Book a Week in 2015 - BW10

[Stacia]

Apparently the book everyone is reading is The Girl on the Trainhttp://www.theguardian.com/books/2015/jan/08/the-girl-on-the-train-paula-hawkins-review-novelby Paula Hawkins. It is supposed to be the new Gone Girl which I didn't like. :lol: Can't say the description completely entraces me but the waitlist on overdrive for my library had 988 ( yes, 988) people on it. I made myself 989 out of curiosity.......both about the book and how long before I get it.

 

Has anybody here read it already? Was it good? Just curious about a book that gets that many holds. It doesn't sound that great to me.

 

FYI That library routinely has low 100's for an obvious best seller like a new JD Robb.

 

BTW, they have over 100 to loan. Never have I noticed such extreme numbers.

 

Just checked my library systems. (I belong to two.)

 

System one:

Wait list is at 686.

The system has 151 copies.

 

System two:

Wait list is at 634.

Number of copies seems to be 8.

 

I have no interest in the book. I'm a little put out by one of the systems having 151 copies! I request them to purchase books once in awhile (I guess that appeal to nobody but me) & they have never, ever purchased even a single one. But, then they'll purchase 151 copies of a popular/bestseller book? I imagine that the waitlist will be gone in about 4 months & then they'll have oodles of shelf space taken up by just that one book.

[Jane in NC]

 

Jane - I'm impressed with your mystery reading.  You are taking this month's theme seriously!  I'm going to start my next Tey book later this week and will report back with my thoughts.  I just have two books I have to get through first.  

 

 

You may have misinterpreted my earlier remark.  While I often read mysteries, I have only read two this month (the Charles Todd and the Josephine Tey) and am listening to the Hammett.  It is true that I have read many of the classic mysteries and classic mystery authors over the decades.  I love series but have been at a complete loss to find a new series that resonates.  I find the writing to be poor or the content too violent. 

 

After Robin's comment on Hammett, I started thinking about Dashiell's writing style--not just the minimalism but how we see what Spade does in The Maltese Falcon but do not hear every thought dashing about his head.  And that encapsulates the problem I had with the Todd mystery.  Pages and pages were spent on "what if" scenarios as Inspector Rutledge worked his way through the mystery.  Tey does not do this either.  There is a story line unfolding, leaving the analytic work to the reader should the reader choose to think about it.  Or not.  The reader can simply go along for the ride.

 

I feel perfectly capable of the analytics of detective fiction which is why the thinking aloud that takes place in some books is so dull to me.  Detectives who have a good second can add another dimension to the story line--not just through their mutual observations and discussions but by being in two locations at one time, adding depth and action to a plot. 

 

My least favorite mysteries are those with surprise endings that have no relation to the content of the book.  My second favorite are those by writers who feel they must manipulate the reader's analysis of the crime.  I find both situations cheap and insulting as a reader.

 

Sermon over.  Carry on, everyone.

 

[mumto2]

Just checked my library systems. (I belong to two.)

 

System one:

Wait list is at 686.

The system has 151 copies.

 

System two:

Wait list is at 634.

Number of copies seems to be 8.

 

I have no interest in the book. I'm a little put out by one of the systems having 151 copies! I request them to purchase books once in awhile (I guess that appeal to nobody but me) & they have never, ever purchased even a single one. But, then they'll purchase 151 copies of a popular/bestseller book? I imagine that the waitlist will be gone in about 4 months & then they'll have oodles of shelf space taken up by just that one book.

What got me curious is I saw it at Target yesterday. I think I checked it into the system my last volunteer day at my home library and nothing seemed special about it....pretty sure it went on the new shelf. ;) I just checked my UK libraries both have about 40 reservations on 6 copies which is about right for a new book.....regional libraries many branches. So obviously not a runaway hit. Patron reviews are good, couldn't put it down etc.

 

Not sure if this will make you feel better but the library I use in the US rents their physical books for these extreme requests situations. It only buys a copy or two for each branch outright. The rental have a little sticky coloured dot on their spine.

 

Were all the copies hardcover or was that kindle?

[mumto2]

 

My least favorite mysteries are those with surprise endings that have no relation to the content of the book. My second favorite are those by writers who feel they must manipulate the reader's analysis of the crime. I find both situations cheap and insulting as a reader.

 

 

Totally agree with this! I hate the weird out of nowhere endings.

[Chrysalis Academy]

You may have misinterpreted my earlier remark.  While I often read mysteries, I have only read two this month (the Charles Todd and the Josephine Tey) and am listening to the Hammett.  It is true that I have read many of the classic mysteries and classic mystery authors over the decades.  I love series but have been at a complete loss to find a new series that resonates.  I find the writing to be poor or the content too violent. 

 

After Robin's comment on Hammett, I started thinking about Dashiell's writing style--not just the minimalism but how we see what Spade does in The Maltese Falcon but do not hear every thought dashing about his head.  And that encapsulates the problem I had with the Todd mystery.  Pages and pages were spent on "what if" scenarios as Inspector Rutledge worked his way through the mystery.  Tey does not do this either.  There is a story line unfolding, leaving the analytic work to the reader should the reader choose to think about it.  Or not.  The reader can simply go along for the ride.

