PrairieSong Posted October 11, 2014 Share Posted October 11, 2014 I'm dying laughing. Sorry, ladies! I've totally outed myself as a youngster, huh? I have a couple months left yet of my 20s and he's indeed my parents' age. Well, a smidge older than my mother. Doesn't negate the smokin' hotness that is Neil and his brilliant mind. Well kiddo, I have a daughter a smidge older than you! And I understand about the older man crushes. I used to have those. However, the objects of those crushes are now either geriatric or dead. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Robin M Posted October 11, 2014 Author Share Posted October 11, 2014 Everything you wanted to know about Patrick Modiano at Literary Saloon - scroll down to October 10 Today is also the birthday of 1952 Nobelist Francois Mauriac Here's an interesting list put together by the anglican newspaper - Church Times - 100 best christian books. It's an eclectic mixture of fiction including Sayer and Dostoyevsky as well as non fiction including Merton, Augustine, Chesterton and Bonhoefer and the Poems of Emily Dickenson. Plus much more. Well worth perusing. Of course, it's also adding to my wishlist for next year. Also included is top 10 children's books. Speaking of Neil Gaiman, did any of you see his ice bucket challenge video - scruffy sexy. You're welcome! :coolgleamA: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
shukriyya Posted October 11, 2014 Share Posted October 11, 2014 Ds had an event this morning--among the parents ukeleles, book discussion and straw hats abounded. This gave me a couple of hours to read uninterrupted among the trees. At 60% of the way through, 'Some Kind of Fairy Tale' is continuing to be a cracking good story! And getting better with each chapter which, incidentally, begins with wonderful quotes relevant to a particular aspect of the fantastical tale at hand. They run the gamut from Bruno Bettelheim..."The unrealisitic nature of these tales (which narrowminded rationalists object to) is an important device, because it makes obvious that the fairy tales' concern is not useful information about the external world, but the inner process taking place in an individual"... to Chesterton to Einstein to Yeats to Shakespeare to this elegant one by John Clute... "It was during the eighteenth century that William Shakespeare was reconceived as a child-like genius, an idiot savant, partly because he broke the rules of Tragedy, but also because he wrote his plays prior to any cultural consensus that informative obedience to ascertainable reality ultimately told us more about our human experience of the world we inhabited than any myth or fairy tale of fabulation could possibly do." Despite the erudition of the quotes the story itself is very accessible, tightly written and with characters that seem both realistic and fantastical. How will it all end?? I still can't fathom it which is wonderful! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kareni Posted October 11, 2014 Share Posted October 11, 2014 I did something very very bad. I got halfway through St. Cyr #5 before I realized it wasn't #4. Starting 4 now. [hangs head in shame] I wish mystery novels numbered the novels. Sigh. I can identify. I checked a book out of the library and then learned that that it was book two in a series and that the library did not have book one. So, I placed a hold on book one at a second library and decided to return book two. Since I had nothing of interest to read on the bus, I started book two. I turned it in when I got to the library and then, having reconsidered, grabbed it off the 'to be shelved' shelf as I was leaving. But (you knew this was coming, didn't you?), it turns out I grabbed book three rather than book two. So, I'm here to report that I read and enjoyed the historical romance The Laird (Captive Hearts book 3) by Grace Burrowes. "He left his bride to go to war... After years of soldiering, Michael Brodie returns to his Highland estate to find that the bride he left behind has become a stranger. Brenna is self-sufficient, competent, confident-and furious about Michael's prolonged absence. Now his most important battle will be for her heart Brenna is also hurt, bewildered, and tired of fighting for the respect of those around her. Michael left her when she needed him most, and then stayed away even after the war ended. Nonetheless, the young man who abandoned her has come home a wiser, more patient and honorable husband. But if she trusts Michael with the truths she's been guarding, he'll have to choose between his wife and everything else he holds dear." Trigger alert: Be aware this book contains accounts of child molestation. Looking forward now to reading books one and two in the