on quote instead of edit :(

[shukriyya]

dp

[shukriyya]

Oh geez, and a double post to boot. I'm on my kindle hence the sloppy techno activity. Sorry, BaWers.

[Jane in NC]

 

Is this one you picked up on your travels?

 

 

Yes, I picked up the Karel ÄŒapek gardening book in Prague for airplane reading, having finished two of the books you gave me which I left behind in CZ. I figured that you would enjoy having them passed along in another country. My husband and I were trying to travel light so all book purchases required careful consideration.  We also knew that we should be able to find Karel ÄŒapek in the US; in fact I found two free ebooks made available by the University of Adelaide.

 

When I was doing a pre-customs tally, I saw that we spent about half of our souvenir dollars on books and magazines.  The traveling light rule did not matter at the end!

 

Oh geez, and a double post to boot. I'm on my kindle hence the sloppy techno activity. Sorry, BaWers.

 

My problem with posting from a tablet, too.  No need to apologize.

 

 

[ladydusk]

I just did some research because the descriptions sound familiar but they were published when I didn't record what I had read. The Novices Tale sounds like I might have read it, if it is the book I am thinking of it was good. ;) My main library has it supposedly and I requested it. If all goes well it should be here Thursday so will let you know when I see it.

 

...

 

Walking obviously didn't help my sleep problems! :lol: Hoping to fall back to sleep soon!

Thanks! I saw on GoodReads that Robin had read the first, but didnt see any others. My library has 5-6 of the later books, but not the first ones. I could ILL or get some on Kindle, but thought I'd see first if it was worth my time.

 

Hope you got back to sleep and some rest!

[Stacia]

Jane, I believe you said you wanted to read Thomas Pynchon at some point. (I read his book Bleeding Edge earlier this year & really enjoyed it.)

Well, it looks like his book Inherent Vice has been made into a movie & just looks great, imo. (Such a great cast, looks like a fun storyline too.) You know how much I love book/movie combos, so I think this is one Pynchon I'll definitely be reading (& seeing the movie too).

http://www.theguardian.com/film/2014/sep/30/inherent-vice-paul-thomas-anderson-thomas-pynchon-joaquin-phoenix 

 

[shukriyya]

I have a dumb question about eating honey -- do you eat the waxy bits on top? What about the wax honeycomb part?

Not dumb at all...the raw honey I linked yesterday has bits of comb, propolis and pollen on the top. It's meant to be eaten and is rather like chewing gum. As for the wax honeycomb itself, I haven't eaten that but it's rare that we buy honey in that form.

[mommymilkies]

 

 

Agreeing with you on Good Omens.

 

See, I think Gone Girl would be scary for me (I don't even want to read it), but I have no problem with The Historian. It's not even really scary, imo.

 

 

Honestly, it's getting scary for me as it goes along.  Not in a creepy Stephen King or zombie way.  But in an emotional way, like (TMI I may delete later), but is this about my husband minus the abduction??  I just see really close parallels to people I know and it's made me sit up at night evaluating myself, my husband, my marriage, my life, my friends...It's not often a book does this to me.   

 

I have no idea why The Historian scared me.  But it gave me nightmares and trouble sleeping that went away when I quit it for another book.  I read scary stuff pretty often, so I'm not even sure why this one affected me but others almost never do.  :lol:

 

I started The Mysterious Benedict Society last night with the kids, too.  I stayed up too late staring at the ceiling after reading 100 pages of Gone Girl.  I almost quit the book.  I just wasn't expecting this book to be so emotional for me and it makes me feel really stupid. 

[mumto2]

Mommymilkies -- Gone Girl is not a favourite book of mine for many reasons. Since I suspect that you need and want to finish it try to get beyond the halfway point before going to bed tonight. I think it may be labelled part two or something similar, anyway go a few pages in from that point and it was easier to deal with imo. Hopefully you will start feeling a bit better after that point. I gave the same advice to someone I know in real life and she said the book was better for her after that but she will never be a fan either. :grouphug:

[Stacia]

Oh geez, and a double post to boot. I'm on my kindle hence the sloppy techno activity. Sorry, BaWers.

 

Ah, no worries. Tech stuff happens. We like having you here even in repeated post form!

 

Yes, I picked up the Karel ÄŒapek gardening book in Prague for airplane reading, having finished two of the books you gave me which I left behind in CZ. I figured that you would enjoy having them passed along in another country. My husband and I were trying to travel light so all book purchases required careful consideration.  We also knew that we should be able to find Karel ÄŒapek in the US; in fact I found two free ebooks made available by the University of Adelaide.

 

When I was doing a pre-customs tally, I saw that we spent about half of our souvenir dollars on books and magazines.  The traveling light rule did not matter at the end!

 

Neat. On our trip at the beginning of summer, we spend a large amount of our travel budget on books too. (Ds was devouring Terry Pratchett books so we were picking them up about everywhere we visited a bookstore, for one thing....)

 

If one of the books was Orwell's, that is one I got at the bookstore Alice Munro started, so it's already made a path from the shelves in Canada, to the US, & now CZ. How neat! Makes me wonder who will read it next & if they will enjoy Orwell's hop-picking adventures!

 

Not dumb at all...the raw honey I linked yesterday has bits of comb, propolis and pollen on the top. It's meant to be eaten and is rather like chewing gum. As for the wax honeycomb itself, I haven't eaten that but it's rare that we buy honey in that form.