 

I feel perfectly capable of the analytics of detective fiction which is why the thinking aloud that takes place in some books is so dull to me.  Detectives who have a good second can add another dimension to the story line--not just through their mutual observations and discussions but by being in two locations at one time, adding depth and action to a plot. 

 

My least favorite mysteries are those with surprise endings that have no relation to the content of the book.  My second favorite are those by writers who feel they must manipulate the reader's analysis of the crime.  I find both situations cheap and insulting as a reader.

 

Sermon over.  Carry on, everyone.

 

 

 

That described, so well, precisely what I disliked about The Sense of an Ending.  Well said!

[aggieamy]

You may have misinterpreted my earlier remark.  While I often read mysteries, I have only read two this month (the Charles Todd and the Josephine Tey) and am listening to the Hammett.  It is true that I have read many of the classic mysteries and classic mystery authors over the decades.  I love series but have been at a complete loss to find a new series that resonates.  I find the writing to be poor or the content too violent. 

 

After Robin's comment on Hammett, I started thinking about Dashiell's writing style--not just the minimalism but how we see what Spade does in The Maltese Falcon but do not hear every thought dashing about his head.  And that encapsulates the problem I had with the Todd mystery.  Pages and pages were spent on "what if" scenarios as Inspector Rutledge worked his way through the mystery.  Tey does not do this either.  There is a story line unfolding, leaving the analytic work to the reader should the reader choose to think about it.  Or not.  The reader can simply go along for the ride.

 

I feel perfectly capable of the analytics of detective fiction which is why the thinking aloud that takes place in some books is so dull to me.  Detectives who have a good second can add another dimension to the story line--not just through their mutual observations and discussions but by being in two locations at one time, adding depth and action to a plot. 

 

My least favorite mysteries are those with surprise endings that have no relation to the content of the book.  My second favorite are those by writers who feel they must manipulate the reader's analysis of the crime.  I find both situations cheap and insulting as a reader.

 

Sermon over.  Carry on, everyone.

 

 

Who are some of the authors that you like?  Your complaints are similar to mine but I think I might be a little less discerning than you are!  

[idnib]

Apparently the book everyone is reading is The Girl on the Trainhttp://www.theguardian.com/books/2015/jan/08/the-girl-on-the-train-paula-hawkins-review-novelby Paula Hawkins. It is supposed to be the new Gone Girl which I didn't like. :lol: Can't say the description completely entraces me but the waitlist on overdrive for my library had 988 ( yes, 988) people on it. I made myself 989 out of curiosity.......both about the book and how long before I get it.

 

Has anybody here read it already? Was it good? Just curious about a book that gets that many holds. It doesn't sound that great to me.

 

FYI That library routinely has low 100's for an obvious best seller like a new JD Robb.

 

BTW, they have over 100 to loan. Never have I noticed such extreme numbers.

 

Checking both of the systems to which I belong:

 

One system has 54 holds and doesn't tell me how many copies.

 

The other system has 154 holds on 14 copies, 17 holds on 1 copy of the CD, 97 holds on 17 copies of the e-book, and 29 holds on 6 copies of the e-audiobook.

 

I read the description and it doesn't sound that great but I did like Gone Girl so maybe.

 

ETA: Those numbers at your library seem really high!

[Chrysalis Academy]

I also hate egregiously clever "twist" endings - self-consciously clever.  Agatha Christie got away with it - once - in The Murder of Roger Ackroyd.  But for lesser mortals, don't do something stupid like have your narrator actually be dead by the end of the book.  One that sticks out - in a bad way - was In the Cut by Susanna Moore.  Horrible book! I'm not recommending it! Run away!  But what a stupid insulting "twist" ending.  One of the few books I literally threw across the room upon finishing.

[Jane in NC]

Who are some of the authors that you like?  Your complaints are similar to mine but I think I might be a little less discerning than you are!  

 

Beyond Sayers, Christie and Tey?

 

Let's see....I like Ellis Peters (Brother Cadfael), Van Gulik (Judge Dee), the earlier volumes in the Elizabeth George in the Inspector Lynley series (I quit reading the newer ones several books ago not enjoying the turn they took), the earlier volumes in the Richard Jury series by Martha Grimes (see previous comment), the old Rex Stout series of Nero Wolf mysteries.  I like Raymond Chandler and Dashiell Hammett but I don't think you would.

 

I need to reread Janwillem van de Wetering's Grijpstra and De Gier series that were my entertainments at one point in grad school.  Not sure how I would feel about them today but I suspect that I might like them even more than in my younger days.

 

The books that I have read in Andrea Camilleri's Inspector Montalbano series set in Sicily have been enjoyable--but I don't think you'd like those either. 

 

I have the second Sidney Chambers book (on which PBS's Grantchester series is based) in my library bag.  I liked the first book and the PBS program.

 

PBS did a nice job dramatizing Inspector Banks by Peter Robinson.  I like those too but I don't quite think they are Amy books either.

 

You might like Peter Lovesey. I have only read his Peter Diamond novels but Jenn has read the other series.  Maybe she can weigh in.