series. Regards, Kareni Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nan in Mass Posted October 12, 2014 Share Posted October 12, 2014 So those of you who don't check this thread every day, how do you keep up? Or don't know? Do you just start wherever (that can't be the way you spell where ever?) you left off and take hours to catch up, or do you skip ahead and read backwards? I think I need a strategy. Every day isn't going to work at this point in my life lol. Jane - I've been to Jewel Cave, both as a child and as an adult. Did you do the candle lantern tour? I was impressed by those old photos, too. Iliked it both times, although I knew without the guide I would NOT be a happy camper. Did you see Wind Cave? Youngest had an interesting hike through the prairie there. We live in the woods. We were touring around the US with a popup and youngest did a fair bit of hiking on his own. He was 13. We'd take a minute with the map to figure out where to drop him off and about where and when to pick him up and then went off to do our own thing for the day. This worked fine down through the Blue Mts., across Texas, up through the sequoias, through the Rockies, ... and then we got to the prairie. We dropped him off and went to find someplace to swim for the day. When it was time to retrieve him, we took a little walk. And discovered that there were no paths or blazes, and to a woods person, it all looks the same. We were rather relieved to when youngest showed up. He had had quite an adventure. A buffalo had snuck up behind him and brew down the back of his neck, scaring him badly, he nearly stepped on a 6 foot long snake, and he had been hard put not to get lost. The trail was marked with orange fiberglass driveway poles, the kind to mark where the snowplow should go, and the buffalo use them as back scratchers so many were missing. It is very lumpy prairie, so he quickly got out of sight of anything familiar. A lovely but very strange landscape. Rosie - What a wild looking flower! I guess it does look a bit pea-like, but still! Jenn - So cool about the artwork! Pam and Shukriyya - Lovely, lovely about Malala. We are so spoiled, whining about our country. Good tears... Shukriyya - Do let us know if Some Kind of Fairy Tale gets too spooky or weird or not. Have you read Pamela Dean's Tam Linn? Or Patricia McKillip's Solstice Wood? Pam - Thank you for explaining more about Women's Voices. Nan Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JennW in SoCal Posted October 12, 2014 Share Posted October 12, 2014 Also picked up a book on Sturt Desert Pea while I was out woop woop and read it today. If you don't know what one looks like, you must google it right now. Right now. :toetap05: I did do as I was told this morning, Rosie! Those are amazing and I am surprised I haven't seen any here in Southern California considering how many Australian plants have naturalized here. (I have yet to not kill the supposedly drought tolerant and easy Kangaroo Paws...) So those of you who don't check this thread every day, how do you keep up? Or don't know? Do you just start wherever (that can't be the way you spell where ever?) you left off and take hours to catch up, or do you skip ahead and read backwards? I think I need a strategy. Every day isn't going to work at this point in my life lol. I go to the top of the thread and click the "go to first unread post" and, if it's been over a day or if folk have been talkative, I skim furiously to the end. Then I try to go back and reread more carefully, clicking the "like" button as I go, but it doesn't always happen. What cracks me up, when I think I'm reading carefully, is seeing a quote and realizing I had missed that part of someone's post entirely, then I start scanning backwards to find the post. [Also by Nan] The trail was marked with orange fiberglass driveway poles, the kind to mark where the snowplow should go, Orange fiberglass driveway poles, and for that matter, snowplows, are about as exotic an item to me as the Sturt Desert Pea :laugh: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
