Book a Week in 2015 - BW6

[Robin M]

Happy Sunday, my lovelies.   Today is the start of week 6 in our quest to read 52 Books. Welcome back to all our readers, to all those who are just joining in and to all who are following our progress. Mr. Linky is all set up on the 52 Books blog to link to your reviews. The link is below in my signature.

 

52 Books Blog - Victorian Era:Our Flufferton February wouldn't be complete without mentioning the Victorian Era with ran during Queen Victoria's reign from her birth in 1807 until her death in 1901. It was the age of the English novel and the writings of Charles Dickens, William Thackary, George Eliot (aka Mary Ann Evans) as well as the Bronte Sisters.  The leading poets of that time were Lord Alfred Tennyson and the husband and wife duo, Elizabeth Barret Browning and Robert Browning. 

Children's literature was introduced with the writings of Lewis Carroll and Anna Sewell as well as Robert Louis Stevenson and Anthony Hope. For a bit of history, check out Children's Books in the Victoria Era from the International Library of Children's literature

The Pre-Raphaelite Brotherhood, founded by Dante Gabriel Rossetti with William Holman Hunt and John Everett Milais, tied together the arts and literature creating art, full of symbolic realism,  from the influences of poets Shakespeare, Keats and Tennyson. 

The major writers of this period are:

 

• Arnold, Matthew (1822-1888)
• Brontë, Charlotte (1816-1855)
• Brontë, Emily (1818-1848)
• Browning, Elizabeth Barrett (1806-1861)
• Browning, Robert (1812-1889)
• Carroll, Lewis (1832-1898)
• Carlyle, Thomas (1795-1881)
• Dickens, Charles (1812-1870)
• Doyle, Arthur Conan (1859-1930)
• Eliot, George (1819-1880)
• Hardy, Thomas (1840-1928)
• Hopkins, Gerard Manley (1844-1889)
• Housman, A. E. (1859-1936)
• Kipling, Rudyard (1865-1936)
• Landon, Letitia Elizabeth (1802-1838)
• Rossetti, Christina (1830-1894)
• Rossetti, Dante Gabriel (1828-1882)
• Stevenson, Robert Louis (1850-1894)
• Swinburne, Algernon Charles (1837-1909)
• Tennyson, Alfred (Lord) (1809-1892)
• Thackeray, William Makepeace (1811-1863)
• Wells, H.G. (1866-1946)
• Wilde, Oscar (1854-1900)
• Yeats, William Butler (1865-1939)

Check out the Victorian Web for links to many of the major authors

And to fan the flame further, Check out these lists and have fun adding to your wishlists:

Mystery Fiction set in the Victorian Era from Murder by Gaslight

Popular Victorian Era Books

Romantic Reads of the Victoria Era from Romantic Reads

******************************************************************************************

History of the Medieval World - Chapter 7 (51 - 55) and Chapter 8 (56 - 60)

Refounding the Kingdom (371-412 AD) and  The Catholic Church (378-382 AD)

 

Which brings us to the end of Part One of Unity

 

*******************************************************************************************

What are you reading this week? 

 

 

 

 

Link to week 5

[Robin M]

Currently reading Anne Bishop's Murder of Crows (#2 in novel of the others series). 

 

You all will be proud of me.  James and I went to the library yesterday. For those who don't know me well, I like to keep my books so  buy them all.  And handling a book, jillions of other folks have handled, generally gives me the willies, but I did it.   It had been so long since I'd been in that I had to get a new library card.  I picked up Night by Elie Wiesel and James got Inside Hitler's Bunker and a couple other war books.   Did you know this is Library Lovers Month?   Show your local library some love.

[Stacia]

I'm almost halfway through The Good Lord Bird by James McBride, the 2013 National Book Award Winner. It is satirical historical fiction, mainly revolving around the Free-Staters vs. Slave-Staters & John Brown (of Harpers Ferry fame). It takes a very skilled writer, imo, to carry off satire well & McBride is doing an excellent job. Onion, the narrator, has spot-on observations that will not only make you chuckle, but also make you think, squirm, feel uncomfortable, etc.... This book completely sucked me in from page 1 & I'm still totally enjoying it.
 

From Booklist:

*Starred Review*

Abolitionist John Brown calls her “Little Onion,†but her real name is Henry. A slave in Kansas mistaken for a girl due to the sackcloth smock he was wearing when Brown shot his master, the light-skinned, curly-haired 12-year-old ends up living as a young woman, most often encamped with Brown’s renegade band of freedom warriors as they traverse the country, raising arms and ammunition for their battle against slavery. Though they travel to Rochester, New York, to meet with Frederick Douglass and Canada to enlist the help of Harriet Tubman, Brown and his ragtag army fail to muster sufficient support for their mission to liberate African Americans, heading inexorably to the infamously bloody and pathetic raid on Harpers Ferry. Dramatizing Brown’s pursuit of racial freedom and insane belief in his own divine infallibility through the eyes of a child fearful of becoming a man, best-selling McBride (Song Yet Sung, 2008) presents a sizzling historical novel that is an evocative escapade and a provocative pastiche of Larry McMurtry’s salty western satires and William Styron’s seminal insurrection masterpiece, The Confessions of Nat Turner (1967). McBride works Little Onion’s low-down patois to great effect, using the savvy but scared innocent to bring a fresh immediacy to this sobering chapter in American history.

 

I'm also partway through The Tenant of Wildfell Hall by Anne Bronte and The Revisionists by Thomas Mullen. I hope/plan to get back to those after The Good Lord Bird, but we will see. They're both quite lengthy & I feel like I'm chomping at the bit to move on to other books in my ever-large to-read pile. I used to regularly keep 2 or 3 books going at once, but these days, I really prefer to focus on one at a time instead. I will definitely try to finish the Bronte book for the Feb. author challenge, though.

----------------------
2015 Books Read:

Africa:

• Rue du Retour by Abdellatif Laâbi, trans. from the French by Jacqueline Kaye, pub. by Readers International. 4 stars. Morocco. (Poetic paean to political prisoners worldwide by one who was himself in prison for “crimes of opinionâ€. Explores not only incarceration but also readjusting to a ‘normal’ world after torture & release.)
• Nigerians in Space by Deji Bryce Olukotum, pub. by Unnamed Press. 4 stars. South Africa & Nigeria. (Scientists lured home in a ‘brain gain’ plan to start up Nigerian space program. But, things go awry. Is it legit, a scam, or something more sinister?)