 

Ok, thanks! So, if it's like gum, do you spit it out afterward?

 

Obviously, I'm not that up on honey that has bits & pieces in it.... :tongue_smilie:

 

Honestly, it's getting scary for me as it goes along.  Not in a creepy Stephen King or zombie way.  But in an emotional way, like (TMI I may delete later), but is this about my husband minus the abduction??  I just see really close parallels to people I know and it's made me sit up at night evaluating myself, my husband, my marriage, my life, my friends...It's not often a book does this to me.   

 

I have no idea why The Historian scared me.  But it gave me nightmares and trouble sleeping that went away when I quit it for another book.  I read scary stuff pretty often, so I'm not even sure why this one affected me but others almost never do.  :lol:

 

I started The Mysterious Benedict Society last night with the kids, too.  I stayed up too late staring at the ceiling after reading 100 pages of Gone Girl.  I almost quit the book.  I just wasn't expecting this book to be so emotional for me and it makes me feel really stupid. 

 

Yeah, I've just always had the feeling that Gone Girl would make me anxious & creep me out. Just not my type of story. I just do not want to read it. Weird that The Historian had that effect on you, esp. if you normally read scary stuff w/ no problems.

 

Don't feel stupid about getting emotionally sucked into (or perhaps manipulated) by a book. I think we've all been there more than once in our lives....

[Jane in NC]

If one of the books was Orwell's, that is one I got at the bookstore Alice Munro started, so it's already made a path from the shelves in Canada, to the US, & now CZ. How neat! Makes me wonder who will read it next & if they will enjoy Orwell's hop-picking adventures!

 

 

Yes, I left the Orwell volume in the Internet cafe that doubles as a breakfast restaurant for the pension we stayed at in ÄŒeský Krumlov.  Because our visit coincided with a national Czech holiday (Saint Wenceslas Day), there were many Czechs at the pension.  Chinese tourists were also drawn to the place. I too would love to know where the book goes next! 

 

I fear I could become the bore who imposes her Super-8 movies or Kodachrome slides of vacation on everyone.My husband took a million photos--OK, maybe only two thousand photos.  He'll be downloading and editing for a while. 

 

I will share two photos that are relevant to this thread.  Here I am in front of the house near Prague Castle where Kafka lived when he wrote The Country Doctor. It is on the Golden Lane, a street of medieval houses for people in the trades.

 

 

Visiting churches with medieval and Renaissance history leads me to want to read about some of the obscure saints whom I saw in statuary or whose bone relics were occasionally on display.  Thinking ahead to next year, I think I'll add Obscure Saints to my reading challenges.  Frankly I don't know if I need to read an entire book on a saint but would enjoy perusing a reader with Cracking Good tales. VC--can you recommend something?

 

On the note of saints, here I am lighting a candle in my Dad's memory at Saint Vitus Cathedral in Prague.  Vitus is a Gothic cathedral (1300's) that was finished in the 19th and 20th centuries when most of the amazing stained glass was added.  The reflections of the stain glass windows in the morning light were mesmerizing!

 

 

[shukriyya]

Ah, no worries. Tech stuff happens. We like having you here even in repeated post form!

 

 

:001_wub:

 

 

If one of the books was Orwell's, that is one I got at the bookstore Alice Munro started, so it's already made a path from the shelves in Canada, to the US, & now CZ. How neat! Makes me wonder who will read it next & if they will enjoy Orwell's hop-picking adventures!

 

 

What bookstore is this? In the US or Canada? I didn't realize she had started a bookstore. Cool! And I loved Orwell's 'Down and Out in Paris and London' so may try the one Jane spoke of, too. And just for fun one of this week's NYTimes Crossword clues was 'Orwell and Eliot'. I'll leave it to the BaWers to figure it out. It won't be too cryptic for this erudite group ;)

 

 

Ok, thanks! So, if it's like gum, do you spit it out afterward?

 

Obviously, I'm not that up on honey that has bits & pieces in it.... :tongue_smilie:

 

 

:lol:

 

I don't generally spit it out as it got lots of the good stuff in it. The key is to take it in small amounts. Maybe I need to send you some honey...the buckwheat varietal and the really raw stuff :D

 

Mommymilkies, ugh that sounds like an unpleasant reading experience. Tread gently, I say. I've ditched a few books that have rattled my emotional cage in ways that didn't feel fruitful or conducive to a sense of integration.

[shukriyya]

Yes, I left the Orwell volume in the Internet cafe that doubles as a breakfast restaurant for the pension we stayed at in ÄŒeský Krumlov.  Because our visit coincided with a national Czech holiday (Saint Wenceslas Day), there were many Czechs at the pension.  Chinese tourists were also drawn to the place. I too would love to know where the book goes next! 

 

I fear I could become the bore who imposes her Super-8 movies or Kodachrome slides of vacation on everyone.My husband took a million photos--OK, maybe only two thousand photos.  He'll be downloading and editing for a while. 

 

I will share two photos that are relevant to this thread.  Here I am in front of the house near Prague Castle where Kafka lived when he wrote The Country Doctor. It is on the Golden Lane, a street of medieval houses for people in the trades.