*Inna* Posted October 12, 2014 Share Posted October 12, 2014 Finished Speak by Laurie Halse Anderson. Wow. Knocked my socks off. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rosie_0801 Posted October 12, 2014 Share Posted October 12, 2014 I did do as I was told this morning, Rosie! Those are amazing and I am surprised I haven't seen any here in Southern California considering how many Australian plants have naturalized here. (I have yet to not kill the supposedly drought tolerant and easy Kangaroo Paws...) They're pretty tricky to grow, apparently and are bird pollinated. One can get around that in the garden by hand pollinating, but they're not going to grow wild if there aren't the right kind of birds. There has been some work done with grafting to try and make more sturdy specimens for the international market. There's interest in Japan, so the book said. One of the troubles is creating a standard product, though all the variations look amazing too. Budget cuts seem to have affected these programs so I wonder whether there is anything to look forward to on that front. I love kangaroo paws! I'm waiting for Mr Handsome and Rich Enough to show up and buy me a block of land so I can have 40 fruit trees, a poetry garden, and space to collect kangaroo paw and grevillea. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Stacia Posted October 12, 2014 Share Posted October 12, 2014 I'm waiting for Mr Handsome and Rich Enough Going for two guys, eh? ;) I suppose Rich Enough can build your dream garden, then you can take Mr. Handsome there. :lol: (And, yep, I looked up those flowers right away today when I saw your post, Rosie! How neat. That's one thing I really liked about reading Picnic at Hanging Rock in that quite a few different Australian plants & animals were mentioned, that I then went & looked up. Off to look up kangaroo paw and grevillea now....) ETA: Wow. What cool plants, especially the Kangaroo Paws. Could you have Rich Enough build me a desert garden too? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pam in CT Posted October 12, 2014 Share Posted October 12, 2014 He isn't that old!! He's my age!! Given all the Gaiman love here, I have to add a small brag. My dh was an artist on a Hugo nominated graphic novel written by Neil Gaiman, Whatever Happened to the Caped Crusader? (You can see some of the artwork on that link.) My youngest ds and I were talking about Gaiman at dinner one night, we must have been bouncing ideas about a story around because my husband quipped that he could just e-mail the question to him. I asked why Neil Gaiman would be in e-mail contact with the inker and my husband said "oh we were talking about the Hugo awards and if we should attend." My son and I both gasped "The Hugos? Why?" To which my dh answered, "Oh, didn't I tell you? The book was nominated but we didn't win." No, he had never mentioned it to us, didn't tell us that we could have gone to Australia to the attend the awards ceremony. We have never let my dh live that one down. Nominated for a Hugo and didn't bother to tell his sci-fi and fantasy genre-loving wife and son. :svengo: (I'm sure if he'd WON he'd have mentioned it.) mumto2, I think Pam read The Bone Clocks. I have it on request at my library, but suspended the hold so I won't get it until later this month. I did. Mum, I'll be curious what you think of it... and maybe will hold back from yakking til you've had your turn! I watched the moon set over the desert a few times this week. :001_wub: Also picked up a book on Sturt Desert Pea while I was out woop woop and read it today. If you don't know what one looks like, you must google it right now. Right now. :toetap05: Yes m'am! Very funky-looking. And fascinating re: desert taproot. What do they taste like? Can you eat the pod, like a snap pea? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Stacia Posted October 12, 2014 Share Posted October 12, 2014 Going back to the censorship stuff, dh & I saw Kill the Messenger tonight. Based on the True story of Journalist Gary Webb. The film takes place in the mid 1990s, when Webb uncovered the CIA's past role in importing huge amounts of cocaine into the U.S. that was aggressively sold in ghettos across the Country to raise money for the Nicaraguan Contras rebel army. Despite enormous pressure not to, Webb chose to pursue the story and went public with his evidence, publishing the series "Dark Alliance". As a result he experienced a vicious smear campaign fueled by the CIA. At that point Webb found himself defending his integrity, his family, and his life. - Written by Milena Joy Morris It was slower-paced than the preview seems to show & really delves into the process of Gary Webb finding & investigating the story & the huge backlash, slander, & pressure he was put under to kill the story. Scary statement on politics, government, & freedom of the press. Quite depressing movie, imo, but worth seeing. Also interesting to see a lot of the period details in the movie, though some of our young, whippersnapper BaWers ( ;)) might not remember stuff like Nancy Reagan's Just Say No campaign. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