Asia:

• The Strange Library by Haruki Murakami, a Borzoi book pub. by Alfred A. Knopf. 4 stars. Japan. BaW January author challenge. (Creepy campfire style story; thought-provoking ending made me rethink the entire story.)
• The Secret History of the Mongol Queens: How the Daughters of Genghis Khan Rescued His Empire by Jack Weatherford, pub. by Crown Publishers. 4 stars. Mongolia. (Non-fiction. Even with gaps, fascinating pieces of lost &/or censored history.)

Europe:

• The Affinity Bridge by George Mann, a Tor book pub. by Tom Doherty Associates. 3 stars. England. (Entertaining steampunk with likeable characters.)
• Extraordinary Renditions by Andrew Ervin, pub. by Coffee House Press. 4 stars. Hungary. (Triptych of stories in Budapest touching on the Holocaust, racism, corruption, the power of music,…)

Middle East:

• The Jerusalem File by Joel Stone, pub. by Europa editions. 2 stars. Israel. (Noir detective tale re: jealousy. Ambiguous, unsatisfactory ending.)
• Goat Days by Benyamin, trans. from Malayalam by Joseph Koyipally, pub. by Penguin Books. 3 stars. Saudi Arabia. (Simple tale of enslaved Indian forced to herd goats in the Saudi Arabian desert.)

[Ali in OR]

Posting early--home with a sick kid.

 

I finished The Rosie Effect, sequel to the Rosie Project, which I enjoyed, but not as much as the first. The charm of the first took me by surprise and I really enjoyed getting to know the characters. They are much the same in this book, but as I already know them, there wasn't quite as much delight in reading how they handle daily challenges. If this grows into a series, I'm not sure I would continue reading.

 

My To Be Read pile grew leaps and bounds this week. Wild by Cheryl Strayed got added to the pile thanks to my book club. This is not something I would have chosen to read on my own--can't say I like or empathize with the author much, but book club is 2/17 so I'm plugging away at this. As Chimney Sweepers Come to Dust came available from my hold list at the library. Love Flavia, but probably would have put it off until next month if I had foreseen the book pile problems--14 day checkout. My 14 yo started second semester and I want to read the books on her English list that I haven't read. I thought they were starting with To Kill a Mockingbird which we read last spring, but dd said that was pushed later. So I checked out Fahrenheit 451 thinking that would be next, but next is Of Mice and Men. So my reading pile looks like:

 

Wild

As Chimney Sweepers Come to Dust

Of Mice and Men

Fahrenheit 451

Villette

Moriarty

 

I have next pick for book club, so I just ordered The Girls of Atomic City mentioned by Rosyl at the end of last week's thread. Sounds interesting to me--I'll start that when it comes this week to see if it's a good fit for our club. So much reading, so little time!

 

[Lady Florida.]

I read The Kite Runner last week (finished yesterday). Gosh, what a tear-jerker. That's probably why I haven't read it before. I don't choose to read tear-jerkers, and in fact try to stay away from them. I really enjoyed this story though and will probably read his other novels at some time in the future.

 

The next IRL book club book will probably be Terry Pratchett's Good Omens. The person who's choosing is still deciding, but I think that's the one she's going to end up picking. I haven't started it yet, but since February is so short, I should probably get going on it.

 

I've read 8 chapters (20%) of Wuthering Heights and am surprised to find myself liking it so far. I've forgotten so much about it, that it's almost (but not quite) new to me.

[TeacherZee]

This week I am waiting for Tuesday when the next J.D. Robb book is out. I am a little bit annoyed because normally on Tuesdays I can *whispers* read at work, but right now I have a duckling* so no reading at work for me :crying:

 

This weekend I started on Northanger Abbey which was as deliciously snarky from the start as I remembered, started and finished Falling from the Sky by Sarina Bowen which was re-released this week, I read some in my Swedish history book but it is slow going but interesting. The author is discussing "who came first" which seems very relevant right now with the immigration debate going on in my country. I'm just very very tired. Two more weeks until winter break.

 

Knowing one of Christina Rossetti's poems by heart was partly responsible for me getting 100% on a college literature exam (I am pretty sure my professors smoking something is also a big part :lol: )

 

*Duckling aka student teacher

 

So far this year my reading stats are:

 

1. The Child Catchers by Kathryn Joyce

2. Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire by J.K. Rowling

3. The Understatement of the Year by Sarina Bowen

4. The Year We Fell Down by Sarina Bowen

5. The Year We Hid Away by Sarina Bowen

6. Blond Date by Sarina Bowen

7. A Modest Proposal by Jonathan Swift

8. Somewhere in France by Jennifer Robson

9. After the War is Over by Jennifer Robson

10. With Every Letter by Sarah Sundin

11. Falling from the Sky by Sarina Bowen

[Jane in NC]

This morning I finished The Return of Martin Guerre. (Thanks Stacia.)  The author, Natalie Zemon Davis, served as a consultant to the 1982 film of the same title starring Gérard Depardieu. A number of aspects of the tale continued to intrigue her, hence the small volume that she wrote with details not explicitly in the film. 

 

For those of you unfamiliar, Martin Guerre was a 16th century cause célèbre. Eight years after deserting his family, a man claiming to be Martin Guerre appears--but is he?  It would all seem rather straight forward, but it is not.  What makes the case remarkable is the amount of documentation remaining from it, documentation that sheds light on the daily life of peasants.

 

What intrigued me even more was the rabbit trail that one of the trial judges, Jean de Coras, sent me on.  Davis speculates that Coras sympathized with the rising French Reformation movement.  What I did not realize is one of the issues that reformers championed was that of marriage as a state institution as opposed to a religious one.  Legal thinkers like Coras had much to consider should marriage become a state sanctioned affair (as Martin Luther and John Calvin proposed).  Did you know that the Pilgrims echoed this radical notion, i.e. that marriage was not the business of the church but rather of the government?  I did not.

 

There was also a footnote on a "charming" novel by Janet Lewis entitled The Wife of Martin Guerre.  Shukriyya--this looks like a book that is up your alley!

 

My goal for the week is to read Wuthering Heights. My volume has about fifty pages of preliminary material before the novel begins.  I am almost done with that.  If I get distracted by other books, Pam and VC are to blame.  Andrew Ervin's Extraordinary Renditions and John Buchan's The Strange Adventures of Mr. Andrew Hawthorn and Other Stories are going for a ride in my book bag too.

 

HoMW:  bookmarked 16/85

 

The Golden Legend:  bookmarked 20/182

[TeacherZee]

Oh and the poems that I was able to comment because I was given one in the exam and knew the other were

 

In an Artist's Studio by Christina Rossetti

One face looks out from all his canvases,
One selfsame figure sits or walks or leans:
We found her hidden just behind those screens,
That mirror gave back all her loveliness.
A queen in opal or in ruby dress,
A nameless girl in freshest summer-greens,
A saint, an angel -- every canvas means
The same one meaning, neither more nor less.
He feeds upon her face by day and night,
And she with true kind eyes looks back on him,
Fair as the moon and joyful as the light:
Not wan with waiting, not with sorrow dim;
Not as she is, but was when hope shone bright;
Not as she is, but as she fills his dream.