 

 

Visiting churches with medieval and Renaissance history leads me to want to read about some of the obscure saints whom I saw in statuary or whose bone relics were occasionally on display.  Thinking ahead to next year, I think I'll add Obscure Saints to my reading challenges.  Frankly I don't know if I need to read an entire book on a saint but would enjoy perusing a reader with Cracking Good tales. VC--can you recommend something?

 

On the note of saints, here I am lighting a candle in my Dad's memory at Saint Vitus Cathedral in Prague.  Vitus is a Gothic cathedral (1300's) that was finished in the 19th and 20th centuries when most of the amazing stained glass was added.  The reflections of the stain glass windows in the morning light were mesmerizing!

 

 

 

The pics are lovely, Jane! And seeing you in some of them makes them swim with relevance and fun! And I'm sure I'm not alone in being hopeful for a few more :D That part of the world still seems rather exotic to me. My foodie self would also appreciate some details of the epicurean side of your trip.

[Stacia]

Yes, I left the Orwell volume in the Internet cafe that doubles as a breakfast restaurant for the pension we stayed at in ÄŒeský Krumlov.  Because our visit coincided with a national Czech holiday (Saint Wenceslas Day), there were many Czechs at the pension.  Chinese tourists were also drawn to the place. I too would love to know where the book goes next! 

 

I fear I could become the bore who imposes her Super-8 movies or Kodachrome slides of vacation on everyone.My husband took a million photos--OK, maybe only two thousand photos.  He'll be downloading and editing for a while. 

 

I will share two photos that are relevant to this thread.  Here I am in front of the house near Prague Castle where Kafka lived when he wrote The Country Doctor. It is on the Golden Lane, a street of medieval houses for people in the trades.

 

 

Visiting churches with medieval and Renaissance history leads me to want to read about some of the obscure saints whom I saw in statuary or whose bone relics were occasionally on display.  Thinking ahead to next year, I think I'll add Obscure Saints to my reading challenges.  Frankly I don't know if I need to read an entire book on a saint but would enjoy perusing a reader with Cracking Good tales. VC--can you recommend something?

 

On the note of saints, here I am lighting a candle in my Dad's memory at Saint Vitus Cathedral in Prague.  Vitus is a Gothic cathedral (1300's) that was finished in the 19th and 20th centuries when most of the amazing stained glass was added.  The reflections of the stain glass windows in the morning light were mesmerizing!

 

 

 

Love!!! Please share more. I will never be bored seeing & hearing about this....

 

:001_wub:

 

 

What bookstore is this? In the US or Canada? I didn't realize she had started a bookstore. Cool! And I loved Orwell's 'Down and Out in Paris and London' so may try the one Jane spoke of, too. And just for fun one of this week's NYTimes Crossword clues was 'Orwell and Eliot'. I'll leave it to the BaWers to figure it out. It won't be too cryptic for this erudite group ;)

 

 

:lol:

 

I don't generally spit it out as it got lots of the good stuff in it. The key is to take it in small amounts. Maybe I need to send you some honey...the buckwheat varietal and the really raw stuff :D

 

Mommymilkies, ugh that sounds like an unpleasant reading experience. Tread gently, I say. I've ditched a few books that have rattled my emotional cage in ways that didn't feel fruitful or conducive to a sense of integration.

 

Well, since I can't even handle the honey with bits questions right now, I think I'll pass on Orwell and Eliot's question right now. :lol: I'm certainly not feeling erudite at the moment. I think I need to eat & am thinking ds & I need to run out to the Mexican restaurant for lunch.... Hot salsa should get my brain back in gear.

 

Agree w/ your advice re: treading lightly with some books!

 

ETA: Munro's Books in Victoria, B.C.

[shukriyya]

Well, since I can't even handle the honey with bits questions right now, I think I'll pass on Orwell and Eliot's question right now. :lol: I'm certainly not feeling erudite at the moment. I think I need to eat & am thinking ds & I need to run out to the Mexican restaurant for lunch.... Hot salsa should get my brain back in gear.

 

Agree w/ your advice re: treading lightly with some books!

 

ETA: Munro's Books in Victoria, B.C.

 

Well, I'm pretty sure I visited that store during a Victoria jaunt a decade and a half ago. Along with a trip to Murchie's to pick up packages of their no 22 blend and no 10 blend.

 

And to keep this book related, cozy mystery lovers, have you heard of the tea shop mystery series that begins with Death by Darjeeling?

 

I find myself moving into the mystery genre as I toggle back and forth between The Ivy Tree, Gemini by Carol Casella and Gaudy Night which I read the sample of and feel I'm going to really enjoy. Looking at the books I want to read in my kindle library and looking at what's left of my 5/5 challenge I have the sense that it's likely the 5/5 will spill over into next year.

[Kareni]

I enjoyed seeing photos from your trip, Jane.  Feel free to post more!

 

 

Well, I'm pretty sure I visited that store during a Victoria jaunt a decade and a half ago. Along with a trip to Murchie's to pick up packages of their no 22 blend and no 10 blend.

 

 

Murchie's No. 10 is one of my husband's favorite teas along with Earl Grey from the San Francisco Herb Company.

 

Regards,

Kareni

[Kareni]

Last night I finished  A Disappearance in Drury Lane (Captain Lacey Regency Mysteries Book 8) by Ashley Gardner.  Now I have to wait for the next book to come out in paper and request that my library purchase it.  It's so nice to start a series when there are already a goodly number of books in print!