shukriyya Posted October 12, 2014 Share Posted October 12, 2014 So those of you who don't check this thread every day, how do you keep up? Or don't know? Do you just start wherever (that can't be the way you spell where ever?) you left off and take hours to catch up, or do you skip ahead and read backwards? I think I need a strategy. Every day isn't going to work at this point in my life lol. Jane - I've been to Jewel Cave, both as a child and as an adult. Did you do the candle lantern tour? I was impressed by those old photos, too. Iliked it both times, although I knew without the guide I would NOT be a happy camper. Did you see Wind Cave? Youngest had an interesting hike through the prairie there. We live in the woods. We were touring around the US with a popup and youngest did a fair bit of hiking on his own. He was 13. We'd take a minute with the map to figure out where to drop him off and about where and when to pick him up and then went off to do our own thing for the day. This worked fine down through the Blue Mts., across Texas, up through the sequoias, through the Rockies, ... and then we got to the prairie. We dropped him off and went to find someplace to swim for the day. When it was time to retrieve him, we took a little walk. And discovered that there were no paths or blazes, and to a woods person, it all looks the same. We were rather relieved to when youngest showed up. He had had quite an adventure. A buffalo had snuck up behind him and brew down the back of his neck, scaring him badly, he nearly stepped on a 6 foot long snake, and he had been hard put not to get lost. The trail was marked with orange fiberglass driveway poles, the kind to mark where the snowplow should go, and the buffalo use them as back scratchers so many were missing. It is very lumpy prairie, so he quickly got out of sight of anything familiar. A lovely but very strange landscape. Rosie - What a wild looking flower! I guess it does look a bit pea-like, but still! Jenn - So cool about the artwork! Pam and Shukriyya - Lovely, lovely about Malala. We are so spoiled, whining about our country. Good tears... Shukriyya - Do let us know if Some Kind of Fairy Tale gets too spooky or weird or not. Have you read Pamela Dean's Tam Linn? Or Patricia McKillip's Solstice Wood? Pam - Thank you for explaining more about Women's Voices. Nan I tend to check in fairly regularly as this thread moves fast. But sometimes a few days go by and I realize I haven't checked in and then there are a couple of pages to read through. Re the books you mentioned...Tam Lin is referred to in this book I'm reading so your suggestions are relevantly received :D I've had Patricia McKillip on my tbr list for several months now with 'The Alphabet of Thorn' but the book you mentioned went on to the list also as well as Pamela Dean's. Of course that little search yielded 'The Ballad of Tam Lin' by Kathleen McGowan and onto the list it went. I'm now at the point of having to mete out my reading with 'Some Kind of Fairytale'. I don't want it to end but I'll likely finish it tonight. Stacia, I heard your frustration/aimlessness/stasis in your post about being stuck in a non-reading zone. Sending :grouphug: + lots of chocolate. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Stacia Posted October 12, 2014 Share Posted October 12, 2014 A list that I think will appeal to quite a few of my BaW friends: 10 Best Detectives in Books Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Robin M Posted October 12, 2014 Author Share Posted October 12, 2014 I watched the moon set over the desert a few times this week. :001_wub: Also picked up a book on Sturt Desert Pea while I was out woop woop and read it today. If you don't know what one looks like, you must google it right now. Right now. :toetap05: Quite 👽 Looking but oh so cute. Giving me ideas for a story. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Stacia Posted October 12, 2014 Share Posted October 12, 2014 Ah, some more fun tees. This Book Made Me Cry A shirt maybe some would like (scroll to see Le Petit Jedi). Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Shawneinfl Posted October 12, 2014 Share Posted October 12, 2014 Post above #269 looks suspicious. I didn't click on the link. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tree Frog Posted October 12, 2014 Share Posted October 12, 2014 That person posted the identical message in several threads at the same time. I reported it in a couple of them. I didn't even notice the link! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PrairieSong Posted October 12, 2014 Share Posted October 12, 2014 He isn't that old!! He's my age!! Given all the Gaiman love here, I have to add a small brag. My dh was an artist on a Hugo nominated graphic novel written by Neil Gaiman, Whatever Happened to the Caped Crusader? (You can see some of the artwork on that link.) My youngest ds and I were talking about Gaiman at dinner one night, we must have been bouncing ideas about a story around because my husband quipped that he could just e-mail the question to him. I asked why Neil Gaiman would be in e-mail contact with the inker and my husband said "oh we were talking about the Hugo awards and if we should attend." My son and I both gasped "The Hugos? Why?" To which my dh answered, "Oh, didn't I tell you? The book was nominated but we didn't win." No, he had never mentioned it to us, didn't tell us that we could have gone to Australia to the attend the awards ceremony. We have never let my dh live that one down. Nominated for a Hugo and didn't bother to tell his sci-fi and fantasy genre-loving wife and son. Wait, what??? How did I miss this post? How cool is that? Even cooler if you'd actually gone to the Hugo Awards...in Australia! Why didn't he even think to mention it? Did he already decide not to attend, and he didn't want to disappoint you but you found out anyway? But still! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kareni Posted October 12, 2014 Share Posted October 12, 2014 A shirt maybe some would like (scroll to see Le Petit Jedi). Very cute! Regards, Kareni Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rosie_0801 Posted October 12, 2014 Share Posted October 12, 2014 Going for two guys, eh? ;) I suppose Rich Enough can build your dream garden, then you can take Mr. Handsome there. :lol: (And, yep, I looked up those flowers right away today when I saw your post, Rosie! How neat. That's one thing I really liked about reading Picnic at Hanging Rock in that quite a few different Australian plants & animals were mentioned, that I then went & looked up. Off to look up kangaroo paw and grevillea now....) ETA: Wow. What cool plants, especially the Kangaroo Paws. Could you have Rich Enough build me a desert garden too? Going for a double barrelled surname. :p It's funny to think of you looking up plants and animals while reading Picnic at Hanging Rock. I had to do that when I was reading Tarka the Otter. I'm still not over the disappointment of primroses not being purple! Someone around here downloaded a Rolf Harris clip from youtube and used a picture of a kangaroo when he was singing about kangaroo paw. Argh! :svengo: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mumto2 Posted October 12, 2014 Share Posted October 12, 2014 I just finished Liane Moriarty's The Husband's Secret. Apologies if anyone enjoyed this, but I thought it was awful. It was an absolute train wreck of a story, but the kind you can't take your eyes off of? Ugh. DH worked late last night and I sat up almost all night reading it and just finished off the last little bit. Back to Sixty-One Nails today. I agree the Husband's Secret just sucked me right in and I had no choice but to finish it even though I was somewhat appalled by it. Her latest Little Lies was the same. I actually normally like an occasional book like that so was prepared for it when I picked up Little Lies and did it on a rainy day with no outside plans! ;) I will admit Gone Girl which is another train wreck of a book offended me. I just couldn't like it. All of us have our own triggers. Speaking of Gone Girl is anyone else following this controversy http://www.theguardian.com/film/2014/oct/07/gone-girl-backlash-david-fincher-misogynist-feminist. I gave up trying to find the original article I read a few days ago. There is too much out there now. Mum, I'll be curious what you think of it... and maybe will hold back from yakking til you've had your turn! Pam, Sorry I messed up the quote. I returned the hard copy yesterday but it should be here in my overdrive account in a month or so. You don't have to be silent just for me but since Stacia is planning to read it too.....the more the merrier! Very funky-looking. And fascinating re: desert taproot. What do they taste like? Can you eat the pod, like a snap pea? Rosie, I had that very sam question. What unusual plants. Hoping that dh remembers to bring me home J from the book shop. I'm not a Howard Jacobson fan, but this book has me intrigued. Does anyone have some Booker short list favourites ? I'm not really interested in either the Flanagan or the Mukherjee, but could be convinced... I have read two of the Booker short listed books. Waiting for someone else to read J first. :lol: and may tackle Ali Smith's How to be Both when I get in the right mood again. I am a fluff reader essentially who is trying very hard to step out of my little world. We are All Completely Beside Ourselves by Karen Joy Fowler is a book that I look back upon more fondness than I felt when I was reading it. I had no choice but to finish it because I had to know but probably would not normally have wanted to read it. A real life friend bought