 

When I am dead my dearest by Christina Rossetti

When I am dead, my dearest,

         Sing no sad songs for me;

Plant thou no roses at my head,

         Nor shady cypress tree:

Be the green grass above me

         With showers and dewdrops wet;

And if thou wilt, remember,

         And if thou wilt, forget.

I shall not see the shadows,

         I shall not feel the rain;

I shall not hear the nightingale

         Sing on, as if in pain:

And dreaming through the twilight

         That doth not rise nor set,

Haply I may remember,

         And haply may forget.

[Chrysalis Academy]

I don't feel like I got much reading done this week.  I finished Girls on the Edge, The Creation of Anne Boleyn, and Amsterdam.

 

I'm still working on The Cave and the Light and The Mongol Queens.  I'm reading The Friendly Persuasion because it's next up in our Movies as Lit study.  Also for school I'm reading aloud From Then TIll Now and at bedtime The Castle of Llyr.  My audio book is My Antonia, which I'm really enjoying.  I can't believe I've made it this far without ever having read any Willa Cather!

 

My February book is a re-read of Pride & Prejudice.

 

My chapter-a-day read is The Harvard Classics in a Year, but some of the days are taking two days . . .  :leaving:  and still keeping up with HotMW.

[mumto2]

Teacherzee, thanks for explaining your Duckling, I was puzzled but didn't want to ask.

 

I have been working my way through Julia Quinn' Bridgerton series. Still really enjoying it. I also read the second in Jim Hine's Libromancer series, Codex Bornhttps://www.goodreads.com/book/show/15824178-codex-born?from_search=true. Enjoyable series, a bit different.

 

About a third of the way through Persuasion. I need a chunk of time to finish it. I don't like it as a few pages at a time. Seversl others in progress.

[TeacherZee]

Teacherzee, thanks for explaining your Duckling, I was puzzled but didn't want to ask.

 

I have been working my way through Julia Quinn' Bridgerton series. Still really enjoying it. I also read the second in Jim Hine's Libromancer series, Codex Bornhttps://www.goodreads.com/book/show/15824178-codex-born?from_search=true. Enjoyable series, a bit different.

 

About a third of the way through Persuasion. I need a chunk of time to finish it. I don't like it as a few pages at a time. Seversl others in progress.

 

:D

 

It feels like I have a duckling, he follows me everywhere, but I knew I would have to explain it.

[TeacherZee]

I read The Kite Runner last week (finished yesterday). Gosh, what a tear-jerker. That's probably why I haven't read it before. I don't choose to read tear-jerkers, and in fact try to stay away from them. I really enjoyed this story though and will probably read his other novels at some time in the future.

 

The next IRL book club book will probably be Terry Pratchett's Good Omens. The person who's choosing is still deciding, but I think that's the one she's going to end up picking. I haven't started it yet, but since February is so short, I should probably get going on it.

 

I've read 8 chapters (20%) of Wuthering Heights and am surprised to find myself liking it so far. I've forgotten so much about it, that it's almost (but not quite) new to me.

 

I am still traumatised by The Kite Runner. *shudder*

[Chrysalis Academy]

I am still traumatised by The Kite Runner. *shudder*

 

I agree completely.  Beautifully written, but this is on my list of books I wish I hadn't read. I can't get some of those images out of my mind.

[melmichigan]

This week I am waiting for Tuesday when the next J.D. Robb book is out. I am a little bit annoyed because normally on Tuesdays I can *whispers* read at work, but right now I have a duckling* so no reading at work for me :crying:

I'm number 18 on the library list so I will be waiting for your review.  Sometimes I can convince myself that it isn't worth waiting. 

 

Yesterday I read Full Blaze (Firehawks #3) that Kareni recommended a while ago.  It was the first book I've read since January 28th when I read Bound by Flames (Night Prince #3) by Jeaniene Frost.  DH was beginning to wonder if something was wrong with me. ;)   This morning I downloaded the first in the series Pure Heat and discovered I had bought but not yet read The Night is Mine (The Night Stalkers #1) which is the story of Emily Beale and Mark Henderson, characters that appeared in Full Blaze.  I have to read Night by Elie Wiesel before it's due back at the library. 

 

I'm caught up in HoMW.

[Robin M]

I'm number 18 on the library list so I will be waiting for your review.  Sometimes I can convince myself that it isn't worth waiting. 

 

Yesterday I read Full Blaze (Firehawks #3) that Kareni recommended a while ago.  It was the first book I've read since January 28th when I read Bound by Flames (Night Prince #3) by Jeaniene Frost.  DH was beginning to wonder if something was wrong with me. ;)   This morning I downloaded the first in the series Pure Heat and discovered I had bought but not yet read The Night is Mine (The Night Stalkers #1) which is the story of Emily Beale and Mark Henderson, characters that appeared in Full Blaze.  I have to read Night by Elie Wiesel before it's due back at the library. 

 

I'm caught up in HoMW.

 

I was trying to resist and wait until the paperback comes out, but didn't have the strength to wait and ordered the hardback   Yes, my buying ban is officially over.   :laugh:  I am thoroughly enjoying all the Night Stalkers and Firehawk books. Just realized I haven't read Light up the Night.   Bring on the Dusk is coming out in March! Didn't know about Frost's Night Prince series. You think I would since I've been reading the Night Huntress series. 

[TeacherZee]

I have Obsession in Death ordered on both kindle and audiobook. :lol:

[Just Robyn]

I finished Kraken: The Curious, Exciting, and Slightly Disturbing Science of Squid by Wendy Williams, which was interesting, readable and inspiring.

 

I also read a YA graphic novel Henni by Miss Lasko-Gross. You can see/read a bit of the beginning here. A little shocking, maybe because of how fast an unexpectedly events/words are dumped on you. The ending is hopeful.

 

I continue to read Dynamic Characters by Nancy Kress. I am nearing the end of this one, and I think it's very helpful and thorough. It may be partly due to my reading the book at the right time, but I feel this book is much better than the other one I read by her - Characters, Emotion and Viewpoint. 

 

I confess that I didn't make a single zentangle all week, but I haven't officially given up the goal of making 42 and going through the whole book. Unfortunately, I believe they take me much longer than the 30 minutes claimed by the book's author, and so far they haven't seemed to inspire me or otherwise help my writing as I had hoped. I also know that, having drawn a mere 13 zentangles, I haven't given them much of a chance.