 

It must be pretty obvious that I enjoy this series ....

 

Regards,

Kareni

[Guest]

Reading Frankenstein for the first time. :) Totally not what I expected!

 

We've been watching, as a family, the movie 'Longitude'  based on the eponymous book by Dana Sobel which I believe has been discussed here. Both dh and I saw this movie several years ago but as our geography studies are currently focused on the beginnings of navigation this seemed like a perfect way to enhance that focus. We are all thoroughly enjoying it, in fact it's better the second time 'round. Wonderful acting and lovely attention to 'periodic' detail.

 

I will have to watch that! I read the book awhile back and it was a bit technical for me. Fascinating stuff, though.

 

I didn't  know there was a movie either.  My dd has to read this this year so I will look for the movie.  Thanks for the head up!

 

I tried to read All Fall Down by Jennifer Weiner.  I got to page 30 and decided to pack it in.  I have had my fill of contemporary novels, at least for awhile.  I have picked up  The Moonstone again and my soul is sighing with relief.  I will stay here for awhile.

 

I see that book every time I go into the library and am always tempted to pick it up, even though I'm not a fan of her books!

 

Sorry about the inadvertent resurrection of Week 35. I was skimming through my content and must have clicked on quote instead of edit :(

 

I always think that I'm posting on the wrong week!

 

 

 

Great conversation this week so far! Angel, I think we are very much alike, and as usual, Stacia, I glean so much from you!

[Jane in NC]

Shukriyya's crossword clue brought a furrowed brow momentarily because the wrong Eliot came immediately to mind! 

 

To answer the food question, let's start with breakfast.  The two pensions and one small hotel in which we stayed all provided a similar breakfast although the hotel which catered to business people had a variation. The pensions offered a buffet which I understand to be fairly typical:  platter of cold meats (ham, etc.), platter of cheese, hard cooked eggs, several types of bread (rye, whole grain, crusty white rolls) with various spreads (butter, jam, Nutella, cheese spread, potted meat spread).  There were always tomato, cucumber and red pepper slices on the breakfast bar as well as either whole fruits (oranges, apples) or fruit salad.  Oh yes, yogurt too (plain or fruited) as well as cereal options.  And often a sweet bread with dried fruit or a poppy seed filled pastry. 

 

The business hotel had fewer items on the buffet but offered a cooked component like scrambled eggs (with or without ham) or sausages.

 

The restaurants in the tourists areas offered the same menu for lunch or dinner--usually heavy Czech food.  Throughout Prague are small cafes offering open faced sandwich options or paninis.  Pizza abounds as well. 

 

As a non-pork eater, my options were fewer but always existed.  Meals that I had included trout (served whole--I honed my fish knife skills) or chicken, often served with roast potatoes or vegetables. It is mushroom season (a sign in the castle gardens at Cesky Krumlov said "No Mushrooming"!)  I had a very delicious mushroom soup as well as mushroom risotto and a chicken/mushroom dish.

 

Two meals come to mind as favorites.  One was served at a very traditional Czech restaurant where I had a beautiful salad:  bed of lettuce and arugula topped with large, halved grapes, pickled pear, and smoked goose breast.  (Duck and goose are popular items on Czech menus.)  The other was served at a "new Czech" kind of place.  Here I had sesame encrusted sea bream served on a potato gratin (like Pommes Anna) with grilled fennel. It was amazing.

 

Cafes offer a variety of cakes and pastries as well as coffee or tea. Plum cake and apple strudel were fairly common as were kolaches with a poppy seed, cream cheese or apricot filling.

 

Another Czech treat are palaÄinky or crepes.  I had a sweet one filled with sour cherry mash and chocolate while my husband had a savory crepe made from a buckwheat flour and filled with goat cheese, pickled pear and cranberries.  Both were delicious.

 

My husband loves beets and would often order a beet salad.  He also tried carp.  Since the middle ages, the Czechs have produced carp (standard Christmas Eve dinner fare) in fish ponds. 

 

Nothing pleased me as much as the rye bread though.  I was raised on a hard crusted rye with caraway seeds.  These days I find most grocery and bakery ryes to be disappointments and I have never recreated the delicious rye of childhood.  While none of the rye breads had caraway, all that I tried were good to great. 

 

ETA:  It was not unusual to see venison or wild boar on menus.  Goulash was also a common dish.

 

[Kareni]

 

To answer the food question...

 

This post is causing me to drool on my keyboard!

 

Regards,

Kareni

[shukriyya]

Shukriyya's crossword clue brought a furrowed brow momentarily because the wrong Eliot came immediately to mind! 

 

 

Yes, I realized after I posted that I should have indicated George Eliot.

 

 

To answer the food question, let's start with breakfast.  The two pensions and one small hotel in which we stayed all provided a similar breakfast although the hotel which catered to business people had a variation. The pensions offered a buffet which I understand to be fairly typical:  platter of cold meats (ham, etc.), platter of cheese, hard cooked eggs, several types of bread (rye, whole grain, crusty white rolls) with various spreads (butter, jam, Nutella, cheese spread, potted meat spread).  There were always tomato, cucumber and red pepper slices on the breakfast bar as well as either whole fruits (oranges, apples) or fruit salad.  Oh yes, yogurt too (plain or fruited) as well as cereal options.  And often a sweet bread with dried fruit or a poppy seed filled pastry. 

 

 

This all sounds soooo good though my gut wouldn't be able to tolerate much of it I would certainly feast with my eyes. Cheeses, cured meats, vegetables, artisan breads, pastries...what's not to like. Reminds of breakfasts we had while traveling in Germany.

 

 

As a non-pork eater, my options were fewer but always existed.  Meals that I had included trout (served whole--I honed my fish knife skills) or chicken, often served with roast potatoes or vegetables. It is mushroom season (a sign in the castle gardens at Cesky Krumlov said "No Mushrooming"!)  I had a very delicious mushroom soup as well as mushroom risotto and a chicken/mushroom dish.

 

 

Love knowing that somewhere in the world there is a place that warrants a "No Mushrooming' sign...those wonderfully evocative creatures, fungii, suggestive of both loam and heaven...

 

 

Two meals come to mind as favorites.  One was served at a very traditional Czech restaurant where I had a beautiful salad:  bed of lettuce and arugula topped with large, halved grapes, pickled pear, and smoked goose breast.  (Duck and goose are popular items on Czech menus.)  The other was served at a "new Czech" kind of place.  Here I had sesame encrusted sea bream served on a potato gratin (like Pommes Anna) with grilled fennel. It was amazing.

 

 

Oh my! Pickled pear...trying to imagine what that would taste like...

 

 

Cafes offer a variety of cakes and pastries as well as coffee or tea. Plum cake and apple strudel were fairly common as were kolaches with a poppy seed, cream cheese or apricot filling.

 

Another Czech treat are palaÄinky or crepes.  I had a sweet one filled with sour cherry mash and chocolate while my husband had a savory crepe made from a buckwheat flour and filled with goat cheese, pickled pear and cranberries.  Both were delicious.

 

 

I'm imagining the sweet ones with some good strong coffee and the savory with some heady Lapsang. Buckwheat lover here...not just honey...

 

 

My husband loves beets and would often order a beet salad.  He also tried carp.  Since the middle ages, the Czechs have produced carp (standard Christmas Eve dinner fare) in fish ponds. 

 

 

I'm with your dh on the beets, pickled beets are standard fare here chez shukriyya.

 

 

Nothing pleased me as much as the rye bread though.  I was raised on a hard crusted rye with caraway seeds.  These days I find most grocery and bakery ryes to be disappointments and I have never recreated the delicious rye of childhood.  While none of the rye breads had caraway, all that I tried were good to great. 

 

 

Nothing like a little flour and water and yeast for a Proustian moment to arise.

 

In short, I think I'd do quite nicely in Czechoslovakia from a culinary standpoint :D

[mumto2]

Jane, Your pictures are lovely and your food descriptions are much appreciated. We keep talking about venturing into that area of the world but eatng with picky eaters has definitely been one of our primary worries. Knowing that basic meat and potatoes would be easy and an occasional pizza makes that trip a bit higher on the list! Out of curiosity how did you fair language wise. I suspect you are fluent in French. What did you actually use most?

 

Well, I'm pretty sure I visited that store during a Victoria jaunt a decade and a half ago. Along with a trip to Murchie's to pick up packages of their no 22 blend and no 10 blend.

 

And to keep this book related, cozy mystery lovers, have you heard of the tea shop mystery series that begins with Death by Darjeeling?

 

I find myself moving into the mystery genre as I toggle back and forth between The Ivy Tree, Gemini by Carol Casella and Gaudy Night which I read the sample of and feel I'm going to really enjoy. Looking at the books I want to read in my kindle library and looking at what's left of my 5/5 challenge I have the sense that it's likely the 5/5 will spill over into next year.

I have definitely read the first three in the Laura Childs series. I don't remember much to be honest. The Charleston setting was fun. An older gentleman helped solve the mystery. Definitely a cozy. The memories are favourable......

 

While trying to remember bits from the teashop series I came up with another series that you might like. The China Bayles series by Susan Wittig Albert. The first one is Thyme of Death. I have read these for years and am relatively current new release wise. Fun continuing characters and interesting storylines. One of my favorite series.......

[mumto2]

I finished Thirty-Three Teeth today by Colin Cotterill. It is the second Dr. Siri Paibaun mystery. It was set in Laos in the late 1970's. Interesting and quite atmospheric. The Doctor is the national pathologist with no training, no special equipment, but he sees spirits. While looking for reviews I ran into this interview which I thought Jane and some others might enjoy. http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=93590413. To be honest I liked the first in the series far better but these appear to be fine out of order.

[Jane in NC]

Jane, Your pictures are lovely and your food descriptions are much appreciated. We keep talking about venturing into that area of the world but eatng with picky eaters has definitely been one of our primary worries. Knowing that basic meat and potatoes would be easy and an occasional pizza makes that trip a bit higher on the list! Out of curiosity how did you fair language wise. I suspect you are fluent in French. What did you actually use most?

 

 

:lol: I am only fluent in French in my dreams.

 

Czech and other Slavic languages are difficult to learn.  I don't think that most Czechs expect you to speak their language but knowing some greetings and how to say thank you seem to be appreciated.