it thinking it was fluff and felt the same way. Someone on BaW really liked it and I didn't dislike it but do question Booker worthiness. The other one was To Rise Again at a Decent Hour by Joshua Ferris. Parts of it were very funny. Parts a bit disjointed. Parts boring. It was another one that I don't get for Booker but can see how it could be popular. The language in this one bothered me, he coined a profane insulting phrase and proceeded to beat the reader over the head with it when describing women. It probably coloured my view where the rest of the book was concerned. As I said parts were funny, basically about a man who seemed to be unable to learn from his mistakes so they just kept repeating. Most of the book takes place in a Dentist office with frequent flashbacks. The reality is I don't remember To Rise Again.... very well and do remember We are all Beside Ourselves so I would go with memorable! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jane in NC Posted October 12, 2014 Share Posted October 12, 2014 So those of you who don't check this thread every day, how do you keep up? Or don't know? Do you just start wherever (that can't be the way you spell where ever?) you left off and take hours to catch up, or do you skip ahead and read backwards? I think I need a strategy. Every day isn't going to work at this point in my life lol. Jane - I've been to Jewel Cave, both as a child and as an adult. Did you do the candle lantern tour? <snip> Nan It is hard to keep up with this thread sometimes! Like Jenn, I sometimes skim through the posts just to try to stay on top of things. But skimming has its limitations. I have resigned myself to the fact that I cannot always be an active participant in the numerous side conversations that spring up (or my reading would suffer!) We were not able to do the candle lantern tour with The Boy who was too young at the time. I love the hiking story! I am of the opinion that South Dakota's Black Hills are a sacred space and one deserving of a return visit. A list that I think will appeal to quite a few of my BaW friends: 10 Best Detectives in Books This list has a number of unexpected "detectives". I haven't read the Graham Greene book mentioned (Brighton Rock) but I am currently listening to a Graham Greene "entertainment", Stamboul Train. On more than one occasion I have backtracked to re-listen to tracks of the novel. And this is what distinguishes Graham Greene's thrillers from say Agatha Christie. While both are great story tellers, Greene relates each character's thoughts as well as actions. Despite his own categorization of the book as an entertainment, a number of weighty subjects are in the background: Antisemitism, political changes underway in Europe (the novel was published in '32), cultural clashes among the classes (laid out neatly between those First, Second and Third class passengers on the train). Greene wrote an interesting little book on a country very much in the news today, Liberia. When he did his 350 mile walk through the interior of that country in 1935, there were no maps to follow, hence the title Journey Without Maps. And now for some non-book related notes: My husband and I spent the morning yesterday in a two person kayak, participating in our town's salt marsh clean up. Most people stayed on land but the high schoolers preferred to kayak, as did we. The good news is that there was less trash than in previous efforts but still too many styrofoam cups, plastic water bottles, etc. It was the high schoolers who were suggesting that styrofoam should be banned which endeared them even more to me. Today we are having our personal harvest festival or so it seems. I have pumpkin baking in the oven (pumpkin soup will follow later in the day) and my husband intends on brewing oyster stout which gets a :ack2: from me but then I am not a fan of stout or dark beer in general. Brewing beer with oysters is not uncommon--they add a certain salinity to the brew. Have a lovely Sunday everyone! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Violet Crown Posted October 12, 2014 Share Posted October 12, 2014 It is hard to keep up with this thread sometimes! Like Jenn, I sometimes skim through the posts just to try to stay on top of things. But skimming has its limitations. I have resigned myself to the fact that I cannot always be an active participant in the numerous side conversations that spring up (or my reading would suffer!) We were not able to do the candle lantern tour with The Boy who was too young at the time. I love the hiking story! I am of the opinion that South Dakota's Black Hills are a sacred space and one deserving of a return visit. This list has a number of unexpected "detectives". I haven't read the Graham Greene book mentioned (Brighton Rock) but I am currently listening to a Graham Greene "entertainment", Stamboul Train. On more than one occasion I have backtracked to re-listen to tracks of the novel. And this is what distinguishes Graham Greene's thrillers from say Agatha Christie. While both are great story tellers, Greene relates each character's thoughts as well as actions. Despite his own categorization of the book as an entertainment, a number of weighty subjects are in the background: Antisemitism, political changes underway in Europe (the novel was published in '32), cultural clashes among the classes (laid out neatly between those First, Second and Third class passengers on the train). Greene wrote an interesting little book on a country very much in the news today, Liberia. When he did his 350 mile walk through the interior of that country in 1935, there were no maps to follow, hence the title Journey Without Maps. I hadn't even heard of that Greene book (ETA: that is, Journeys Without Maps). I read and enjoyed The Lawless Roads, about his trip through Mexico, and very much recommend it; it's almost a nonfiction companion piece to The Power and the Glory. I will have to look up Journeys Without Maps. And add it to the ever-increasing TBR pile.... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LostSurprise Posted October 12, 2014 Share Posted October 12, 2014 Lawless Roads is on my Wishlist, because of it's connection with The Power and the Glory. It's hard to keep up with this list. I'm not sure how some of you do it. ;) It's fun to read whether you're an active participant or not. If I have time I'll read through slowly and be more a part of the conversation, but many weeks the best you can do is read backwards/skim/chuckle softly to yourself/wish you had better timing. I made a tactical mistake last week. I went to the old AAUW book sale. *shakes head sadly* All of those books I read for the Clear Shelf Challenge, so I wouldn't have double-shelved fiction, are now moot. 50 books. What was I thinking?? And you should see my History shelf. If no one gets hit by falling books it would be a miracle. This may have forced a tipping point. We have kind of an Office/Junk room off the kitchen and yesterday dh and I were talking about it and we agreed to turn it into a Library for books and board games! I'm so excited! I'm sure it won't be as elegant as some I've seen on here, the room is small and the contents is great, but I'm inspired by the pictures I've seen on here. Thanks ladies! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nan in Mass Posted October 12, 2014 Share Posted October 12, 2014 ... Re the books you mentioned...Tam Lin is referred to in this book I'm reading so your suggestions are relevantly received :D I've had Patricia McKillip on my tbr list for several months now with 'The Alphabet of Thorn' but the book you mentioned went on to the list also as well as Pamela Dean's. Of course that little search yielded 'The Ballad of Tam Lin' by Kathleen McGowan and onto the list it went. I'm now at the point of having to mete out my reading with 'Some Kind of Fairytale'. I don't want it to end but I'll likely finish it tonight. ... Wow, I guessed correctly! Amazing lol. I am a HUGE McKillip fan. I wouldn't say Alphabet of Thorn or Solstice Wood are her best. I grew up on Harpist in the Wind and Fools Run (which is a bit different than most of her others, as is Solstice Wood) and another favourite is the Cygnet series. (I am pinned down by my kitty and can't go find the titles. I think The Cygnet and the Sorcerer is one and The Cygnet and the Firebird is the other.) Those two have too much chaos for the rest of my family but I adore them. I love that she makes you feel as confused as her characters are feeling and then straightens you out as they do. I dislike being confused if the author doesn't know you are confused and take that into account. I adore her writing and I love her plots and characters. I seldom get to have all three in the same book, it seems. Her descriptions of the love, all types, that her characters have for each other are amazing, I think. But you have to remember that literature isn't something that I am either educated in or even really interested in that much. I just like to read for escape or to learn about something. Some day, I am going to learn to sing Tam Lin. I finally found a singable version that I like ok: https://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=vqE5esTOt4M Two, actually. As usual, I seem to be about 3 years before the trend lol. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=c3yTEUnyYDA&feature=player_detailpage The Pamela Dean version is set on a college campus. My mother and I were comparing notes about it recently because she had just read it. My college experience felt very much like the main character's in Tam Lin. My mother, having gone at a much more sedate time, felt that hers was very different. My sister said her experience was. I suspect that my grandmother's was, having had various conversations with her while I was struggling through. I wish I could give her the book and ask her, but she's long gone. She WAS a literature person, and would have loved to compare notes. Nan Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mommymilkies Posted October 12, 2014 Share Posted October 12, 2014 Speaking of Gone Girl is anyone else following this controversy http://www.theguardian.com/film/2014/oct/07/gone-girl-backlash-david-fincher-misogynist-feminist. I gave up trying to find the original article I read a few days ago. There is too much out there now. Hmmm interesting. I found a couple more articles. I can see the worries. It was concerning to me when I read the book, too. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
shukriyya Posted October 12, 2014 Share Posted October 12, 2014 Wow, I guessed correctly! Amazing lol. I am a HUGE McKillip fan. I wouldn't say Alphabet of Thorn or Solstice Wood are her best. I grew up on Harpist in the Wind and Fools Run (which is a bit different than most of her others, as is Solstice Wood) and another favourite is the Cygnet series. (I am pinned down by my kitty and can't go find the titles. I think The Cygnet and the Sorcerer is one and The Cygnet and the Firebird is the other.) Those two have too much chaos for the rest of my family but I adore them. I love that she makes you feel as confused as her characters are feeling and then straightens you out as they do. I dislike being confused if the author doesn't know you are confused and take that into account. I adore her writing and I love her plots and characters. I seldom get to have all three in the same book, it seems. Her descriptions of the love, all types, that her characters have for each other are amazing, I think. But you have to remember that literature isn't something that I am either educated in or even really interested in that much. I just like to read for escape or to learn about something. Some day, I am going to learn to sing Tam Lin. I finally found a singable version that I like ok: https://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=vqE5esTOt4M Two, actually. As usual, I seem to be about 3 years before the trend lol. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=c3yTEUnyYDA&feature=player_detailpage The Pamela Dean version is set on a college campus. My mother and I were comparing notes about it recently because she had just read it. My college experience felt very much like the main character's in Tam Lin. My mother, having gone at a much more sedate time, felt that hers was very different. My sister said her experience was. I suspect that my grandmother's was, having had various conversations with her while I was struggling through. I wish I could give her the book and ask her, but she's long gone. She WAS a literature person, and would have loved to compare notes. Nan My dh read 'The Alphabet of Thorn' while I was finishing up something else and then it came due back at the library so I never got a chance to read it as other books called for my attention. He very much enjoyed it and felt I would as well. The little bit I read intrigued me. And my surfing journey yesterday took me to 'Winter Rose', the follow-up to 'Solstice Wood' which has gone on to the list. I'm admittedly not a fantasy reader but i do love magical realism and McKillip has been described as right in the center of fantasy and MR. I do love fairy tales though and that's what made 'Some Kind of Fairy Tale' so good, it was the perfect blend of fairy tale and magical realism. The videos you posted were fun. Your link took me here as well. This is really lovely... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Robin M Posted October 12, 2014 Author Share Posted October 12, 2014 Link to week 42 - please continue conversation in new thread Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rosie_0801 Posted October 12, 2014 Share Posted October 12, 2014 Very funky-looking. And fascinating re: desert taproot. What do they taste like? Can you eat the pod, like a snap pea? Rosie, I had that very sam question. What unusual plants. As far as I know, they are not edible. If they were, it would have been mentioned in the book I read. I don't believe any of our native peas are edible. (I could be wrong about that. I'm no bush tucker expert.) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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