 

I started Sense and Sensibility, which is very comfortable and entertaining. And I just started Cosmicomics by Italo Calvino. There is a funny interview

with Gore Vidal talking about Calvino. 

[Robin M]

22 Pets who have no intention of letting you read your book

 

[Negin]

I read Can't We Talk About Something More Pleasant? - 5 Stars - I’ll start off by saying that if I could, I would get this as a gift for almost all my friends, and even strangers also. Alas, my budget doesn't allow for that.

This is a spectacular graphic memoir by a New York cartoonist telling the story of taking care of her aging parents. It made me laugh and it also brought tears to my eyes. She’s quite blunt throughout, but also very sensitive. One of my favorite pages is when she describes what happens to most when they get to be truly old: “Once you pass your physical peak - let's say 25 - the falling off is incremental. Every year - unless something ‘happens’ - you get a little slower, a little saggier, until you hit 90. At that point, things start to fall apart at a much faster rate. Which is why when I hear about people trying to figure out how to live until they're 120, I want to ask them: ARE YOU OUT OF YOUR MIND?â€

Reading this book now, when my parents are in their mid-70s and 80s, makes me thankful for all their love and for the fact that I am so blessed to have them around. It reminds me to appreciate the short amount of time we have together more than ever before.

Stacia, thank you for getting me hooked on graphic books - specifically, "The Scrapbook of Frankie Pratt" - which my daughter and I absolutely adore!  I've thanked you before and I'll thank you again.  :hurray:

 

 

MY RATING SYSTEM

5 Stars

Fantastic, couldn't put it down

4 Stars

Really Good

3 Stars

Enjoyable

2 Stars

Just Okay – nothing to write home about

1 Star

Rubbish – waste of my money and time. Few books make it to this level, since I usually give up on them if they’re that bad.

 

My Good Reads Page - in case anyone wants to add me. :)

[shukriyya]

My reading slump has turned into a drought. My one book completion in the last two weeks was the audio book 'Anam Cara' by John O'Donohue bringing my yearly total to eight. It was very well read by him in his beautiful Irish lilt which gave his words extra weight. I'm 7 or so hours into the 31 hr CD and it's getting better and better.

 

I've got numerous fascinating books strewn around the house and on my kindle but I'm disinclined to pick any of them up. I've got several on the go, good ones, too, but have yet to complete them.

 

I have continued with zentangling and am still really enjoying it though I've found myself branching out from the author's trajectory and expanding my patterns and the overall form. I just ordered a package of color micron pens and want to try my hand at combining two media--watercolor and pen.

 

Despite my non-activity on this thread I'm inspired by the BaWers' engagement with what they're currently reading.

 

Okay, time to make sure my camel has drunk enough water as we head back into the sandy dunes, my ship of the desert and I.

[Kareni]

Yesterday I read and enjoyed the contemporary romance Razed by Shiloh Walker.  This is the second book in a series; however, it stands alone well.  (Some adult content.)

 

"Tattoo artist Keelie Jessup can handle that someone else has claimed the man of her dreams. She’s just not pleased with her remaining options…
 
Keelie doesn’t believe in the “perfect man.†But the men who are worth the trouble are usually taken—like her business partner Zach Barnes. After a string of bad luck and the lost chance with Zach, Keelie decides that maybe flying solo—and living with suppressed desires—is the key to happiness.
 
As a photographer, Zane Barnes has an eye for the human form, and his eyes can’t get enough of Keelie’s curves. Unfortunately, Keelie is like most women—always fawning over his little brother, Zach. Zane is about ready to give up, but then a few stolen moments at his brother's wedding have him thinking maybe there's a chance there after all. Now he just has to prove that the perfect man does exist...for her."

 

Regards,

Kareni

[Lady Florida.]

22 Pets who have no intention of letting you read your book

 

 

 

I often have trouble uploading photos to WTM, so here's a link to Flickr. It's my general Pets album, but I rearranged it so the first few photos are the ones with books. (You are welcome to look through the rest, but I rearranged the photos so you don't have to wade through "off topic" photos. ;) )

 

https://www.flickr.com/photos/floridamom/sets/72157617308312435/

 

 

It doesn't matter if it's a printed book, ebook, or magazine, Crookshanks* would like you to stop reading and pay attention to her please. 

 

Before she came along, the beautiful but psychotic Simba felt the same way about reading material.

 

*Before we adopted her, ds decided if we got a male cat he would be named Padfoot (yes, we know that's a dog/Sirius) and a female would be called Crookshanks. Well, Crookshanks is her name, but it's such a mouthful of a name for a small, sweet thing. She rarely gets called by name. She is known as The Kitten (she's 7-1/2 yrs. old), Miss Kitty, Princess or The Princess, Sweet Kitty, and sometimes just Her or She. :D

[Kareni]

Ah, another free to Kindle readers book from M. C. Beaton.  These offers seem to last a day (give or take), so double check the price before purchasing.

 

ETA: This is NO LONGER FREE.

 

Lady Fortescue Steps Out (Poor Relations Book 1) by M.C. Beaton

 

"The impecunious Lady Fortescue, widowed and alone save for two loyal, unpaid servants, has sold off almost all of the furnishings in her large Bond Street home and faces a grim future as a member of the aristocracy too proud to seek employment or charity, yet too poor to survive on the infrequent largess of wealthy relatives oblivious to her plight. Salvation arrives in the unlikely form of old Colonel Sandhurst, an equally impoverished retired military man who falls at her feet in a hunger-induced faint one afternoon in Hyde Park. The two decide to join forces: the Colonel will share Lady Fortescue's home, and they will invite others of their station and situation to live with them and pool their resources. Thus is born what eventually becomes one of London's most popular hotels, The Poor Relation, to which the nobility flocks to enjoy the novelty of being waited upon by members of their own class."

 

 

NOT FREE but Anne Bishop's Written In Red: A Novel of the Others   which I enjoyed recently is available for $1.99 to Kindle readers.  Robin mentioned above that she is reading the second book in this series.

 

"No one creates realms like New York Times bestselling author Anne Bishop. Now in a thrilling new fantasy series, enter a world inhabited by the Others, unearthly entities—vampires and shape-shifters among them—who rule the Earth and whose prey are humans.

 

As a cassandra sangue, or blood prophet, Meg Corbyn can see the future when her skin is cut—a gift that feels more like a curse. Meg’s Controller keeps her enslaved so he can have full access to her visions. But when she escapes, the only safe place Meg can hide is at the Lakeside Courtyard—a business district operated by the Others.