 

People in the tourism industry tend to speak English; in fact, it is not uncommon to hear people from other European countries or China using English to communicate with Czechs.  Many restaurants have notebook like menus with three or four translations of the Czech menu.  Churches have laminated handouts for self tours in at least ten languages.  Signage in museums is usually in Czech and English.

 

Cashiers at drug stores or groceries may not speak English but it doesn't matter.  The point gets across.

 

Outside of Prague, it can be a bit more challenging but technology offers a solution.  We were on a local train from ÄŒeské BudÄ›jovice to ÄŒeský Krumlov when a maintenance issue or something on the lines cropped up.  Everyone had to exit the train in a small town and take one of three buses depending on final destination.  The conductor used a language translator on his smart phone to tell us what to do!

 

At some of the tourist sites, we planned our visits around the English tours.  If the English tour time does not fit in your schedule, you can do another language and get a handout in English to follow along.

 

It worked.  We had a few minor misunderstandings but no big deals. 

 

The Czech Republic is highly affordable, especially outside of Prague.  That may be an added incentive to visit!

[Stacia]

Yes, I realized after I posted that I should have indicated George Eliot.

 

Good -- at least I was on track... "George" was in my mind as ds & I were driving to the Mexican restaurant.

[Angel]

Awesome, Angel. We're on for next year. You can pick the banned book on the next go-around!

 

Make sure your hubby takes you out for that well-deserved dinner while you're still outside of your ostrich hole!

 

:thumbup:  Sounds great!

 

Great conversation this week so far! Angel, I think we are very much alike, and as usual, Stacia, I glean so much from you!

 

It was an interesting week!  It's nice to know I have company  ;)

 

This post is causing me to drool on my keyboard!

 

Regards,

Kareni

 

Ditto!   :drool5:   

[Violet Crown]

How I want to visit Prague! So very, very envious. Beautiful pictures, beautiful food descriptions....

 

Okay, books about saints. There are two classic compendia of saints' lives. The first is Butler's Lives of the Saints, which will give you the factual information about every saint on the calendar (up through the date of whatever edition you have), along with some pious meditations. Butler's is where you go to find out that, for example, St. Frances de Chantal founded the Order of the Visitation. http://sacred-texts.com/chr/lots/index.htm

 

The other one is Jacobus de Voragine's Golden Legend from the thirteenth century, which is the source of the classic tales of the saints that informed the iconography of the late Middle Ages and beyond. This is where you go to find out that St. Martha, having left the Holy Land with Mary Magdalene to hang about near Avignon, slew a fish-dragon that was annoying the locals. Which is why a scaly, finny dragon under a saint's feet tells you it's St. Martha.

 

I recommend the latter.

[*Inna*]

 

"Don't feel stupid about getting emotionally sucked into (or perhaps manipulated) by a book. I think we've all been there more than once in our lives...". - That's exactly how I felt after reading Gone Girl - emotionally manipulated.

 

 

Honestly, it's getting scary for me as it goes along.  Not in a creepy Stephen King or zombie way.  But in an emotional way, like (TMI I may delete later), but is this about my husband minus the abduction??  I just see really close parallels to people I know and it's made me sit up at night evaluating myself, my husband, my marriage, my life, my friends...It's not often a book does this to me.   

 

 

ETA: Wow, I really messed up with multiple quotes. :/

[*Inna*]

I didn't love The Alchemist. Sorry. :o I was really bored while reading it and kept getting distracted. To be honest, I'm not a big fan of these types of stories. We're reading aloud The Pilgrim's Progress this week and I catch myself fantasizing about chucking the book across the room. Oh, well.

 

My Real Children by Jo Walton was pretty good. Her writing style just pulled me in and the idea of the book was neat.

 

Reading The Girl Who Chased the Moon and enjoying it so far.

[*Inna*]

Thanks for posting the pictures, Jane!

 

I love Karel Capek's books! Have you read any of another Czech author (at least I think he is Czech),  Jaroslav HaÅ¡ek?

His short stories especially are wonderful.

[Jane in NC]

Thanks for posting the pictures, Jane!

 

I love Karel Capek's books! Have you read any of another Czech author (at least I think he is Czech),  Jaroslav HaÅ¡ek?

His short stories especially are wonderful.

 

No to HaÅ¡ek but The Good Soldier is on my list!  My husband is particularly fond of short stories so I'll mention your comment to him. Thanks!

 

[Mom-ninja.]

My boys eat the honeycomb. They chew it a bit like a gum and swallow it. 

[Mom-ninja.]

Reading another Wilkie Collins....Dead Secret. He is one of the very few mystery writers I'll read. 

[Stacia]

My boys eat the honeycomb. They chew it a bit like a gum and swallow it. 

 

Thank you for the very exact response!

[Robin M]

Ladydusk: Anyone know about Margaret Frazer's Sister Frevisse mysteries? Are they good and do they have to be read in order?

 

Yes, I read the first one and it was delightful and different, captured my attention completely. 

 

Eliana  Other reading: I realized last week that being in school takes an insane amount of time... and that I can't count on myself not to start incurring horrific library fines... so I am, rather reluctantly, embracing the dusty book challenge... and clearing away almost all of the library books in the  house

 

 

Okay, back to glycolysis...

 

 

 

I was the same way when working on my Bachelor's in liberal arts. All that reading is so time consuming, leaves room for little else. It's awesome that you are pursuing your education. Keep on trucking!

 

 

 

Ali - First, the big news--I read 3 whole chapters of HOTAW!  I'm in the thirties now--ready to start ch. 32.

 

 Woot!

 

Jane: Hello friends.

 

Tonight I will be sleeping in my own bed after a wonderful two weeks in the Czech Republic, specifically Prague, Kutna Hora and Cesky Krumlov. An interesting juxtaposition occurred in the latter. Whilst many of you were engaged in discussing Banned Book week, I stood in the square where Hitler gave a famous speech after the Sudetenlands were ceded to Germany in the Munich Agreement resulting in the forced evacuation of native Czechs. In '68, Soviet tanks filled the square, a message to those Czech upstarts.

 

At the risk of sounding too blunt, I think that anyone who wants to ban books in libraries has a short memory and should contemplate recent history and those political regimes that found it necessary to burn and/or ban books.

 

On a side note, I suspect that this trip will give me the impetus to blog. I have quite a travelogue to share!

 

So cool. Would you believe it sent a chill up my spine to hear about you standing in the square where Hitler gave his speech. Nothing like taking an actual walk through history. Something my son wants to do at some point.

 

 

 

So many conversations and in my hit and run or dash through the thread - Did someone say Quakers in space? That's just.... out there.

 

The Ivy Tree. Think I have it stashed away somewhere. Will have to see if I can find it.

 

Off to make dinner.

 

 

Reading Frankenstein for the first time. :) Totally not what I expected!

Exactly, I felt the same way.

 

 

Oy the quote system is going haywire. :willy_nilly:

[mommymilkies]

 

 

"Don't feel stupid about getting emotionally sucked into (or perhaps manipulated) by a book. I think we've all been there more than once in our lives...". - That's exactly how I felt after reading Gone Girl - emotionally manipulated.

 

 

 

ETA: Wow, I really messed up with multiple quotes. :/

 

Yes.  This.  I had a horrible, no good, very bad day.  So I started in on Asylum by Roux (in from ILL woot!).  I think I'll give Gone Girl a break tonight before I crack. 

[Uff Da!]

Winter here.  I changed my name because I felt like it and I have a moment because I have insomnia again.  Yippee!

 

I'm still working through "Til We All Have Faces" and am stitching the quilt while listening to C.S. Lewis's "Screwtape Letters" as well.  The Screwtape Letters are really interesting.  I've never heard a pastor speak of spiritual warfare, satanic attacks and so forth so this is entertaining on many levels.

 

I like this quote, especially since there seems to be some disbelief that we really do teach ancient languages in this house with young children;

 

“It is funny how mortals always picture us as putting things into their minds: in reality our best work is done by keeping things out.†
― C.S. Lewis, The Screwtape Letters

 

 

[Pam in CT]

...

 

I like this quote, especially since there seems to be some disbelief that we really do teach ancient languages in this house with young children;

 

“It is funny how mortals always picture us as putting things into their minds: in reality our best work is done by keeping things out.†

― C.S. Lewis, The Screwtape Letters

 

An idea that came through Good Omens as well!  Who needs demons when humans will do the work themselves, lol!  Just keep us distracted!

[Jane in NC]

How I want to visit Prague! So very, very envious. Beautiful pictures, beautiful food descriptions....

 

Okay, books about saints. There are two classic compendia of saints' lives. The first is Butler's Lives of the Saints, which will give you the factual information about every saint on the calendar (up through the date of whatever edition you have), along with some pious meditations. Butler's is where you go to find out that, for example, St. Frances de Chantal founded the Order of the Visitation. http://sacred-texts.com/chr/lots/index.htm

 

The other one is Jacobus de Voragine's Golden Legend from the thirteenth century, which is the source of the classic tales of the saints that informed the iconography of the late Middle Ages and beyond. This is where you go to find out that St. Martha, having left the Holy Land with Mary Magdalene to hang about near Avignon, slew a fish-dragon that was annoying the locals. Which is why a scaly, finny dragon under a saint's feet tells you it's St. Martha.

 

I recommend the latter.

 

Thank you!  I just put the William Granger Ryan translation of the latter in my Amazon cart.  Before I purchase, I wondered if you had any comments on translations.

 

I didn't love The Alchemist. Sorry. :o I was really bored while reading it and kept getting distracted. To be honest, I'm not a big fan of these types of stories. We're reading aloud The Pilgrim's Progress this week and I catch myself fantasizing about chucking the book across the room. Oh, well.

 

My Real Children by Jo Walton was pretty good. Her writing style just pulled me in and the idea of the book was neat.

 

Reading The Girl Who Chased the Moon and enjoying it so far.

 

If by The Alchemist, you are referring to a Paulo Coelho book, I completely understand.  Aleph ranked at the bottom of my list the year I read it!

 

The Pilgrim's Progress is also one of my least favorite classics.  I found no joy in the journey--only misery--and understand why the Puritans would have popularized this book.  Ugh.

 

I decided that I wanted to take ÄŒapek's observations on the garden a bit more slowly; I also need to whittle down the TBR dusty stacks.  So I cracked open The Coquette by Hannah W. Foster, originally published in 1797.  Oxford University Press publishes the book today and describes it on their website:

 

 

The Coquette tells the much-publicized story of the seduction and death of Elizabeth Whitman, a poet from Hartford, Connecticut.

Written as a series of letters--between the heroine and her friends and lovers--it describes her long, tortuous courtship by two men, neither of whom perfectly suits her. Eliza Wharton (as Whitman is called in the novel) wavers between Major Sanford, a charming but insincere man, and the Reverend Boyer, a bore who wants to marry her. When, in her mid-30s, Wharton finds herself suddenly abandoned when both men marry other women, she willfully enters into an adulterous relationship with Sanford and becomes pregnant. Alone and dejected, she dies in childbirth at a roadside inn. Eliza Wharton, whose real-life counterpart was distantly related to Hannah Foster's husband, was one of the first women in American fiction to emerge as a real person facing a dilemma in her life. In her Introduction, Davidson discusses the parallels between Elizabeth Whitman and the fictional Eliza Wharton. She shows the limitations placed on women in the 18th century and the attempts of one woman to rebel against those limitations.

[mumto2]

Winter here. I changed my name because I felt like it and I have a moment because I have insomnia again. Yippee!

 

I'm still working through "Til We All Have Faces" and am stitching the quilt while listening to C.S. Lewis's "Screwtape Letters" as well. The Screwtape Letters are really interesting. I've never heard a pastor speak of spiritual warfare, satanic attacks and so forth so this is entertaining on many levels.

 

I like this quote, especially since there seems to be some disbelief that we really do teach ancient languages in this house with young children;

 

“It is funny how mortals always picture us as putting things into their minds: in reality our best work is done by keeping things out.â€

― C.S. Lewis, The Screwtape Letters

Like the new name. :grouphug: on the insomnia. I understand exactly how you feel. Screwtape letters has been on my list for years, maybe your enjoyment will motivate me.

[Uff Da!]

Like the new name. :grouphug: on the insomnia. I understand exactly how you feel. Screwtape letters has been on my list for years, maybe your enjoyment will motivate me.

The audio version is really well done.  I highly recommend it.

[Kareni]

Last night I finished Springtime Pleasures by Sandra Schwab which is a Regency Romance.  It was a fun read, somewhat light and silly with a few flashes of harsh reality; it did have some limited adult content.
 

"Caught between duty ...
 

George Augustus Griffin, Viscount Chanderley has to marry - fast: His father has ordered him to find a suitable wife this very season. Alas, the only woman Griff has eyes for is the very unsuitable Miss Carlotta Stanton, who is not only unbecomingly tall but also wears the ugliest spectacles in all of England. Still, Griff is utterly bewitched by her intense green eyes. Yet however much he feels drawn to her joie de vivre, duty and honor demand that he stay far away from Miss Stanton.
 

... and desire
 

Dubbed "the Giantess" because of her unfortunate height, Charlie Stanton finds the London season far less glamorous than she had  thought it would be - not the least because she is consigned a place among the wallflowers. But then she becomes acquainted with the very dashing Lord Chanderley, whose life is overshadowed by a terrible tragedy in his past. Ever ready to help others, Charlie is determined to rid him of his Sad Melancholia - even if it means taking on wild boars and highwaymen. However, the biggest challenge might be the elusive viscount himself and his belief that he is beyond all redemption."

Regards,
Kareni

[Kareni]

Yesterday, I also read The Diaries of Adam and Eve by Mark Twain (illustrations by Michael Mojher) which was a quick read that was humorous yet thought provoking.  I recommend it.

 

From the Publisher

The Diaries--written near the end of Mark Twain's life and career--are perhaps his wisest, most personal works. The wry humor we expect is matched by a heartbreaking tenderness found nowhere else in his writings. And it was only in Eve that Twain ever wrote from a woman's viewpoint. An afterword details Twain's fascination with Adam and the parallels between his own marriage and Adam and Eve as depicted in the Diaries.

 

 

Regards,

Kareni

[mamaraby]

I finally got in my reading groove. What it is about some books where the pages just fly by and other books where it feels like a tough slog through sticky mud? I think it's almost certain that this quality is subjective based upon the reader, but aside from that I'm pondering just what makes it so. Sometimes I think it's even subjective on an individual level as i've sometimes struggled at first with a book and then flew through it after awhile.

 

Anyway...reading's more fun when it flies. :0)

 

ETA: i was a bit....um, free with my likes earlier so consider all posts liked. Sadly I have no more to give.

[Angel]

So cool. Would you believe it sent a chill up my spine to hear about you standing in the square where Hitler gave his speech. Nothing like taking an actual walk through history. Something my son wants to do at some point.

 

 

:iagree:  I never really understood this, though, until we started taking our youth group on history trips.  To stand in the place where history happened is awe-inspiring, you really do feel the weight of that moment in history impressing you with importance and whispering to you "Remember!"  

[JennW in SoCal]

I enjoyed a day off yesterday reading another British detective novel, this time a Peter Diamond mystery, Upon a Dark Night.   The novel had 3 or 4 different threads going, one of which was about "detectoring" or amateurs using metal detectors in fields to search for buried Roman or Saxon treasures.  Well, the laws of reading serendipity were working this morning when I stumbled upon an article on the recent discovery in England, by an amateur using a metal detector, of one of the largest troves of Roman coins ever found.  Jane -- it all sort of points to you as you pointed me to the Diamond mystery series and of course because of your ds and his archaeological pursuits in the UK.

 

Here's the article.