 

A start perhaps?

[Stacia]

Mumto2, it looks like one of the systems has 5 e-books with over 170 people waiting for it. That is the system w/ so many hardcopies.

 

You all are making me laugh w/ your rants about mysteries. I know quite a few of you have seen Neil Simon's Murder by Death, but if you haven't, you should! It was created precisely to address some of the same frustrations you're having with books. My personal pet peeve w/ mysteries (of which I read many, many, many when I was in my 20s) was an ending based on some clue or piece of evidence that was never revealed to the reader until the end (after the case was solved)! :cursing:

[idnib]

My personal pet peeve w/ mysteries (of which I read many, many, many when I was in my 20s) was an ending based on some clue or piece of evidence that was never revealed to the reader until the end (after the case was solved)! :cursing:

 

I've never thrown a book but this would make me do it!

[Jane in NC]

Amy, I just thought of another writer whom you might like.  Jonathon Gash's Lovejoy series is about an antiques dealer who is a bit of a rogue.  He seems to find himself entangled in schemes involving people of all classes with dead bodies thrown in of course.  Reading his books gives one an education on how to forge antiques--in case you need a new sideline after the kids are gone.

 

Stacia, it appears that there are 28 hard copies of Girl on a Train in my system, 200 holds.  Not sure about e-books or the audio.

[JennW in SoCal]

 

After Robin's comment on Hammett, I started thinking about Dashiell's writing style--not just the minimalism but how we see what Spade does in The Maltese Falcon but do not hear every thought dashing about his head.  And that encapsulates the problem I had with the Todd mystery.  Pages and pages were spent on "what if" scenarios as Inspector Rutledge worked his way through the mystery.  Tey does not do this either.  There is a story line unfolding, leaving the analytic work to the reader should the reader choose to think about it.  Or not.  The reader can simply go along for the ride.

 

I feel perfectly capable of the analytics of detective fiction which is why the thinking aloud that takes place in some books is so dull to me.  Detectives who have a good second can add another dimension to the story line--not just through their mutual observations and discussions but by being in two locations at one time, adding depth and action to a plot. 

 

My least favorite mysteries are those with surprise endings that have no relation to the content of the book.  My second favorite are those by writers who feel they must manipulate the reader's analysis of the crime.  I find both situations cheap and insulting as a reader.

 

I'm tired of the tropes of the emotionally wounded detective.  But it hasn't stopped me from reading the 2nd Inspector Rutledge novel!  I loved the writing of the first novel, hated the surprise ending, hated the way he handled his investigation. But so for I'm enjoying this one.  His inner demon is much quieter in this novel and he doesn't seem to be blundering about quite as much.  Although....it sure took him some time to start looking for something very obvious....

 

I'm tired of the trope of the police detective going rogue because he or she has some intuition and MUST follow it. In the Inspector Banks novels it got so I dreaded him scratching the scar on his face, the cue that the evidence was wrong, his intuition right and it was time for him to sashay forth and singlehandedly find the truth.

 

I've enjoyed the Inspector Gamache novels by Louise Penny, which so far have avoided most of those tropes.  His sidekick had some serious problems that were significant plot points in a couple of novels, and one of those novels fell into another of my hated tropes -- the huge conspiracy that only our hero recognizes and fights.  

 

The first series I loved were the Tony Hillerman novels set on the Navajo Reservation, but that was eons ago in my college days.  Jane, you should try one and see what you think.

 

I only tried one Nero Wolf novel and couldn't finish it as it was soooo misogynistic. 

[MicheleinMN]

I only managed Bleak House after having seen the excellent BBC adaptation, and even then the whole legal thing almost put me to sleep.

 

I didn't get around to reading anything last night, my migraine kicked in full force and I ended up in bed.

 

To the Lighthouse came today but I won't start reading it until the migraine is completely gone as they make me really rather stupid. Instead I've downloaded The Deal by Elle Kennedy as it has been recommended to me by those who like Sarina Bowen's stuff (which I love). Nice romance seems like all my brain can handle right now.

 

I'm so sorry about the migraine.  I am hoping to see my doctor in April to try something new to deal with mine.

 

And please share how you do with To the Lighthouse, I keep thinking if I can just find the "right"  Virginia Woolf book that THEN I might appreciate her works.  (maybe not?)

[SKL]

Glad I wasn't the only person who found Bleak House to be more slow-going than most books.

 

My sister had recommended it, like I couldn't be a complete person until I'd read it.  I am not sure I agree that it's so indispensible.  However, I don't regret reading it.  Once I figured out what it was about, I did enjoy it.

 

Return of the Native takes a while to figure out as well.  But once I got into it, I started thinking that this must be what inspired Gone with the Wind.  :P

[Kareni]

Concerning The Girl on the Train:

 

My local library has five copies with an unspecified number of holds.

 

My other library (in an adjacent city to which I pay $120 per year for the pleasure of using its collection) has 20 copies and 170 holds.

 

Regards,

Kareni

[MicheleinMN]

Apparently the book everyone is reading is The Girl on the Trainhttp://www.theguardian.com/books/2015/jan/08/the-girl-on-the-train-paula-hawkins-review-novelby Paula Hawkins. It is supposed to be the new Gone Girl which I didn't like. :lol: Can't say the description completely entraces me but the waitlist on overdrive for my library had 988 ( yes, 988) people on it. I made myself 989 out of curiosity.......both about the book and how long before I get it.

 

Has anybody here read it already? Was it good? Just curious about a book that gets that many holds. It doesn't sound that great to me.

 

FYI That library routinely has low 100's for an obvious best seller like a new JD Robb.

 

BTW, they have over 100 to loan. Never have I noticed such extreme numbers.

 

I really disliked Gone Girl, but not so much because of the writing as the story itself.  I did cave and buy The Girl on the Train on Kindle, but I haven't started it yet.  

[Onceuponatime]

Well, speaking of disliked mystery endings, The House of Silk ended badly. It had a surprise ending that was obviously meant to shock the reader but was just tawdry and disgusting, couched in Victorian sensibility.

[Lady Florida.]

I'm tired of the tropes of the emotionally wounded detective.  But it hasn't stopped me from reading the 2nd Inspector Rutledge novel!  I loved the writing of the first novel, hated the surprise ending, hated the way he handled his investigation. But so for I'm enjoying this one.  His inner demon is much quieter in this novel and he doesn't seem to be blundering about quite as much.  Although....it sure took him some time to start looking for something very obvious....

 

 

 

I've enjoyed the Inspector Gamache novels by Louise Penny, which so far have avoided most of those tropes.  His sidekick had some serious problems that were significant plot points in a couple of novels, and one of those novels fell into another of my hated tropes -- the huge conspiracy that only our hero recognizes and fights.  

 

 

 

I was hoping that in the first Inspector Rutledge novel he was just trying to get his groove back and that he'd be better in subsequent novels. I haven't read the second one yet, but want to give it a chance. I'm glad to hear the demon quiets down. That part is a little weird.

 

I was really enjoying the Chief Inspector Gamache novels but then they went the broken detective route (and I'm tired of the conspiracy thing too). << Mild spoilers in white. Highlight if you've already read the series or don't care. It really is mild. The last one I read was The Beautiful Mystery, and I wanted to throw my Kindle across the room. I have the next two and just can't make myself read them. While I want character development, I read mysteries for the mystery. Penny seems to be getting further and further away from the mysteries. They're on my list to finish before the next one comes out in August, and I hope I can get back to enjoying them.

[Lady Florida.]

Apparently the book everyone is reading is The Girl on the Trainhttp://www.theguardian.com/books/2015/jan/08/the-girl-on-the-train-paula-hawkins-review-novelby Paula Hawkins. It is supposed to be the new Gone Girl which I didn't like.

 

Well, that's the quickest way to get me not to read a book. :lol:   I hated Gone Girl, and I couldn't finish Sharp Objects (though I looked it up and know how it ends).

[redsquirrel]

I am chugging through Olive Kittridge.  An entire novel of short stories, I might be in heaven!  I love short stories and get so sick of being told it is a dying form etc. It seems to me that I read that somewhere only to then hear that an awesome collection of short stories has come out and everyone should read it, lol.  So, no, I am not worried about the short story going away.

 

Anyway, this is a wonderful collection and the author, Strout, is really feeling her power as a writer. The stories are a delight and almost hum along as you read.

 

edited to add that I just checked and I am number 1 on the wait list for "Redeployment" so I guess I know what I am reading next. I had better get a hustle on with Ms Kittridge.

[idnib]

I'm the only one I know who liked Gone Girl.  :leaving:

[Kareni]

I had better get a hustle on with Ms Kittridge.

 

 

♬ ♪ ♫

 

"(Ooh) Do it

(Ooh) Do it

(Ooh) Do it

 

Do the Hustle

Do the Hustle"

 

♬ ♪ ♫

 

Lyrics and video can be seen here: http://lyrics.wikia.com/Van_McCoy:The_Hustle

 

Regards,

Kareni

[Stacia]

I am chugging through Olive Kittridge.  An entire novel of short stories, I might be in heaven!  I love short stories and get so sick of being told it is a dying form etc. It seems to me that I read that somewhere only to then hear that an awesome collection of short stories has come out and everyone should read it, lol.  So, no, I am not worried about the short story going away.

 

I don't particularly care for short stories, but I do love new literary fiction. But, so many times, I look at lists of new, 'different' stuff & so many of them are short story collections! (I say 'ugh', but I guess you would cheer. Lol.) So, I agree w/ you that short story collections are here to stay.

 

(Btw, one collection I read last year that I actually did enjoy: Three Scenarios in Which Hana Sasaki Grows a Tail.)

 

[JennW in SoCal]

I was hoping that in the first Inspector Rutledge novel he was just trying to get his groove back and that he'd be better in subsequent novels. I haven't read the second one yet, but want to give it a chance. I'm glad to hear the demon quiets down. That part is a little weird.

 

I was really enjoying the Chief Inspector Gamache novels but then they wentThe last one I read was The Beautiful Mystery, and I wanted to throw my Kindle across the room. I have the next two and just can't make myself read them. While I want character development, I read mysteries for the mystery. Penny seems to be getting further and further away from the mysteries. They're on my list to finish before the next one comes out in August, and I hope I can get back to enjoying them.

 

I wound up reading the Penny books out of order so that I had already read the follow up to The Beautiful Mystery before I got to it.  I hate to tell you that I liked The Beautiful Mystery more!  But I have not yet read the most recent, The Long Way Home.  Maybe it will be back on track...

 

I want to sit and finish this second Inspector Rutledge this afternoon, but am waylaid by Important Things To Do.  So I'm here instead!

[MicheleinMN]

Well, that's the quickest way to get me not to read a book. :lol:   I hated Gone Girl, and I couldn't finish Sharp Objects (though I looked it up and know how it ends).

 

 

Yep! Right there with you! (I will be stalking ALL your book choices from now on.)  :thumbup1:

[Jane in NC]

I only tried one Nero Wolf novel and couldn't finish it as it was soooo misogynistic. 

 

Ouch.  To be fair, Nero Wolf doesn't care for anyone--female or male. 

 

I'm glad you mentioned this though.  Rex Stout, the creator of Nero Wolf, is a man of his time. There are prejudices shown in the books that may disturb the modern reader but keep in mind that the House Committee of Un-American Activities kept a watch on Stout.  I have been able to read these books with an eye to the excellent mysteries they present. But perhaps they are dated.  It has been a while since I have read many of the Wolf mysteries other than Too Many Cooks which I noted on this thread shows the prejudices of its time.

 

 

[Jane in NC]

I wound up reading the Penny books out of order so that I had already read the follow up to The Beautiful Mystery before I got to it.  I hate to tell you that I liked The Beautiful Mystery more!  But I have not yet read the most recent, The Long Way Home.  Maybe it will be back on track...

 

I want to sit and finish this second Inspector Rutledge this afternoon, but am waylaid by Important Things To Do.  So I'm here instead!

 

I read one of the Penny books several years ago and was not impressed.  One of my IRL reading friends tells me that I should read Bury Your Dead.  She thinks this will captivate me.

 

[Chrysalis Academy]

I'm the only one I know who liked Gone Girl.  :leaving:

 

I liked it too.  I thought it was really entertaining.  But everyone IRL I know who read it didn't like it. . . . yet it was a mega bestseller.  Somebody besides you and me must have liked it!!  :lol:

[idnib]

I liked it too.  I thought it was really entertaining.  But everyone IRL I know who read it didn't like it. . . . yet it was a mega bestseller.  Somebody besides you and me must have liked it!!  :lol:

 

:D

 

I haven't read any of her other books, though. Did you?

[Maela]

I loved Gone Girl!  You're not the only ones!

 

They are secular.  We regularly use another from the series, "What to Do When Your Brain is Stuck," which is OCD specific.  DS12 is the one using it most successfully, even though he is on the upper edge of the target audience.  

Thanks!

[Robin M]

I started Kate Morton's The Forgotten Garden and enjoying it so far. Although have to get used to time jumping all over the place.

 

Mysteries. I don't like the answer being handed to me on a silver platter, nor do I like when they keep it so well hidden, then hit you over the head with it at the end like you are stupid for not getting it. Spare me the minutia of every single small police procedure and give me some thing I can dig into and think I have it figured out by the end. Don't intentionally mislead me, but be clever with red herrings and entice me to keep reading. Capture me, entice me, thrill me, but just don't dumb it down.

 

Is that to much to ask for. LOL!

[Kareni]

Earlier today I finished the regency romance Sweet Disorder by Rose Lerner.

 

"Nick Dymond enjoyed the rough-and-tumble military life until a bullet to the leg sent him home to his emotionally distant, politically obsessed family. For months, he's lived alone with his depression, blockaded in his lodgings.

 

But with his younger brother desperate to win the local election, Nick has a new set of marching orders: dust off the legendary family charm and maneuver the beautiful Phoebe Sparks into a politically advantageous marriage.

 

One marriage was enough for Phoebe. Under her town's by-laws, though, she owns a vote that only a husband can cast. Much as she would love to simply ignore the unappetizing matrimonial candidate pushed at her by the handsome earl's son, she can't. Her teenage sister is pregnant, and Phoebe's last-ditch defense against her sister's ruin is her vote-and her hand.

 

Nick and Phoebe soon realize the only match their hearts will accept is the one society will not allow. But as election intrigue turns dark, they'll have to cast the cruelest vote of all: loyalty...or love."

 

This was an enjoyable romance with an unusual premise.  Also, while the hero is a member of the upper class, the heroine is a widow who is scraping to get by.  (Adult content)  I will definitely read more by this author.

 

Regards,

Kareni

[Uff Da!]

I finished Catherine Marshall's "To Live Again" and found an old ice cream recipe at the end of her book that I want to try. If anyone wants it, pm me and I can post it the next time I'm on the computer and not on my phone. I also finished "Their Eyes Were Watching God" and found some new favorite phrases is there. I love how Tea Cake is described as a "glance from God" and the town gossips as " meatskins is got tuh rattle tuh make out they's alive."

 

And then there's this beautiful ending (If you haven't read the book, reading these last sentences won't ruin it for you but you decide):

 

Here was peace. She pulled in her horizon like a great fish-net. Pulled it from around the waist of the world and draped it over her shoulder. So much of life in its meshes! She called in her soul to come and see.

 

Y'all- I am not "liking" because I'm on my phone and it does something annoying when I like a post.

[TeacherZee]

I'm so sorry about the migraine.  I am hoping to see my doctor in April to try something new to deal with mine.

 

And please share how you do with To the Lighthouse, I keep thinking if I can just find the "right"  Virginia Woolf book that THEN I might appreciate her works.  (maybe not?)

 

I think my migraine right now comes from having an incredibly tense neck and shoulders, I am waiting for an appointment with a massage therapist and hoping that this will help. It is better today though.

 

I ended up reading the whole The Deal by Ella Kennedy yesterday and today I got an e-mail saying that the third (or actually the first) book in the Gravity series Coming in from the Cold by Sarina Bowen was only $0.99 today so if you love romance give yourself a treat!

[mumto2]

I started Kate Morton's The Forgotten Garden and enjoying it so far. Although have to get used to time jumping all over the place.

 

Mysteries. I don't like the answer being handed to me on a silver platter, nor do I like when they keep it so well hidden, then hit you over the head with it at the end like you are stupid for not getting it. Spare me the minutia of every single small police procedure and give me some thing I can dig into and think I have it figured out by the end. Don't intentionally mislead me, but be clever with red herrings and entice me to keep reading. Capture me, entice me, thrill me, but just don't dumb it down.

 

Is that to much to ask for. LOL!

I really enjoyed The Secret Keeper by Kate Morton and have been meaning to read something else by her. Maybe I will give The Forgotten Garden a try in a few weeks.

[Chrysalis Academy]

:D

 

I haven't read any of her other books, though. Did you?

 

No,  I haven't. Never heard of her.  I must have picked it up after reading a review in the paper, probably put it on hold when it was first reviewed and then it took 6 months to get the book from the library - that's how I read the few best-sellers I end up reading, usually! So I'm never very current. 

[Chrysalis Academy]

I finished Sense & Sensibility last night.  This was a re-read, but it had been so many years that I really didn't remember any of the plot twists, though of course I knew everyone would end up with the correct husband! I did enjoy it, but not nearly as much as P&P.  It was much more moralistic, and really none of the characters other than Elinor were at all appealing.  The descriptions of Fanny and John Dashwood were hilarious - that was some good satire - but with some of the other characters I found it more heavy-handed.

 

I started my re-read of Daughter of Time, and yep, I still love it! It has all the things I like, a cranky yet cerebral detective, a la Adam Dalgiesh, and lots and lots of English history! I have always loved English history - I started as a kid reading about Elizabeth I, which led me to read about Mary Stuart, and Jane Grey, Anne Boleyn, then back to Elizabeth of York and Elizabeth Woodville and Margaret Beufort, and then even further back to the demonized queens of the medieval period.  So I guess I've read my way through English history by reading about the queens and influential women.  So, anyway, I love all the historical speculation and theorizing.  I am skeptical (at best) about judging personality through historical portraits, for sure, but I'm enjoying this re-read as much as I did the first time through.

[Mom-ninja.]

I finished Sense & Sensibility last night.  This was a re-read, but it had been so many years that I really didn't remember any of the plot twists, though of course I knew everyone would end up with the correct husband! I did enjoy it, but not nearly as much as P&P.  It was much more moralistic, and really none of the characters other than Elinor were at all appealing.  The descriptions of Fanny and John Dashwood were hilarious - that was some good satire - but with some of the other characters I found it more heavy-handed.

 

 

Sense and Sensibility is my favorite Austen. A close second is Persuasion. I'm one of the weird people who doesn't love P&P as #1. Perhaps because I swoon over Colonel Brandon.  

[Chrysalis Academy]

Sense and Sensibility is my favorite Austen. A close second is Persuasion. I'm one of the weird people who doesn't love P&P as #1. Perhaps because I swoon over Colonel Brandon.  

 

I'm looking forward to re-reading Persuasion next - it's another I read so long ago I don't really remember.

[TeacherZee]

If we are doing a snapshot of "what are we reading right now" I am reading senior compare and contrast essays, and I swear they multiply and have babies at night, the virtual pile just keeps friggin growing even though I've gotten rid of three students since the start of the academic year!

 

//pointless teacher whining

[Stacia]

I finished Under the Frangipani by Mia Couto. (This is a book from Mozambique.) It's a magical realism murder mystery/storytelling that straddles the worlds between the living & the dead, traditions vs. modern mores, colonization against freedom, & war facing off against peace. It was different & even a bit challenging to understand, at least for me. I do think there's real depth there, but I'm not completely sure that I even made it far below the surface. A better knowledge of traditional myths & tales, as well as the history of the area might have helped some of my understanding more. As it turns out, it is not a traditional murder mystery, but rather a philosophical & heartfelt examination of the things that kill a people, a country, a place. Distinct. Though I'd give it just 3 stars right now, I think this is one that could age better with rereading (now that I understand where the storytelling is leading), the experience probably richer with a revisit down the road.

 

Coming back from the dead, the narrator turns into a night spirit and inhabits the head of a Mozambican police inspector who is investigating a surreal murder. But could the true victim be traditional African beliefs and a way of life ravaged first by Portuguese colonialism, then by civil war, and finally by Western materialism? Using both fable and allegory, Mia Couto creates a mysterious and surreal epic that brilliantly captures the spirit of post-independence Africa.

Mia Couto was born in Beira, Mozambique in 1955. During the years after the independence of his country in 1975, he was the director of the Mozambican Information Agency and the newspaper "Noticias." He currently lives in Maputo where he works as an agronomist."

 

[Kareni]

 

... I got an e-mail saying that the third (or actually the first) book in the Gravity series Coming in from the Cold by Sarina Bowen was only $0.99 today so if you love romance give yourself a treat!

 

I generally read books from the library or from used book stores and thrift stores or from my immense stockpile of free Kindle books.  You can congratulate yourself that I actually spent 99 cents today due to your post!  I have very much enjoyed the other Sarina Bowen books that I've read.

 

Regards,

Kareni

[Stacia]

And, continuing with some of my African reading, I just read a children's book published in the early 1970s: Gassire's Lute: A West African Epic, translated & adapted by Alta Jablow, illustrated by Leo & Diane Dillon. This is just apparently one of many tales of the epic Dausi of the Sonnike people of West Africa. (Now I'm going to have to try to track down a version of more of the Dausi....) It also fits in with Sunjata (which I read about a year ago). This picture book would be a great read-aloud in the tradition of West African oral storytelling.

 

 

 

A rousing tale of wars and heroes, Gassire's Lute recounts the fall of the city-state, Wagadu, and tells how Gassire, warrior son of the ruling family, renounces his noble birth to become his people's first bard. As an example of the relatively unknown oral literature of Africa, this poem is rich in historical and cultural interest. But it can be read and enjoyed simply as a beautiful and exciting story that shows clearly the universality of art and of human experience. The Waveland reprint includes an essay by the translator ("The Origin of Soninke Bardic Art") which is meant to provide pertinent information for understanding and enjoying the poem.

 

I'm really enjoying dipping into the various myths, legends, & storytelling of parts of Africa....

[Nan in Mass]

You keep mentioning authors I,ve seen my mother reading my whole life lol. Her mystery bookcase consists of shelves of read-ragged paperbacks by Christie, Tey, Innes, Sayers, Dick Francis, Allingham, Rex Stout, Ngaio Marsh, Helen MacInnes, Mary Rinehart, Doyle, Carr, and Mignon Eberhart. Nearby are lots of Tony Hillermans and Lindsey Davis,s. Just in case that gives anyone new series ideas to try. I can,t vouch for many of them. I have only read Agatha Christie in French, not any way to assess them. I love Sayers and Marsh. I also like Innes and Tey. I like Lindsey Davis, but I skim the yucky bits. I,ve tried MacInnes and loved Friends and Lovers but found the others too scary or bittersweet, but that was about 30 years ago and I might like them now. It sounds really stupid but I haven,t tried any of the others because I,ve always assumed that if they were something I would like, my mother would have given them to read long ago. She,s fed me her books ever since I can remember. Like many things, this is something that is beginning to go the other way, so if anyone knows any she might like, I would be happy for suggestions.

 

Nan

[Angel]

I finished Sense & Sensibility last night.  This was a re-read, but it had been so many years that I really didn't remember any of the plot twists, though of course I knew everyone would end up with the correct husband! I did enjoy it, but not nearly as much as P&P.  It was much more moralistic, and really none of the characters other than Elinor were at all appealing.  The descriptions of Fanny and John Dashwood were hilarious - that was some good satire - but with some of the other characters I found it more heavy-handed.

 

 

I'm so offended :laugh:  Elinor! Elinor! Elinor!  It's like Marsha, Marsha, Marsha from The Brady Bunch.  Everyone always has to love the practical Elinor.  (I swear she is right up there with Elizabeth Bennett)  Sure she has some good qualities.  Yes, she ALWAYS does the right thing.  Sure, she supposedly can feel deeply without losing her practicality.  Yeah, yeah.  Whatever.   :rolleyes:  Marianne is always overlooked because she is TOO passionate and immature.  Nobody ever talks about the absolute growth of her character in Sense and Sensibility.  Or how her passionate nature enables her to love Colonel Brandon in the end with the same fervor and devotion that she ever had for Willoughby, just with more maturity.  There are plenty of Elinor's in the world.  Lord knows I'm surrounded by them  :lol:  But take a moment and think of how much joie de vivre the Marianne's add to your life.  Yeah, we add a little drama, but you might be totally bored and lost in your practicality without us  :001_tt2:

[JennW in SoCal]

In light of the discussion earlier today, I just have to share what I found in the new books section in the library an hour ago...

 

 

When I came back by the shelf a few minutes later, after finding both Razor's Edge and Daughter of Time in the stacks, The Girl on the Train was gone!  I also picked up a new book, Under the Wide and Starry Sky by Nancy Horan, a fictional account of a love affair between Robert Louis Stevenson and a married woman 10 years his senior.  It was between that and another blue book, The Light Between the Oceans -- what is it with blue covers these days??

 

     
                     

[beckster]

I joined the Woolf-pack this month, so am working my way through To the Lighthouse.  I have never really been a fan of mysteries.  Maybe I should try one now that I am older?  Need to consider that!

 

finished this year:

The Preacher's Daughter

Daisy Miller

Hearts Awakening

Sewing For Dummies

Surrender the Heart

Crazy Shortcut Quilts

A Passion Most Pure

Wonderful Lonesome

Happier at Home

Jane Eyre

Keeping House:  The Litany of Everyday Life

Farm Girl

How to be a High School Superstar

Wuthering Heights

You're Already Amazing

Trusting God

Death Comes for the Archbishop

The Hope Chest (by Rebekah Wilson)

Treasure in the Hills

The Quilting Bible

Complete Guide to Quilting

Genesis in Space and Time

A World Without Cancer

Confessions of an Organized Homemaker

Shyness: How Normal Behavior Became a Sickness

What's Best Next

The Granny Square Book

Kids Knitting

Homespun Bride

Make Over: Revitalizing the Many Roles You Fill

Seven-Minute Marriage Solution

Invisibles:  The Power of Anonymous Work in an Age of Relentless Self-Promotion

Pollyanna

 

currently reading:

North and South - Gaskell

The History of the Medieval World

The History of the Ancient World

East of Eden

To the Lighthouse

[Chrysalis Academy]

I'm so offended :laugh:  Elinor! Elinor! Elinor!  It's like Marsha, Marsha, Marsha from The Brady Bunch.  Everyone always has to love the practical Elinor.  (I swear she is right up there with Elizabeth Bennett)  Sure she has some good qualities.  Yes, she ALWAYS does the right thing.  Sure, she supposedly can feel deeply without losing her practicality.  Yeah, yeah.  Whatever.   :rolleyes:  Marianne is always overlooked because she is TOO passionate and immature.  Nobody ever talks about the absolute growth of her character in Sense and Sensibility.  Or how her passionate nature enables her to love Colonel Brandon in the end with the same fervor and devotion that she ever had for Willoughby, just with more maturity.  There are plenty of Elinor's in the world.  Lord knows I'm surrounded by them  :lol:  But take a moment and think of how much joie de vivre the Marianne's add to your life.  Yeah, we add a little drama, but you might be totally bored and lost in your practicality without us  :001_tt2:

 

See, I have the opposite experience - I don't think there are plenty of Elinors in the world, I wish there were more! I feel surrounded by Mariannes - the drama, the self-absorbtion, the certainty that what one is feeling right now is the most important/only way to feel, and that one is completely correct, and the judgment against those who feel differently, or who express their feelings differently.  You're right, in the book Marianne's character does grow, but too many of my IRL Mariannes - like ones in my own family?  (not my kids, extended family) have shown no signs of character growth despite many, many years of experience . . . 

 

Maybe we need to switch worlds for awhile?!  ;)  :D

[Angel]

See, I have the opposite experience - I don't think there are plenty of Elinors in the world, I wish there were more! I feel surrounded by Mariannes - the drama, the self-absorbtion, the certainty that what one is feeling right now is the most important/only way to feel, and that one is completely correct, and the judgment against those who feel differently, or who express their feelings differently.  You're right, in the book Marianne's character does grow, but too many of my IRL Mariannes - like ones in my own family?  (not my kids, extended family) have shown no signs of character growth despite many, many years of experience . . . 

 

Maybe we need to switch worlds for awhile?!  ;)  :D

 

Maybe we do!  I am the only Marianne I know.  Thankfully, ALL of my Elinor's take care of me.   ;)  (Did I mention there are  A LOT of them?  :willy_nilly:  But I adore them all!)  

 

I think you are only focusing on the negatives of Marianne's character (the bolded), and funny enough, yep, I posses those qualities.  Of course, I felt all those much, much more when I was younger.  I truly was Marianne then.  Thank God, I have grown leaps and bounds since then but they are still there inside me.  Marianne, as a character, has positive traits as well.  She possesses an extreme sense of loyalty to those she loves, and when she (finally) comes to the realization that she is wrong, she is willing to admit that (Plenty of my Elinor's never think they are wrong because surely their way is the most practical and makes sense so it has to be right) .  And Marianne doesn't love by halves or with reserve.  Colonel Brandon will be well loved for the rest of his days.

 

I think I'm feeling judgmental against those who feel differently about Marianne than I do :lol: 

 

I started listening to Sense & Sensibility on audio last week when I had that horrible migraine.  It has been awhile since my last read of it, and I will admit to cringing at some of Marianne and Willoughby's  conversations about other people.  Willoughby was a bad influence on an already passionate mind.  He's not the manipulator that Wickham is in P&P but his is a more subtle influence, a taking advantage of the love that was given him.