 

Shape-shifter Simon Wolfgard is reluctant to hire the stranger who inquires about the Human Liaison job. First, he senses she’s keeping a secret, and second, she doesn’t smell like human prey. Yet a stronger instinct propels him to give Meg the job. And when he learns the truth about Meg and that she’s wanted by the government, he’ll have to decide if she’s worth the fight between humans and the Others that will surely follow."

 

Regards,

Kareni

 

[mumto2]

Ah, another free to Kindle readers book from M. C. Beaton. These offers seem to last a day (give or take), so double check the price before purchasing.

Lady Fortescue Steps Out (Poor Relations Book 1) by M.C. Beaton

 

"The impecunious Lady Fortescue, widowed and alone save for two loyal, unpaid servants, has sold off almost all of the furnishings in her large Bond Street home and faces a grim future as a member of the aristocracy too proud to seek employment or charity, yet too poor to survive on the infrequent largess of wealthy relatives oblivious to her plight. Salvation arrives in the unlikely form of old Colonel Sandhurst, an equally impoverished retired military man who falls at her feet in a hunger-induced faint one afternoon in Hyde Park. The two decide to join forces: the Colonel will share Lady Fortescue's home, and they will invite others of their station and situation to live with them and pool their resources. Thus is born what eventually becomes one of London's most popular hotels, The Poor Relation, to which the nobility flocks to enjoy the novelty of being waited upon by members of their own class."

 

 

NOT FREE but Anne Bishop's Written In Red: A Novel of the Others which I enjoyed recently is available for $1.99 to Kindle readers. Robin mentioned above that she is reading the second book in this series.

 

"No one creates realms like New York Times bestselling author Anne Bishop. Now in a thrilling new fantasy series, enter a world inhabited by the Others, unearthly entities—vampires and shape-shifters among them—who rule the Earth and whose prey are humans.

 

 

As a cassandra sangue, or blood prophet, Meg Corbyn can see the future when her skin is cut—a gift that feels more like a curse. Meg’s Controller keeps her enslaved so he can have full access to her visions. But when she escapes, the only safe place Meg can hide is at the Lakeside Courtyard—a business district operated by the Others.

 

Shape-shifter Simon Wolfgard is reluctant to hire the stranger who inquires about the Human Liaison job. First, he senses she’s keeping a secret, and second, she doesn’t smell like human prey. Yet a stronger instinct propels him to give Meg the job. And when he learns the truth about Meg and that she’s wanted by the government, he’ll have to decide if she’s worth the fight between humans and the Others that will surely follow."

 

Regards,

Kareni

My dd loved Written in Red and the sequel also. We generally like the same books but I have to say these really were good.

 

Eta For amazon prime members.......the other books in the MC Beaton/ Marion Chesney regency romance series appear to currently be free with prime. So if someone read one of the freebies and wishes to continue the series they might be able to for free with prime.

[JennW in SoCal]

I often have trouble uploading photos to WTM, so here's a link to Flickr. It's my general Pets album, but I rearranged it so the first few photos are the ones with books. (You are welcome to look through the rest, but I rearranged the photos so you don't have to wade through "off topic" photos. ;) )

 

https://www.flickr.com/photos/floridamom/sets/72157617308312435/

 

 

It doesn't matter if it's a printed book, ebook, or magazine, Crookshanks* would like you to stop reading and pay attention to her please. 

 

Before she came along, the beautiful but psychotic Simba felt the same way about reading material.

 

*Before we adopted her, ds decided if we got a male cat he would be named Padfoot (yes, we know that's a dog/Sirius) and a female would be called Crookshanks. Well, Crookshanks is her name, but it's such a mouthful of a name for a small, sweet thing. She rarely gets called by name. She is known as The Kitten (she's 7-1/2 yrs. old), Miss Kitty, Princess or The Princess, Sweet Kitty, and sometimes just Her or She. :D

 

Those are delightful pictures!  And who is the puppy?  The canine puppy, that is.  I assume the human puppy is your ds who has all the good ideas for pet names.

 

 

I finished 4 books last weeks, and enjoyed each of them very much. It brings me to 11 completed for the year, which is far above my usual pace.

8. As You Wish by Cary Elwes

9. Feet of Clay by Terry Pratchett

10. Cashelmara by Susan Howatch 

11. False Scent by Ngaio Marsh

 

I was pleasantly surprised to see that my local branch library has about 5 of Ngaio Marsh's mysteries on the shelves. She has been on my "must read" list of mystery writers for a few years now, and I'm happy to report I really enjoyed False Scent. Looking forward to reading more of her books.

 

Some of you were talking last week about not liking historical fiction that is about real historical figures, and someone mentioned that is why she's not read Susan Howatch.  Ah, but you can read Cashelmara!  It is a retelling of Edward II, but it isn't actually about him -- it is loosely his story set in the late 1800s.   

 

I am about to start the audio version of Call the Midwife and think I may also start the Stephen Booth mystery that mumto2 recommended.

[Lady Florida.]

Those are delightful pictures!  And who is the puppy?  The canine puppy, that is.  I assume the human puppy is your ds who has all the good ideas for pet names.

 

 

 

 

Aw, thank you. The human puppy is now 17. How did that happen? The canine puppy is Dingo, our Shetland Sheepdog, and was ds' birthday present when he turned 7 (so he's 10 now). That was the year of the 2004 hurricanes here in Florida. We brought Dingo home on Wednesday, ds turned 7 on Friday, and Hurricane Frances came through on Saturday. It was quite an eventful week.

 

Ds was a huge Crocodile Hunter fan at the time. He decided that because Steve was Australian, and dingoes are Australian, that's what he'd name him. We often sing the B-I-N-G-O song to the dog, changing the B to a D. As for the photo with the hat and toy gun, ds was also into Davy Crockett. He used to put his coon skin hat on Dingo and sing "Dingo, Dingo ourlastname. King of his own backyard". Yeah, we're dorky like that, but we do love our furry family members.  :)

[MicheleinMN]

I finished Emma this week.  It was fun.  Having watched Clueless so many times, I knew the story and could identify the characters, so that made it a little different than if I had just read it cold.  I think I'm going to get Jane Eyre in this month because I have never read it.  I got The Mysterious Death of Miss Jane Austen this week, so we'll see if I like it.  I still have Death Comes to Pemberley and The Book of Chameleons sitting next to my bed.  Also still reading The Blood of Olympus and A History of the American People.

 

Read in 2015

 

1.  A Rule Against Murder by Louise Penny - pretty good

2.  Full Dark House by Christopher Fowler - pretty good

3. A Wild Sheep Chase by Haruki Murakami - weird but good

4. First Grave on the Right - meh (great narrator, lots of potential, but mostly disappointing)

5. Emma by Jane Austen - very good

 

[Butter]

I'm  up to 9 for the year.  Last week I finished The Year of the Century: 1876.  It was good enough.  It was supposed to be told in story format, but was more textbooky than I would've liked.  I read Centennial Crisis many years ago.  That was about the election that year only.  This book was about half about the election, and half about other significant events and people of that year.  I also read Feeding Eden.  Eden is a little boy with multiple food allergies.  The book is part memoir (by his mother), part self-help, and part motivational.  My daughter was just diagnosed with gluten issues so I kind of read it to help me remember others have it way worse and "just" gluten is easy (in comparison).  Today I finished The Elements.  I loved it.  It is a short description of every named element on the periodic table including full color pictures of those that can be photographed (I read it on my Kindle and looked at the pictures on my phone).

 

I've been reading bits of lots of books lately which is rather weird for me.  Usually I have my personal reading book, scripture study book, reading to the little guys book, and maybe a reading with one of the big kids book.  More recently I've had 5 or 6 personal reading books going at once.  I don't know if I like it or not.  I feel a little scattered sometimes, but I like the whole switching around as I feel like it.  I kind of feel like I'm cheating on my books with each other though.

[prairiegirl]

I read 3 books this weekend:

 

10. Nora Webster by Colm Toibin.  Well written story of a recent widow and  her children set in Ireland during the 1960's

11. As You Wish by Cary Elwes   Delightful.  I actually laughed out loud in a few places.

12. The Murder Bag by Tony Parsons.  Crime novel. I quite liked this one.

 

My current fiction  choice is Ettiquette and Espionage  by Gail Carriger.

 

Shukriyya,  I am sorry that you are in the middle of a reading slump/droubt.   I have had my share of them over the years and they are icky.  I hope yours ends sooner than soon.

[Kareni]

This afternoon, I read an enjoyable historical western romance ~   Without Words by Ellen O'Connell.   I'll definitely read more by this author.  You can read a highly complimentary review here.

 

"Bounty hunter Bret Sterling kills Rufus Petty, thief and murderer, less than ten feet away from a frightened, half-starved woman. Rufus should have surrendered. The woman should have kin to help her. But Rufus went down shooting, and the woman has no one. Bret figures by the time he finds a safe place to leave Hassie Petty, he'll earn the five hundred dollar reward several times over.

Hassie doesn't mourn Rufus, but the loss of the ten dollars he promised her for supplies is a different matter. The bounty hunter gives her nothing, takes everything, ties the body on one horse and orders her on another. Afraid if she defies him, he'll tie her down tighter than Rufus, Hassie mounts up and follows the icy-eyed killer.

Mismatched in every way, the sterling man and petty woman travel the West together, hunting thieves, deserters, and murderers. Wary traveling companions, friends and partners, lovers, Bret and Hassie must decide what they want, what they need, and the price they're willing to pay for love."

 

Regards,

Kareni

[Kareni]

  Today I finished The Elements.  I loved it.  It is a short description of every named element on the periodic table including full color pictures of those that can be photographed (I read it on my Kindle and looked at the pictures on my phone).

 

 

You might also enjoy another book by the author, Theodore Gray.  It's another visually stunning book.

 

Molecules: The Elements and the Architecture of Everything

 

"Everything physical is made up of the elements and the infinite variety of molecules they form when they combine with each other. In Molecules, Theodore Gray takes the next step in the grand story that began with the periodic table in his best-selling book, The Elements: A Visual Exploration of Every Known Atom in the Universe. Here, he explores through fascinating stories and trademark stunning photography the most interesting, essential, useful, and beautiful of the millions of chemical structures that make up every material in the world.

 

Gray begins with an explanation of how atoms bond to form molecules and compounds, as well as the difference between organic and inorganic chemistry. He then goes on to explore the vast array of materials molecules can create, including: soaps and solvents; goops and oils; rocks and ores; ropes and fibers; painkillers and dangerous drugs; sweeteners; perfumes and stink bombs; colors and pigments; and controversial compounds including asbestos, CFCs, and thimerosal.

 

Big, gorgeous photographs, as well as diagrams of the compounds and their chemical bonds, rendered with never before seen beauty, fill the pages and capture molecules in their various states.

 

As he did in The Elements, Gray shows us molecules as we've never seen them before. It's the perfect book for his loyal fans who've been eager for more and for anyone fascinated with the mysteries of the material world."

 

Regards,

Kareni

[Violet Crown]

Still on Whitman (though taking a little break) and finishing up The Stories of J. F. Powers, which is awfully good. Victorians, eh? I'd been thinking about getting around to the Pre-Raphaelites.

[Mom22ns]

I seem to have developed a thing for Scott Orson Card. My copy of Fountainhead turned out to be Anna Karenina, yeah, weird story. It was an audiobook checked out on overdrive and when I hit download on Fountainhead, what I got was Anna Karenina  :blink: . I wasn't up for that, so I downloaded Earthbound by Scott Orson Card instead and enjoyed it. I also finished the Halfling's Gem which was the third book of a trilogy. I have plunged forward reading another in the same series of twaddle The Legacy. I haven't downloaded a new audiobook for the week yet. I really like keeping one of each going though so I can listen when I drive or cook or whatever and then have something to read when I can actually sit down and read. I fall asleep on audiobooks if I'm not doing something else while I listen.

 

So far this year I've read: 

Earthbound T

he Halfling's Gem 

The Kings & Queens of Roam 

Streams of Silver 

Son 

Messenger

The Familiars 

The Crystal Shard 

Songmaster

[idnib]

I spent the better part of this weekend packing books and so had to decide what to keep unpacked, i.e. what I'm going to read for the next few weeks. I kept

 

Shamans Through Time (Narby/Huxley)

A Most Wanted Man (Le Carré)

1984 (Orwell, decided to read it after 1Q84)

Ender's Game (Card)

Teach Like Your Hair's on Fire (Esquith)

One Hundred Years of Solitude (Márquez)

 

I'm within striking distance of finished 1Q84 and am making progress with Ulysses. I also have a tab open for Pride and Prejudice.

[Negin]

I really wish the Multi-Quote feature would start working again. I'd love to respond to many posts, but the way it is now is annoying and inefficient. 

[Butter]

You might also enjoy another book by the author, Theodore Gray.  It's another visually stunning book.

 

Molecules: The Elements and the Architecture of Everything

I saw that... and it's on my "please let this come up as a Kindle Daily Deal so I only have to pay 3 bucks for it" list (that's how I got The Elements).

[Chrysalis Academy]

I finally finished The Secret History of the Mongol Queens.  Thanks for the suggestion, Stacia.  I really enjoyed it.  The War on Women chapter was really difficult, and I almost tossed it aside in disgust at that point, but I'm glad I persevered and got to the story of Manduhai the Wise, the Mongol Queen in the late 1400s.  What an inspiring and heroic story! And the connections drawn in the epilogue to later European and Indian history and literature was fascinating too.  I'm going to check out some of Weatherford's other books - besides being an extremely readable writer, he picks some very interesting subjects on the fringes of "normal" history. Definitely un-Eurocentric which is a nice balancer for much of the history I've read.

[SunnyDays]

I will try to make a few responses, but I'm with Negin... I *dearly* wish they'd get the multi quote feature working!!

 

Butter, if you do see any of those books as Kindle deals, be sure to let the rest of us know, please... I'd love to have them, although I've considered just buying the coffee table style book!

 

Kathy, such sweet pictures.  Yes, the human puppies grow far too quickly.  And no worries, I sing to my dog and I'm sure that I sound ridiculous half the time when I talk to him.  He's very upset with me today... I had someone here to fix the dishwasher and he was behind a closed door, howling, barking, scratching... he was rather put out with me for not allowing him to protect me, LOL!!

 

I finished the Peter Enns book last night, and now on to my next 'how to interpret Genesis non-literally' title.  I'm also still reading Pride and Prejudice and really enjoying it!!

 

 

 

[Stacia]

I finally finished The Secret History of the Mongol Queens.  Thanks for the suggestion, Stacia.  I really enjoyed it.  The War on Women chapter was really difficult, and I almost tossed it aside in disgust at that point, but I'm glad I persevered and got to the story of Manduhai the Wise, the Mongol Queen in the late 1400s.  What an inspiring and heroic story! And the connections drawn in the epilogue to later European and Indian history and literature was fascinating too.  I'm going to check out some of Weatherford's other books - besides being an extremely readable writer, he picks some very interesting subjects on the fringes of "normal" history. Definitely un-Eurocentric which is a nice balancer for much of the history I've read.

 

I felt very much the same way you did about the book. I also had a very, very hard time with the War on Women chapter -- I had to set it aside a couple of days before continuing. Some of the other middle sections also felt a little choppy, but I think that stemmed from missing/unavailable info, at least at the point he was researching & writing this book. And, I loved the story of Manduhai. I thought her story provided a lovely balance to the book, weighing Genghis & his daughters/daughters-in-law (from the opening chapters) with her (in the closing chapters) & showing the similarities.

 

As a non-fiction writer, I think Weatherford does a great job (vs., say, Erik Larson, whose writing style I do not like) & I will definitely plan to read more of his books in the future. It sounds like he has done so much research & living in Mongolia that I think it would be so neat to travel there with him, soaking up so much of the knowledge he has gathered.

 

I do think you would really enjoy his book about Genghis Khan. I rank it as one of my favorite non-fiction books.

[Alice]

I can't remember what I've read since I last posted but my most recent book was Station Eleven by Emily St. John Mandel. I would highly, highly, highly recommend it. Set in a post-apocolytic world after a pandemic flu, it weaves together the stories of multiple characters whose lives intertwine. One is an actress in a traveling Shakespearean acting troupe, another is a celebrity actor who dies right before the flu hits, another is the paramedic who is at the theater the night the actor dies and tries to save him. The story jumps forwards and backwards in time and is told from multiple perspectives. This style has gotten to be so common it's somewhat tiring to me but it completely works here. I have not read a book as surprising and fresh-feeling in a long, long time. 

 

 

[Robin M]

Still on Whitman (though taking a little break) and finishing up The Stories of J. F. Powers, which is awfully good. Victorians, eh? I'd been thinking about getting around to the Pre-Raphaelites.

 

You probably already have something in mind, however I found   Discovering Literature: Romantic and Victorians with an article about the Pre Raphaelites. Every thing you want to know with lots of names and rabbit trails to follow.

 

 

For our writers -- The collective wisdom of all the great writers including Sontag, Hemingway, King, Vonnegut, Atwood and Poe to name a few.

 

 

 

[Onceuponatime]

Carl Sagan on books:

 

"A book is made from a tree. It is an assemblage of flat, flexible parts ( still called leaves) imprinted with dark pigmented squiggles. One glance at it and you hear the voice of another person -- perhaps someone dead for thousands of years. Across the millennia, the author is speaking, clearly and silently inside your head, directly to you. Writing is perhaps the greatest of human inventions, binding together people, citizens of distant epochs, who never knew one another. Books break the shackles of time, proof that humans can work magic."

 

He goes on in the same vein for another page, ending this topic with "I think the health of our civilization, the depth of our awareness about the underpinnings of our culture and our concern for the future can all be tested by how well we support our libraries."

[Kareni]

I finished a couple of re-reads both of which I enjoyed revisiting.

 

First, a historical romance ~ Joanna Bourne's  The Forbidden Rose

 

From Booklist: 

 

"The lady was going to lead him to the list. At least that is what William Doyle, British spy, believes when he finds Marguerite de Fleurignac hiding in the ruins of the Chateau de Fleurignac. The lady might call herself “Maggie Duncan,†but William knows she is the daughter of the Marquis de Fleurignac, the same French nobleman whose list names British officers who are being murdered one by one. All William has to do is convince “Maggie†that he is “Guillaume LeBreton,†traveling bookseller, and that he can get her safely to Paris. What William doesn't know is that Marguerite has a few secrets of her own—secrets that could very well get them both killed. RITA Award–winning Bourne delivers another addictively readable installment in her loosely connected Spymaster novels, a flawless romance in which an espionage-steeped plot is deftly balanced with a lusciously sensual love story." --John Charles

 

And, second, a contemporary romance ~ Julie James' Practice Makes Perfect

 

Also from Booklist:

 

"*Starred Review* After eight years of grueling yet friendly competition, both Payton and J. D. anticipate partnership at their prestigious Chicago law firm. But after putting aside their personal animosities and working together to sign an important account, they realize each is vulnerable to, and attracted by, the other. Unfortunately, their boss then announces that only one partner will be named this year from the litigation department, and suddenly the competition is very real—and not at all friendly. In her second novel, following Just the Sexiest Man Alive (2008), James presents a sophisticated contemporary romance set in legal circles, and proves that she is a master at conveying both courtroom and behind-the-scenes maneuvering. As her charmingly arrogant and ambitious characters spar endlessly and entertainingly, they inadvertently reveal their insecurities and personal foibles, while competing for high stakes in both business and love." --Lynne Welch

 

Both of these authors are amongst my favorites.  I enjoy the witty conversation in Julie James' books.  And Joanna Bourne's books always seem well researched, and her characters have an interesting voice.

 

Regards,

Kareni

[Kareni]

The Magpie Lord by KJ Charles which I read and posted about last week in post 179 is currently available for 99 cents to Kindle readers.

 

Regards,

Kareni

 

[Nan in Mass]

We just are not used to this much snow. We're used to snow. It isn't at all unusual for me to use the sled to get the groceries down to the house. People in colder, snowier parts of the country are probably laughing at us, but we just aren't set up for this. We can't shovel because the wind fills in the path in a few hours. I stomped a path out to feed the birds this afternoon and I could almost see onto the roof! I was walking with my feet level with the bottom of the windows. Most of the time. The procedure is to stand on one foot and stomp in front of you with the other just enough to pack it down enough to hold your weight. I'm good at this. I usually have to do it during the winter. Today, though, when I misjudged, I sank to my armpits and it was hard to get back up onto my fragile path. I keep thinking about Legalas. He could run over the top of the snow. There is a drift next to the cars that towers over our heads adn the snow is level with their rooves. We're giving up on my car until spring. My husband will just havae to drive me where we want to go. The dog is not happy. She spends all day out in the snow, usually, but she can't move through this deep stuff at all. And we can't get the door open easily to let her out on the doorstep. I love the snow and think this all is rather fun, but I'm not the one responsible for shoveling. I spent the day reading about aquatic plants. Looks like I get to spend tomorrow reading, too. : )

 

Pam, how are you doing? And the other New England people?

 

Nan

[Guest]

Stopping in quickly to share an exciting development in our lives and quick overview of the books I've finished in the past two weeks...

 

My second daughter got engaged Sunday afternoon to a lovely young man.  We're all thrilled, but insanely busy since the wedding will be in a little less than 7 weeks (and less than a week before Pesach (Passover) begins!).  It will be on our side of the country this time, which makes me even happier than I would have imagined that I'll be able to share this with our community here... and, with all the other joys, I'm eager anticipating seeing our grandbaby in person again so soon!

 

My intention to read more works by women writers seems to be working, 8 of the 11 books I read were by women (though 2 of those were rereads of YA books, which doesn't quite count):

 

The Blazing World by Siri Hustvedt:  I was intrigued by the format and the meta story, but didn't find either the story or the characters compelling.

 

Lolly Willowes by Sylvia Townsend Warner: I'm not sure how to describe my reaction without getting into major spoiler territory...  The book starts off with a fairly standard narrative of a "superfluous" spinster.  It was reasonably engaging with some moments of delightful characterization.  And then there came a fairly expected plot shift, one that opened the story up and was very sweet.  And then it jumped the shark.   At first I thought we had an odd presentation of our protagonist losing touch with reality, but it isn't that at all.  I can see how the idea of what she did with the story could work, but I don't think it did actually work in this book.  ymmv.

 

The Bell Jar by Sylvia Plath: I hated this when I was a teen and couldn't relate at all to the protagonist.  This time I could appreciate it more, but I don't think I'll ever love it.

 

The Matisse Stories by AS Byatt: My favorite of these was the middle story, but I felt vaguely disappointed by them all.  It's not that I wanted them to be grimmer, but they didn't quite click... the leavening felt less real than the bitter edge, and I was left with a sense that there was a story there, a captivating, moving one, but that it was a bit like a picture out of focus...

 

 

Babette's Feast and Other Anecdotes of Destiny by Isak Dinesen:  These clicked better than the Byatt (as stories, not as things I loved), but weren't places I enjoyed being (it took me half a year to reread this slim collection).  While reading it, I read the first bit of Galore and felt a kinship between them... but I gave up on Galore since the flavor wasn't working for me just then. 

 

Exodus by Janet Ruth Heller: a slim chapbook that had a few poems that really spoke to me in that moment.

 

2 Diana Wynne Jones rereads: Merlin Conspiracy (always a mild disappointment, though there are bits I am fond of), Magicians of Caprona (younger and very silly but fun).

 

Three works by men:

 

Faith Healer by Brian Friel: Four acts.  Three characters.  Each act is a long monologue by one character.  Intense, powerful, heart wrenching...

 

Darkness at Noon by Sidney Kingsley: A theatrical adaptation of Koestler's novel (which I have not yet read). It's a painful read - Stalin-era Soviet Union.  As I was reading it, I kept thinking that it read like an Eastern European novel... finding out that Koestler was Hungarian made so much sense.  Now I want to find the novel...

 

The Complete Cinnamon Bay Sonnets by Andrew Kaufman: The intermixing of a brutal NYC prison experience with the idyllic scenery of the Virgin Islands is disconcerting, but often powerful.

[Stacia]

FBI monitored and critiqued African American writers for decades

 

The book mentioned in the article is published by Princeton University Press:

F.B. Eyes: How J. Edgar Hoover’s Ghostreaders Framed African American Literature by William J. Maxwell

 

And, the digital archive related to the book: http://digital.wustl.edu/fbeyes/

 

I may have to add some of these authors to my to-read list. I read Langston Hughes for the first time last year & loved his book of short stories that I read.

[Kareni]

My second daughter got engaged Sunday afternoon to a lovely young man.  We're all thrilled, but insanely busy since the wedding will be in a little less than 7 weeks (and less than a week before Pesach (Passover) begins!).  It will be on our side of the country this time, which makes me even happier than I would have imagined that I'll be able to share this with our community here... and, with all the other joys, I'm eager anticipating seeing our grandbaby in person again so soon!

 

What happy news, Eliana!  Enjoy the planning and the festivities.

 

 

At first I thought I'd read something by Sylvia Townsend Warner; however, I was thinking of Sylvia Ashton-Warner whose book Teacher (about her experiences teaching Maori children) I read years ago.  The names are perilously close!

 

Regards,

Kareni

[Stacia]

Eliana, :grouphug:  & congrats to your dd & your soon to be sil! So happy for them & your family!

[LaughingCat]

Read this week

The Unexpected Mrs. Pollifax (thanks to you all :) ) -- this was a nice enjoyable light read

Faster, Higher, Stronger -- the science of athletics -- interesting but not that much that seemed applicable to my life

The Hero and the Crown (thanks to goodreads) -- first half was better than second half - second half felt too bombastic, plus some parts felt unfinished (maybe this is because it was a prequel and you're already supposed to know some things from reading The Blue Sword? - anyway I don't feel any great desire to read The Blue Sword to find out)

 

Reading

Three Men in a Boat (2 chapters left)

A Mind for Numbers

 

Going to read

A huge pile! And keeps getting bigger every time I read this thread :wub: