Book a Week 2015 - BW20: rabbit trails

[Angel]

I'm glad to have been of help.  I can understand how the article stayed with you; it was an enjoyable read.

 

 

Yesterday I read with pleasure With Every Breath by Elizabeth Camden.  This is set in Washington DC in the late 1800s; it's published by Bethany House so would be categorized as inspirational fiction.

 

"In the shadow of the nation's capital, Kate Livingston's respectable life as a government worker is disrupted by an encounter with the insufferable Trevor McDonough, the one man she'd hoped never to see again. A Harvard-trained physician, Trevor never showed the tiniest flicker of interest in Kate, and business is the only reason he has sought her out now.

 

Despite her misgivings, Kate agrees to Trevor's risky proposal to join him in his work to find a cure for tuberculosis. As Kate begins to unlock the mysteries of Trevor's past, his hidden depths fascinate her. However, a shadowy enemy lies in wait and Trevor's closely guarded secrets are darker than she ever suspected.

 

As revelations from the past threaten to destroy their careers, their dreams, and even their lives, Trevor and Kate find themselves in a painfully impossible situation. With everything to lose, they must find the strength to trust that hope and love can prevail over all."

 

This was a very enjoyable story; it's a pleasure to read a historical romance with an intelligent heroine.  (She's a statistician.)  The religious component of the book was not heavy handed or preachy; it consisted primarily of the idea of being called to do particular work and of the idea that we might not understand God's plan. The medical information seemed well researched.  I felt as though I was both entertained and educated.

 

Here's a review for you, Angel.

 

Regards,

Kareni

 

Thanks, Karen!  I added it to my list  ;)

[Pam in CT]

 

Elephants are very, very dear to my mother's heart, so I enjoy hearing about others who love them too.  Your daughter might be interested in this article from our local paper and the PAWS and Elephant Sanctuary organizations (both mentioned briefly in the article).  

 

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

 

A thin edge? (of magical realism) 

 

 

Thanks.  Elephant tuberculosis, who knew?  (sigh...)  I'd love to get her out to visit PAWS someday.

 

re: degree of magical realism in The Wanting -- well, I don't think it's too much of a spoiler to say, as a reader you work out about 15 pages in that one of the narrators is, well, dead.  Aside from that (lol) the character's story is realistically told and there's no magic inside the story.  No worse than, you know, a narrator who is a chameleon (well, Stacia claimed he was a gecko).  I think you'd be fine with the degree of magic.  The treatment of the Arab/Israeli conflict and equivalencies drawn between the two set a couple of my book group comrades on high alert.  It's well done but the issues are hard.

[Guest]

 

Wow, I love her review of Game of Thrones!  She described, most eloquently, exactly what I liked about the book, and what I noticed about the experience of reading it.

 

http://www.tor.com/2009/09/09/stick-them-with-the-pointy-end-george-rr-martins-a-game-of-thrones/

 

I'm not going to read about the other books till I finish them, but it will be fun to compare my responses to Jo's as the series continues, she hit it spot-on for the first one.

 

 

I love Jo.  ...her books, her reviews, her big heart and sharp mind.   On a non-book related note, you might appreciate her letter to the person to stole her laptop (Pam, I think you would love this too!)

 

...and now I want to read one of her books again... Philosopher Kings is coming out this summer... I was a beta reader and adored it, and I'm so eager to read the final draft!  

 

 

I'm jealous that you've gotten to dive into some Pereine novels. I've been wanting to try some of their books ever since mumto2 (?) mentioned them. Next World sounds fascinating. Maybe that's the one that I should take the plunge with.

 

Chasing the King of Hearts was on my list of ones to read, but I didn't expect to hear that it would have such a dissociated & disturbing voice.

 

 

I've been wanting to read another Michael Frayn book ever since I read Sweet Dreams a couple of years ago. That was just such an amazingly lovely book.

 

 

One of my in-progress books is No Cause for Indictment: An Autopsy of Newark, about the Newark race riots in the 1960s where 20+ people were killed. Unfortunately, here we are almost 50 years later & things don't really seem all that different.

 

 

The other book I'm reading is Dirk Gently's Holistic Detective Agency by Douglas Adams.

 

 

I keep thinking of you when I read one of their books - there are so many I think you would appreciate even more than I do.  My library has a bunch of them as ebooks, which has been perfect.  

 

The blurbs I read about it gave me a misleading impression.  I do think the dissociation makes so much sense, but there are ways in which it is more disturbing than the events themselves, for me at least.  

 

I had Sweet Dreams out of our university library near the end of last year, but I got out far more than I could finish and we only had a few months of access. (I am hoping to get another few months at some point, and SD is on my wishlist for then!)  I am impressed by his range - Copenhagen and Noises Off are so different from each other that I keep disbelieving that they were written by the same author.  

 

Let us know more about No Cause as you read it.  It sound disturbing, but important - like so many of the books you inspire me to read!

 

My sister adores Dirk Gently.  I keep meaning to try it, but haven't been in the right mood any of the times I've thought of it.

 

 

 

I really like it.  I mean, some parts are tedious (like do I really need to know *that* much about cloistered nuns and Waterloo in the middle of a novel?), but for the most part I am enjoying Les Mis a lot.

 

:laugh: It is a glorious, sprawling story, isn't it?  I'm so glad you are enjoying it!  ...it's like having two people I'm friends with become friends with each other... 

 

 

 

I completed The Pilgrim's Progress. Sometimes the language was a bit of a slog, but I enjoyed the story and feel I have filled a space that was lacking in my reading. The allegorical characters sometimes have the best names, like Mr. Feeble-mind, Mr. Dare-not-ly, and Mr. Facing-bothways. The book is in two parts, the original and the sequel. I believe I liked the sequel better, perhaps because it was a company of Pilgrims and not just one man (Christian) on him own. The problems I had with the book are due to modern thinking, I guess. For example, when someone ahead of our Pilgrims into a hole, they realize they are on the wrong path and turn around without trying to help the man who fell in. It's a kind of "one wrong step off the path and you may be out forever" kind of Christianity. I cried at the end, I must admit.

 

 

 

:hurray:      

 

I only ever read the original... and that so long ago that I probably only remember it because it is interwoven into Little Women - which I have reread many times in the intervening years.

[Angel]

Hi Everyone! 

 

We are back from vacation!  Exhausted but had a grand time!  I believe I managed to have a Butterbeer a day!  Frozen, of course.  Dh loved the hot Butterbeer, though I don't know how it managed to drink it in 90 degree weather.  Skye made a Luna Lovegood dress to wear into the park, complete with Luna's radish earrings she bought the last time.  Aly is now in possession of Hermione's time turner and the bag she carries in the 7th book/movie.  And we all got our picture taken with Spiderman.I bought a new copy of Fox in Socks (my favorite Dr. Seuss) in Seussland since my copy is 40 some odd years old and missing the covers. I have not managed to read much of anything as we were busy preparing for vacation and then we were at the park pretty much from open to close every day (and I can't read in the car).  So I'm still reading Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire.  I also started Pygmalion for Book Club this Thursday as the challenge was to read a play, and it was the only one on my Kindle app lol.

 

Missed you all!

[Guest]

re Ulysses:

 

 

Congrats! Ulysses is one I would like to read someday, but somehow I don't feel like I'll even be able to get/understand it.

 

 

I went into this read with two, paradoxical, guideposts:

1) It would be impossible to really "understand" Ulysses on a single read through - even if I dug out all the scholarly commentary and took a few years to read it

 

2) It isn't a complicated story - it is one (very thoroughly described) day.  There is a limited cast, especially compared to many other books of a similar thickness and the narrative strands aren't deeply complex ones.

 

The way the story is told is dense and challenging - and each chapter has a different style.  ...and the layers of allusions and interconnections is mindblowing... and I know I've barely even scratched the surface.

 

 

:hurray:

 

I felt the same way about not really finishing but I'm not sure anyone does feel finished. 

 

May I suggest you now read The Most Dangerous Book: The Battle for James Joyce's Ulysses? It gave me so much insight into the Ulysses and made me appreciate it all the more.

 

 

I have a mountain of library ebooks I'm working on, but when I clear the decks a little, I want to get this out... thank you for both mentioning it and describing it so enticingly as you were reading it!

 

 

 

re: Ulysses:    :party: I humbly bow before you.   I thought I was determined and plowed doggedly more than two thirds in, and then it just... stopped happening.  Some.Day.

 

 

 

I thought I might never pick it back up again after the wedding - it was on hold for about two months.  I don't think I would have without the resources of the discussion the Goodreads group had earlier in the year.  I appreciated Thomas's intros, but the enthusiasm and energy of the group helped me stay excited about what I was reading.

 

 

 

I too bow before those who finished Ulysses. I had grand plans but just couldn't do it. I don't know what made me think I could, because I really dislike that style of writing. If I can't get through the work of lesser stream of consciousness writers, I surely couldn't get through the master's work. 

 

 

My reaction to stream of consciousness writing varies wildly... sometimes from writer to writer or book to book, but also depending on my own state of being.  I have to be in the right space to read them - it isn't my natural habitat!  ...but when I am in the right space I can love it.  (I loved Woolf's The Waves when I read it the other year).  I wouldn't say I loved Ulysses, but the experience of reading it was delightful.  

 

I am usually a voice and character based reader, but as I've gotten older I've started to, sometimes, be able to revel in the artistry of a book, and be reading not for story/character/personal connection, but in a more detached way.  It doesn't come naturally to me, and I wouldn't want to read that way all, or even most, of the time, but it has been a heady, fascinating experience. 

 

 

Eliana, I take my hat off to you-- I made a concerted effort to read Ulysses last year and managed exactly one chapter. Now that you've read it, do you feel it was worth it, and did you enjoy it, and why? I confess I need some motivation to try it again...

 

 

Yes, very much so - to both the worth it and the enjoyment. 

 

I highly recommend looking at the Classics and the Western Canon Goodreads discussion of Ulysses if you ever want to try again.  

 

It gave me enough confidence, enough grounding to stop trying to read it the way I usually read... to float on, in, through it and experience it on its own terms.

 

There is one episode that is mostly some conversations in a pub.  The language progresses historically - from almost impossible to comprehend to modern day.  ...and the way that shaped my experience of the plot was fascinating, and almost magical.

 

I don't love Ulysses the way I do The Waste Land, but they share an aspect I find entrancing - each is its own creation/story/arc, but they are both rooted in and riffing off of a wealth of literary predecessors and themes.

 

 

 

 

[Guest]

Thanks.  Elephant tuberculosis, who knew?  (sigh...)  I'd love to get her out to visit PAWS someday.

 

re: degree of magical realism in The Wanting -- well, I don't think it's too much of a spoiler to say, as a reader you work out about 15 pages in that one of the narrators is, well, dead.  Aside from that (lol) the character's story is realistically told and there's no magic inside the story.  No worse than, you know, a narrator who is a chameleon (well, Stacia claimed he was a gecko).  I think you'd be fine with the degree of magic.  The treatment of the Arab/Israeli conflict and equivalencies drawn between the two set a couple of my book group comrades on high alert.  It's well done but the issues are hard.

 

I don't know whether to be depressed when I find these things out, or excited that there is enough awareness and caring that they can be newsworthy... 

 

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

 

So hard.  ...and often, with hard issues, a story which confronts them will have to be deeply uncomfortable to read.  ...which doesn't always mean I am able to contain that challenge at that moment, or in the way that book might present it.  I have added this to my list for when I feel strong enough to try it.  

 

 

 

 

 

Hi Everyone! 

 

We are back from vacation!  Exhausted but had a grand time!  I believe I managed to have a Butterbeer a day!  Frozen, of course.  Dh loved the hot Butterbeer, though I don't know how it managed to drink it in 90 degree weather.  Skye made a Luna Lovegood dress to wear into the park, complete with Luna's radish earrings she bought the last time.  Aly is now in possession of Hermione's time turner and the bag she carries in the 7th book/movie.  And we all got our picture taken with Spiderman.I bought a new copy of Fox in Socks (my favorite Dr. Seuss) in Seussland since my copy is 40 some odd years old and missing the covers. I have not managed to read much of anything as we were busy preparing for vacation and then we were at the park pretty much from open to close every day (and I can't read in the car).  So I'm still reading Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire.  I also started Pygmalion for Book Club this Thursday as the challenge was to read a play, and it was the only one on my Kindle app lol.

 

Missed you all!

 

 

Welcome back, love!   I am glad you had so much fun!

 

Your daughter (and her dress) is so lovely!  

 

Fox in Socks and The Lorax are my favorite Seuss books.  I had FiS memorized as a tiny person and would (I am told) recite it endlessly in the car.  ...I am still unreasonably fond of it.

 

I am very fond of Pygmalion - and find the film distortions (and My Fair Lady revision) very distressing... and feel they undercut Shaw's story and characters.. though they offer a Hollywood faux-happy ending.  

[Chrysalis Academy]

 

 

 

 

Isn't it delightful?  The love stories are nice, but I am equally fond of the friendships.  I wonder if you might enjoy reading All's Well That Ends Well?  I find there to be some interesting intersections with Much Ado... though that could be my weird associative mind.  It is certainly a more bittersweet play, not as dark as Measure for Measure... but it, in my mind, bridges Much Ado and Measure for Measure... 

 

 

 

 

I have neither seen or read that one - I will put it on my list! 

[Stacia]

Angel, welcome back! Love the photo of your dd! Sounds like you had a great time.

 

TeacherZee, thanks for mentioning the Pereine books. (And, thanks mumto2 for pointing me in the right direction of who to thank!) I am determined to read one in the upcoming months. Will need to order one as none of the library systems I access has them.

 

Eliana, I will keep you posted on No Cause for Indictment. Ironically, I just ran across an article/op-ed piece that references the riots of 1967: Underlying dynamics of civil unrest in Baltimore are same as identified 50 years ago. Sadly, this just reinforces what I was already feeling as I read No Cause... a feeling that things haven't really changed in almost 50 years. I know 50 years is just a speck of time in the history of mankind, but still.... As far as the book itself, I think there's a lot of great material there, but since I'm not intimately familiar with the actual events/people/places, I sometimes feel a little lost as I wander through the onslaught of information.

 

I'm quite enjoying Dirk Gently. I read Hitchhiker's Guide a few years ago & thought it was ok, but didn't understand the radiant love for it. I think I'm actually enjoying this one more.

 

Pam,

 

 

:lol:

 

Thanks for recommending The Wanting. Sounds like something I would like to read. Looks like one of the libraries has it, but it's not showing up that I can request it. (???) Will be pursuing it, though.

[Kareni]

 

I love Jo.  ...her books, her reviews, her big heart and sharp mind.   On a non-book related note, you might appreciate her letter to the person to stole her laptop (Pam, I think you would love this too!)

 

What a great letter, Eliana.  Thanks for sharing the link.

 

Regards,

Kareni

[ChrisB]

My brain took a vacation this week so I dove into the world of the Black Dagger Brotherhood and just finished reading  #6  Phury's story Lover Enshrined.  Alas I must stop there as someone highjacked my atm/visa card #. B of A caught it quicker than quick.  I have no idea how they knew it was a charge out of my norm, but they did and contacted me.  I immediately had to stop using it and have to wait a few days for a replacement to arrive in the mail.   Yes, within the past couple months I've used Home Depot, Target and Office Depot which have all been targets of late.  Think I'll go back to writing checks. 

 

Sorry about the hassle!  I placed a few orders with Target last week, and the fraud definitely made me hesitate before clicking the final button...but, I'm a rebel like that...I clicked the button, throwing caution to the wind.  :thumbup1:  :leaving:

 

"Just keep shelling the beans."

...

When I reached the last chapter of A Treatise on Shelling Beans, I did not want this book to end.  When I reached the last few pages, tears rolled down my cheeks.  I am crying as I write this.

 

What a powerful review!  I may have to add this to my list.  Thanks!

 

My current read is the second in Lauren Willig's Pink Carnation series titled The Masque of the Black Tulip. It's definately good. I have let it be returned a couple of times in favour of other books, big mistake. I am captivated enough 70 pages in that I checked the third in the series out while getting Kareni's recommendation at overdrive. I love E libraries........

http://www.fantasticfiction.co.uk/w/lauren-willig/masque-of-black-tulip.htm

 

I read most of this series a few years ago and found them entertaining.  The Black Tulip was one of my favorites in the series.

 

I read:

Neither Here Nor There - 5 Stars - Bill Bryson is, without a doubt, one of my favorites. His writing simply flows off the page. The Daily Telegraph summed this book up perfectly: ‘Hugely funny (not snigger-snigger funny but great-big-belly-laugh-till-you-cry funny)’. Yes, this is what I experienced also. There were a few parts where I honestly could not stop laughing for the life of me and felt pain in my stomach and had tears rolling down my cheeks.

Here’s one example of his visit to Istanbul, “The one truly unbearable thing in the city is the Turkish pop music. It is inescapable. It assaults you from every restaurant doorway, from every lemonade stand, from every passing cab. If you can imagine a man having a vasectomy without anaesthetic to a background accompaniment of frantic sitar-playing, you will have some idea of what popular Turkish music is like :lol:.† As with all of Bill Bryson’s travelogues, I’m so sorry that it ended. Some may be offended by his language – not a problem for me.

and

A Fine Romance - 5 Stars - From time to time, I come across a book that makes me wish I could afford to place a bulk order and send copies to my friends – in this case, to all my friends who love the English countryside and/or British literature. This is one of the most beautiful books that I have ever read. It’s a travel journal of the author and her husband’s two-month trip visiting the homes of authors, artists, and all sorts of fascinating places. The watercolors and photos are an absolute joy – recipes included as well! Reading this makes me look even more forward to our upcoming trip to England.

 

Wow, two 5-star reads!!  I'll have to add both to my list.  And, since I tend to like the same books as you do, I'm sure I'll love these two, too!

 

On tap this week is Willa Cather's Death Comes for the Archbishop. Can't believe it has taken me til now to read it as it was a title I heard bandied about throughout my childhood in New Mexico.  I'll be soon heading back there for a quick trip and figured it made sense to read it now.   

 

I read and enjoyed My Antonia! earlier this year so I'd like to read a few more of hers.  I'll have to add this one to my list.  Have fun in NM!

[Pam in CT]

re Jo Walton

 

I love Jo.  ...her books, her reviews, her big heart and sharp mind.   On a non-book related note, you might appreciate her letter to the person to stole her laptop (Pam, I think you would love this too!)

 

...and now I want to read one of her books again... Philosopher Kings is coming out this summer... I was a beta reader and adored it, and I'm so eager to read the final draft!  

 

 

 

What a great letter, Eliana.  Thanks for sharing the link.

 

Regards,

Kareni

 

:iagree: OK, that is... a tour de force.  Veritable Dalai Lama of compassion, yet with an edge, keepin' it real for those of us a bit closer to the ground...  For some reason despite all your ceaseless nagging I haven't read any Jo at all.  Where to start?

[ChrisB]

...being sick (again -- ack, I'm so sick of being sick). I've spent too much time napping this week rather than reading.

 

:grouphug: Being sick is no fun.

 

Kareni, I bow before your masterful google-fu (one of my college boy's "isms")...

 

Oh, I'm sooo going to use that one.  DH is a master google-fu-er...lol...so I'll have to pull it out at the most opportune time.

 

I almost finished Unbroken, but just stopped and never picked it up again. I agree it's fascinating and I learned much about the Japanese role in WWII that gets pushed to the background due to Hitler. However, at some point I was getting bored. I felt horrible for feeling that way but it seemed like constant repeats of: We're captured and tortured. Oh, maybe we'll be rescued. No. More torture. I think the torture is over now. Not yet. There's more. I don't think the author intended to beat readers over the head with descriptions of torture but I feel like that's what she did.

 

I understand that it's a true story and there shouldn't be any glossing over the absolutely horrible torture, but it makes the reading very long and tedious at times. Of course that's me. Dh flew through the book and couldn't wait for me to finish so we could discuss it. I know he's disappointed that I haven't finished.

 

As for All the Light We Cannot See, I agree with you. It's a lovely story all the way through then it falls apart with a so-so ending. 

 

I loved Anna Karenina. I didn't like Anna, and didn't even like the character I was supposed to like (he's a bit too holier than thou for me), but I loved the book. I loved the writing, and what to me was a glimpse of Russian history, and the way Tolstoy writes about very human characters.

 

I had similar feelings with the torture, yet I wonder if the author wanted us to share in the severity of it so that we might understand the horror of it.  The boat scenes were some of the most powerful for me.

 

I've heard the same about Anna.  I'm about 2% done with the book...long ways to go!

[redsquirrel]

Oh lordy. So after getting back The Golden Notebook I just found out that my hold on The Narrow Road to the Deep North, by Flanagan, just came in. So, I think I am going to take a little break from The Golden Notebook and spend some time reading about prisoners in a Japanese POW camp being forced to build the Thai-Burma death railway. Maybe after that I will be glad to go back to post war England and read about people come to terms with Stalin's atrocities and incredible sexism. It's got a Mad Men feel to me..same time period, but very different country obviously.

 

To be fair, I am not halfway through the book and I have finally come upon a section that I find very compelling. So far it has no communism and no Freud. I don't think that is a coincidence.

[mumto2]

I am so behind! Mostly it's because I've gone back to my bad habit of reading five or more books at a time. :o

 

Last night I finished book #13. It was The Girl on the Train by Paula Hawkins. I LOVED it. But I also loved Gone Girl.

 

 

I'm still working on my book in Spanish, I'm reading a book about minimalism (again), I'm reading The Diary of a Young Girl, and I was reading The Happiness Project until I had to return it... I also have about seven other books on my shelf from the library. This is why I need to read one (maybe two) books at a time. I often end up having to return the books before I can finish them.

Glad to hear that you enjoyed the Girl on the Train. My hold request recently moved into the 300's so I will be reading it in the next couple of months. Since I started at almost 1000 things are moving really quickly. I am not a Gone Girl fan but normally really enjoy that style of book. Something just didn't click right for me with that book and it really irritated me.

[mumto2]

Hi Everyone!

 

We are back from vacation! Exhausted but had a grand time! I believe I managed to have a Butterbeer a day! Frozen, of course. Dh loved the hot Butterbeer, though I don't know how it managed to drink it in 90 degree weather. Skye made a Luna Lovegood dress to wear into the park, complete with Luna's radish earrings she bought the last time. Aly is now in possession of Hermione's time turner and the bag she carries in the 7th book/movie. And we all got our picture taken with Spiderman.I bought a new copy of Fox in Socks (my favorite Dr. Seuss) in Seussland since my copy is 40 some odd years old and missing the covers. I have not managed to read much of anything as we were busy preparing for vacation and then we were at the park pretty much from open to close every day (and I can't read in the car). So I'm still reading Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire. I also started Pygmalion for Book Club this Thursday as the challenge was to read a play, and it was the only one on my Kindle app lol.

 

Missed you all!

I still can't multiquote. Really miss it!

 

Your dd's picture is fabulous. So very cute! Glad you all had a great time. Frozen butterbeer? I tried it at the studios here and it was sort of a float with cream soda.

 

I thought of you at Universal yesterday. One of the kid's best friends stopped by to fill us in on her trip to the studios in honour of her bday. First time....She is a Bellatrix fan, complete with wand now! Fun!

 

New subject......

 

We also watched the first episode of Jonathan Strange yesterday. http://www.theguardian.com/books/2015/may/02/susanna-clarke-characters-jonathan-strange-and-mr-norrell. I loved the book and really enjoyed the first episode, so far pretty accurate to the book. The filming locations are pretty local for us and the dc's had fun identifying them. The York Minster scene where magic comes to life and the figures on the ceiling are animated was really great. ;) Ds was very impressed because they animated some of him favourites.

[Chrysalis Academy]

I finished A Clash of Kings last night. So far the series is holding up for me, I found this book as compelling as the first one, although I have to confess that the dipping into supernatural/magic stuff is the weakest aspect for me. I like the POV characters that were added. Another unusual thing about this series is that I do know, from the scuttlebut about the HBO series, some of what is coming - which characters will die, for example - and this actually makes it easier to read - I know who not to get attached to!  In fact the whole method of storytelling - shifting from one POV to another - serves detachment. Which in this case is a good thing!

 

I did sit down and watch some youtube clips of the HBO series.  I would definitely *not* want to watch this show.  I don't know what it is exactly about the difference between reading about fictional violence and seeing it on the screen.  Is it that we are just more visual as a species? Or that our brains don't do a good job of knowing that something we see isn't real?  In any event, the show - no thank you.  But I will read the third book.

[Angel]

Welcome back, love!   I am glad you had so much fun!

 

Your daughter (and her dress) is so lovely!  

 

Fox in Socks and The Lorax are my favorite Seuss books.  I had FiS memorized as a tiny person and would (I am told) recite it endlessly in the car.  ...I am still unreasonably fond of it.

 

I am very fond of Pygmalion - and find the film distortions (and My Fair Lady revision) very distressing... and feel they undercut Shaw's story and characters.. though they offer a Hollywood faux-happy ending.  

Thanks!  Skye was thrilled that people in the Harry Potter part of the parks knew who she was and commented :)  

 

I love your story about Fox in Socks!!!  I believe my mom said she would groan when I would pick Fox in Socks for her to read to me.  When Skye came along, I would read my favorites to her and my parents told me that I couldn't possibly read aloud that fast to her or she would never understand what I was reading.  I suppose that may be why she talks fast LOL!  Recently we had a youth event where all the activities were done with their feet.  One of the ice breaker activities was to read a portion of Fox in Socks (the Beetle Battle) as fast as they could while we timed them  :lol:

 

I finished Pygmalion last night and am still mulling it over.  It helps that I have only seen My Fair Lady once and it was a while ago (strange, that, since I love Audrey Hepburn AND musicals).  I'll be posting about it later.

 

I still can't multiquote. Really miss it!

 

Your dd's picture is fabulous. So very cute! Glad you all had a great time. Frozen butterbeer? I tried it at the studios here and it was sort of a float with cream soda.

 

I thought of you at Universal yesterday. One of the kid's best friends stopped by to fill us in on her trip to the studios in honour of her bday. First time....She is a Bellatrix fan, complete with wand now! Fun!

 

New subject......

 

We also watched the first episode of Jonathan Strange yesterday. http://www.theguardian.com/books/2015/may/02/susanna-clarke-characters-jonathan-strange-and-mr-norrell. I loved the book and really enjoyed the first episode, so far pretty accurate to the book. The filming locations are pretty local for us and the dc's had fun identifying them. The York Minster scene where magic comes to life and the figures on the ceiling are animated was really great. ;) Ds was very impressed because they animated some of him favourites.

Thanks!  Frozen Butterbeer is like a slushie with this foamy yummy goodness on top  :drool5:   That's a great birthday present for your dd's friend!!  I wonder if she was there while we were?  There were many Brits (Dd asked why we couldn't sound that cool :laugh: ) and once again, half of Brazil.  My dh almost bought Bellatrix's wand!  He thinks it's cool.  Helena Bonham-Carter really is amazing in that role.  The new ride, Escape from Gringotts, features Bellatrix a lot.  I was actually able to ride it because I went to the Dr. and got one of those motion sickness patches...and surprisingly it worked!  

 

So what is this Jonathan Strange?  Family friendly?  Do you need to read the book first?  Dd's and I like to have something to watch while dh travels.  

[Lady Florida.]

We finished Much Ado About Nothing today. That's crept right up there among my favorite Shakespeare. Really enjoyed it. It was much easier to read than Romeo & Juliet, or Midsummer, too, FWIW.  

 

 

 

Much Ado About Nothing is my favorite Shakespeare comedy. I'll watch any adaptation. I loved the recent Joss Whedon version, though a lot of people didn't like it at all.

 

 

 

 I've come to feel that extended, graphic descriptions of suffering (especially torture) actually lessen the effectiveness of the work.  I think your response, to pull back, is a common one, and distances the reader from the intensity of the experience.  So, counterintuitively, I think that type of presentation is more of a glossing over than a better crafted presentation would be.  ymmv 

 

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

 

 

Thank you for that insight. It makes me feel better about not wanting to finish reading the book.

 

I am so behind!  Mostly it's because I've gone back to my bad habit of reading five or more books at a time. :o

 

Last night I finished book #13.  It was The Girl on the Train by Paula Hawkins.  I LOVED it.  But I also loved Gone Girl.

 

 

I've been trying to cut down on the number of books I read at one time, but keep creeping back into the habit of adding just one more. 

 

I've heard The Girl on the Train compared to Gone Girl, which I hated. I talked to someone recently who said she disagrees with the comparison and that you can hate Gone Girl and still like this book. I'm on the fence about whether or not to add it to my list.

 

Hi Everyone! 

 

We are back from vacation!  Exhausted but had a grand time!  I believe I managed to have a Butterbeer a day!  Frozen, of course.  Dh loved the hot Butterbeer, though I don't know how it managed to drink it in 90 degree weather.  Skye made a Luna Lovegood dress to wear into the park, complete with Luna's radish earrings she bought the last time.  Aly is now in possession of Hermione's time turner and the bag she carries in the 7th book/movie.  And we all got our picture taken with Spiderman.I bought a new copy of Fox in Socks (my favorite Dr. Seuss) in Seussland since my copy is 40 some odd years old and missing the covers. I have not managed to read much of anything as we were busy preparing for vacation and then we were at the park pretty much from open to close every day (and I can't read in the car).  So I'm still reading Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire. 

Missed you all!

 

Welcome back! Sounds like you had a great time! I don't like Butterbeer in any form. It's just too sweet for me. Ds says the frozen is best, even though it doesn't exist in the HP universe.

 

 

My dh almost bought Bellatrix's wand!  He thinks it's cool.  Helena Bonham-Carter really is amazing in that role.  The new ride, Escape from Gringotts, features Bellatrix a lot.  I was actually able to ride it because I went to the Dr. and got one of those motion sickness patches...and surprisingly it worked!  

 

 

Ds has two wands. The first one he got when we first went there, and it's Ginny's. When they came out with interactive wands he had to have one, so he bought Snape's. 

 

I don't like roller coasters or rides that jerk you around too much. Ds says I could handle Escape from Gringotts but I haven't tried it yet. I keep saying "next time". We won't be going for a while because the blackout dates on our passes start soon, but maybe when we go again in the fall I really will try it.

[mumto2]

Thanks! Skye was thrilled that people in the Harry Potter part of the parks knew who she was and commented :)

 

I love your story about Fox in Socks!!! I believe my mom said she would groan when I would pick Fox in Socks for her to read to me. When Skye came along, I would read my favorites to her and my parents told me that I couldn't possibly read aloud that fast to her or she would never understand what I was reading. I suppose that may be why she talks fast LOL! Recently we had a youth event where all the activities were done with their feet. One of the ice breaker activities was to read a portion of Fox in Socks (the Beetle Battle) as fast as they could while we timed them :lol:

 

I finished Pygmalion last night and am still mulling it over. It helps that I have only seen My Fair Lady once and it was a while ago (strange, that, since I love Audrey Hepburn AND musicals). I'll be posting about it later.

 

Thanks! Frozen Butterbeer is like a slushie with this foamy yummy goodness on top :drool5: That's a great birthday present for your dd's friend!! I wonder if she was there while we were? There were many Brits (Dd asked why we couldn't sound that cool :laugh: ) and once again, half of Brazil. My dh almost bought Bellatrix's wand! He thinks it's cool. Helena Bonham-Carter really is amazing in that role. The new ride, Escape from Gringotts, features Bellatrix a lot. I was actually able to ride it because I went to the Dr. and got one of those motion sickness patches...and surprisingly it worked!

 

So what is this Jonathan Strange? Family friendly? Do you need to read the book first? Dd's and I like to have something to watch while dh travels.

Sorry, I lacked clarity the Harry Potter Studio Tour is near London at the actual studio. http://www.wbstudiotour.co.uk/the-tour-experience/about-the-studio-tour Still a good birthday adventure since she hadn't been but not a week in sunny Florida. The tour really is great, my favourite room was Dumbledore's. The butterbeer slushy sounds much better, the stuff here was yucky (friend agreed) but I didn't want to say before. Butter flavoured ice cream in cream soda is not very good. As Kathy said quite rich.

 

Jonathan Strange is a book that I don't remember that well detail wise. No need to read the book but it was a good book. ;) So Robin and others chime in if you can remember book content that makes this obviously not family friendly. So far the series is pretty faithful to the book as I remember it, so am thinking that will continue. I am fairly certain (neither of us can remember) that I gave dd permission to read the book when I finished it, she didn't because of time, chunky book. They do bring the dead back to life using magic and there are battle scenes at the end that could be pretty intense. It is airing at roughly 9pm on Sunday here which is not the family Dr. Who slot but the Sherlock slot. My kids watched the first episode with me and loved it. They are huge Once Upon a Time fans, probably same level.

[Jane in NC]

Much Ado About Nothing is my favorite Shakespeare comedy. I'll watch any adaptation. I loved the recent Joss Whedon version, though a lot of people didn't like it at all.

 

I got a kick out of the Joss Whedon version, particularly the scene with the Barbie dolls and stuffed animals.

[Lady Florida.]

 

 

One of my in-progress books is No Cause for Indictment: An Autopsy of Newark, about the Newark race riots in the 1960s where 20+ people were killed. Unfortunately, here we are almost 50 years later & things don't really seem all that different.

 

 

 

That looks interesting but it looks like the book is not well known and only available from 3rd party sellers (not that that's a problem). That's too bad that the reprinting didn't get more press.

 

I remember the Newark riots. It was the summer before I was in 7th grade and we still lived in NJ - less than a 1/2 hour from Newark. There had been riots in my city a few years earlier but on a much smaller scale with no lives lost. I don't remember a lot about either of the riots, but I remember the adults constantly discussing them both times.

[Lady Florida.]

I got a kick out of the Joss Whedon version, particularly the scene with the Barbie dolls and stuffed animals.

 

My book club met at one member's house to watch it and we chuckled the whole way through. We now sometimes tell each other "Calleth me". :)

[Stacia]

I got a kick out of the Joss Whedon version, particularly the scene with the Barbie dolls and stuffed animals.

 

I agree. I thought that was a fun version of the movie & loved that scene too.

 

That looks interesting but it looks like the book is not well known and only available from 3rd party sellers (not that that's a problem). That's too bad that the reprinting didn't get more press.

 

I remember the Newark riots. It was the summer before I was in 7th grade and we still lived in NJ - less than a 1/2 hour from Newark. There had been riots in my city a few years earlier but on a much smaller scale with no lives lost. I don't remember a lot about either of the riots, but I remember the adults constantly discussing them both times.

 

The reprint was in 2007. It wasn't on my radar at all back then & I can't even remember how I came across the title (which was recently). I'm reading a library copy. I wonder if you would recognize some of the people/places mentioned? Have you read the Paterson book you linked?

[Lady Florida.]

I agree. I thought that was a fun version of the movie & loved that scene too.

 

 

The reprint was in 2007. It wasn't on my radar at all back then & I can't even remember how I came across the title (which was recently). I'm reading a library copy. I wonder if you would recognize some of the people/places mentioned? Have you read the Paterson book you linked?

 

I would probably recognize some places but maybe not people. My aunts would I'm sure (and my mother if she was still alive).

 

No, I didn't know that book existed. I went looking for a link to the Paterson riots and that was pretty much all I could find.

[Onceuponatime]

I've recently finished Hatchet by Gary Paulson and The End Of Faith by Sam Harris. The first was spare and raw as a YA survival story, without the richness of My Side of The Mountain. However, it was probably more realistic. Harris's book was okay. I guess I'm being picky but his writing style doesn't grab me. Still, I'm glad I read it.

 

I'm currently reading Darwin's Ghosts: The Secret History of Evolution by Rebecca Stott.

[LaughingCat]

Mostly moving from non-fiction to non-fiction last week, finishing nothing.... I am going to claim Small move, big change : using microresolutions to transform your life permanently  though -- because the 2nd half is all about ideas of what to pick for your micro-resolutions and I'm purposefully going slow so I don't try to add a million changes at once (book suggests 2 at a time max).

 

Also re-read Court Duel by Sherwood Smith --- I've re-read this one at least 10x so far :)

[redsquirrel]

I really enjoyed the Joss Whedon movie!

 

Just an FYI, I think today is the day that the Mann Booker International Prize is awarded. This is different from The Mann Booker Prize, which I think is awarded in October.

 

From their site: "The Man Booker International Prize recognises one writer for his or her achievement in fiction. Worth £60,000, the prize is awarded every two years to a living author who has published fiction either originally in English or whose work is generally available in translation in the English language. The winner is chosen solely at the discretion of the judging panel and there are no submissions from publishers.

The Man Booker International Prize is significantly different from the annual Man Booker Prize for Fiction. In seeking out literary excellence, the judges consider a writer's body of work rather than a single novel."

 

And here is the list of this year's nominees

 

http://www.themanbookerprize.com/man-booker-international-prize-2015

 

 

[Angel]

Welcome back! Sounds like you had a great time! I don't like Butterbeer in any form. It's just too sweet for me. Ds says the frozen is best, even though it doesn't exist in the HP universe.

 

Ds has two wands. The first one he got when we first went there, and it's Ginny's. When they came out with interactive wands he had to have one, so he bought Snape's. 

 

I don't like roller coasters or rides that jerk you around too much. Ds says I could handle Escape from Gringotts but I haven't tried it yet. I keep saying "next time". We won't be going for a while because the blackout dates on our passes start soon, but maybe when we go again in the fall I really will try it.

The Butterbeer was almost too sweet for me this time because of the change in my diet over the past two years.  I still loved it :)  We each bought a wand 3.5 years ago, I have Fleur's, dh has Sirius's, Skye Luna's, and Aly's is from the Ollivander show.  This time, dh bought an interactive Dumbledore (though like I said he almost got Bellatrix's) and Skye bought Tonks's.  I really enjoyed Gringott's but I couldn't keep those 3D glasses on for very long.  And I had to close my eyes for some of the screen parts.  The beginning is the real kicker, though.  Bellatrix casts a spell and tips your whole car downward, and then she casts another and you go whooshing down.  If you don't get motion sick then maybe you should try it.  

 

Sorry, I lacked clarity the Harry Potter Studio Tour is near London at the actual studio. http://www.wbstudiotour.co.uk/the-tour-experience/about-the-studio-tour Still a good birthday adventure since she hadn't been but not a week in sunny Florida. The tour really is great, my favourite room was Dumbledore's. The butterbeer slushy sounds much better, the stuff here was yucky (friend agreed) but I didn't want to say before. Butter flavoured ice cream in cream soda is not very good. As Kathy said quite rich.

 

Jonathan Strange is a book that I don't remember that well detail wise. No need to read the book but it was a good book. ;) So Robin and others chime in if you can remember book content that makes this obviously not family friendly. So far the series is pretty faithful to the book as I remember it, so am thinking that will continue. I am fairly certain (neither of us can remember) that I gave dd permission to read the book when I finished it, she didn't because of time, chunky book. They do bring the dead back to life using magic and there are battle scenes at the end that could be pretty intense. It is airing at roughly 9pm on Sunday here which is not the family Dr. Who slot but the Sherlock slot. My kids watched the first episode with me and loved it. They are huge Once Upon a Time fans, probably same level.

Ah, I misunderstood!  Still pretty cool!   

 

My dd's LOVE Once Upon a Time!!  I'll have to check this out.  Thanks!

[Lady Florida.]

I've recently finished Hatchet by Gary Paulson and The End Of Faith by Sam Harris. The first was spare and raw as a YA survival story, without the richness of My Side of The Mountain. However, it was probably more realistic. Harris's book was okay. I guess I'm being picky but his writing style doesn't grab me. Still, I'm glad I read it.

 

I'm currently reading Darwin's Ghosts: The Secret History of Evolution by Rebecca Stott.

 

Ds went through a phase where he loved reading about kids who, for whatever reason, survived in the wild.  He would have agreed with you. He liked Hatchet, but he found the My Side of the Mountain series a much better read (he was a bit disappointed in the final book though I don't remember why). 

 

I've tried to read Sam Harris, really tried. I just don't enjoy his writing style either. The End of Faith is one of those books I plan to try and finish one day. 

[Stacia]

Just an FYI, I think today is the day that the Mann Booker International Prize is awarded. This is different from The Mann Booker Prize, which I think is awarded in October.

 

From their site: "The Man Booker International Prize recognises one writer for his or her achievement in fiction. Worth £60,000, the prize is awarded every two years to a living author who has published fiction either originally in English or whose work is generally available in translation in the English language. The winner is chosen solely at the discretion of the judging panel and there are no submissions from publishers.

 

The Man Booker International Prize is significantly different from the annual Man Booker Prize for Fiction. In seeking out literary excellence, the judges consider a writer's body of work rather than a single novel."

 

And here is the list of this year's nominees

 

http://www.themanbookerprize.com/man-booker-international-prize-2015

The winner is László Krasznahorkai. (Your link has the updated info.)

[Violet Crown]

Late chiming in. We are in the throes of preparation for the annual Shift to dh's other job location. Experience has taught me to pick a couple of battered, browning paperbacks for the travel which I can discard as I finish. So that will dictate the airplane books; meanwhile I'm cruising steadily through David Copperfield for the sake of others, but not finding it half so annoying as Tale of Two Cities. Probably not finishable before we leave, and my hardcover is too heavy to lug along; but I suspect Dickens may be available in libraries outside Texas.

[mumto2]

Late chiming in. We are in the throes of preparation for the annual Shift to dh's other job location. Experience has taught me to pick a couple of battered, browning paperbacks for the travel which I can discard as I finish. So that will dictate the airplane books; meanwhile I'm cruising steadily through David Copperfield for the sake of others, but not finding it half so annoying as Tale of Two Cities. Probably not finishable before we leave, and my hardcover is too heavy to lug along; but I suspect Dickens may be available in libraries outside Texas.

I suspect you will be able to find Dickens pretty much all over! Have a safe journey.

[Pam in CT]

Late chiming in. We are in the throes of preparation for the annual Shift to dh's other job location. Experience has taught me to pick a couple of battered, browning paperbacks for the travel which I can discard as I finish. So that will dictate the airplane books; meanwhile I'm cruising steadily through David Copperfield for the sake of others, but not finding it half so annoying as Tale of Two Cities. Probably not finishable before we leave, and my hardcover is too heavy to lug along; but I suspect Dickens may be available in libraries outside Texas.

 

Gracious, woman, you still don't have a Kindle or something you can read on planes?  You know all those classics are free, right?  Even if you never turn it on the whole rest of the year, it's worth it on long trips.  In my, y'know, uh, humble opinion...

[Violet Crown]

Gracious, woman, you still don't have a Kindle or something you can read on planes? You know all those classics are free, right? Even if you never turn it on the whole rest of the year, it's worth it on long trips. In my, y'know, uh, humble opinion...

I tried ... I just can't stand reading books on screens. I need paper, and heft, and turning and crackling, and book smells.

 

Eliana, congratulations! Someday...

 

Jane, that sounds like a great book.

[aggieamy]

 

A Fine Romance - 5 Stars - From time to time, I come across a book that makes me wish I could afford to place a bulk order and send copies to my friends – in this case, to all my friends who love the English countryside and/or British literature. This is one of the most beautiful books that I have ever read. It’s a travel journal of the author and her husband’s two-month trip visiting the homes of authors, artists, and all sorts of fascinating places. The watercolors and photos are an absolute joy – recipes included as well! Reading this makes me look even more forward to our upcoming trip to England.

 

 

 

I adored this book and actually have given it to a few people too.  It's just ... lovely.  I can't think of a better way to describe it than that.

 

Hi Everyone! 

 

We are back from vacation!  Exhausted but had a grand time!  I believe I managed to have a Butterbeer a day!  Frozen, of course.  Dh loved the hot Butterbeer, though I don't know how it managed to drink it in 90 degree weather.  Skye made a Luna Lovegood dress to wear into the park, complete with Luna's radish earrings she bought the last time.  Aly is now in possession of Hermione's time turner and the bag she carries in the 7th book/movie.  And we all got our picture taken with Spiderman.I bought a new copy of Fox in Socks (my favorite Dr. Seuss) in Seussland since my copy is 40 some odd years old and missing the covers. I have not managed to read much of anything as we were busy preparing for vacation and then we were at the park pretty much from open to close every day (and I can't read in the car).  So I'm still reading Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire.  I also started Pygmalion for Book Club this Thursday as the challenge was to read a play, and it was the only one on my Kindle app lol.

 

Missed you all!

 

What a fun trip!  Skye makes a wonderful Luna.  Isn't it fun how even our big kids can still be kids at a place like Universal?!?!

[aggieamy]

This month my book club read:

 

 

As a group we all hated it.  Out of the 9 people in book club only DH and another lady actually finished it.  It was a great premise but boring and disjointed.  It was written by a lawyer and DH thinks that it was written for the sole purpose of getting his trips deducted from his taxes.

 

 

On a fun note .... SIX DAYS UNTIL WE LEAVE FOR ENGLAND AND THEN OUR CRUISE.  I'm so excited.   :hurray:   DH is loading up all our Kindles with books right now.

 

 

[Robin M]

For those who don't wander out on the chat board, an old BAWer, Eaglei is in need of constant prayer for her son who is in critical condition while in the midst of a bone marrow transplant, a long and arduous process. Evidently complications have arisen.   Please keep him and the family and all involved in your thoughts and prayers or join the prayer circle in the thread here.  We're keeping the thread bumped to the first page for the duration for constant prayer.

[aggieamy]

Oh no.  I've been off the boards for a bit but the last update I saw he had been doing so much better.  How sad.  Incredibly sad.  Thanks for posting the update here.  I had missed it on the chat board.  

 

For those who don't wander out on the chat board, an old BAWer, Eaglei is in need of constant prayer for her son who is in critical condition while in the midst of a bone marrow transplant, a long and arduous process. Evidently complications have arisen.   Please keep him and the family and all involved in your thoughts and prayers or join the prayer circle in the thread here.  We're keeping the thread bumped to the first page for the duration for constant prayer.

 

[TeacherZee]

This month my book club read:

 

 

As a group we all hated it. Out of the 9 people in book club only DH and another lady actually finished it. It was a great premise but boring and disjointed. It was written by a lawyer and DH thinks that it was written for the sole purpose of getting his trips deducted from his taxes.

 

 

On a fun note .... SIX DAYS UNTIL WE LEAVE FOR ENGLAND AND THEN OUR CRUISE. I'm so excited. :hurray: DH is loading up all our Kindles with books right now.

Amy, am I remembering correctly that you were going to Stockholm for one of your cruise stops? If so you should try to visit the main public library in Stockholm

[aggieamy]

Amy, am I remembering correctly that you were going to Stockholm for one of your cruise stops? If so you should try to visit the main public library in Stockholm

 

Thank you for that suggestion!  I will plan on doing that.  

 

Forgive me for my poor memory ... particularly after you just completely impressed me with you fantastic memory! ... Do you live in Stockholm?

[shukriyya]

Hello ladies from a long-lost BaWer :seeya:

Thank you to all of you who sent delightful and thoughtful snailmail and pms. They were most gratefully received.

Too much detail to go into on our thread but suffice it to say I am here for the moment. My reading these days consists of reading cards ~ Tarot, Playing Cards, Oracles and Geomancy ~ and reading books and other material on...reading cards. Not a lot of other reading has gotten done. Jane Eyre on audio ~ delightful. Villette on audio ~ currently listening to this on my hikes and am finding it very entertaining.

I'm still having fun with zentangling and will post my latest when I get around to taking a pic uploading it. Little doggie is doing well, most recent triumphs have included chewing apart our rather old couch leaving a delightful trail of foam across the floor which ds came upon as he sat down for music practice. There have been some rowdy and interesting antics involving the bird and the dogs. Homeschooling this year has been very fruitful, perhaps our best year yet as we begin to roll towards the close of another year.

I'm not sure how often I'll be posting here but I did want to stop by and say hello and that I think of you wonderful ladies a whole lot!

[mumto2]

Shukriyya, I am so happy to see your post! :) You have been hugely missed. :grouphug:

 

Trying to get a sleepy son out the door to meet his friends or I would say more. I was up most of the night ......the long days here really get aren't good for my sleep patterns.

[Rosie_0801]

:seeya:  Shukriyya

I have such a lovely deck of Indigenous Australian Oracle cards. They're circular. I might actually read with them one day!

 

 

 

P.S. Thank you for linking Tarot books I am *not* interested in. :D

[Pam in CT]

Good to see you, shukriyya!!  And oh my goodness, I can't wait to see your zentangles...

[Jane in NC]

My dear Shukriyya,

 

You have been missed!  I too look forward to your Zentangles.

 

 

[TeacherZee]

Thank you for that suggestion!  I will plan on doing that.  

 

Forgive me for my poor memory ... particularly after you just completely impressed me with you fantastic memory! ... Do you live in Stockholm?

 

No worries :) Your commet about the cruise jogged my memory. I'm about two hours outside of Stockholm. When is it you will be here?

[Loesje22000]

I read 'Christy' this week,

And I finished Inferno last night.

 

I don't like or enjoy the book, but I don't dislike it either.

It is just not interesting.

Maybe it is a lack of background, that could be.

It has 'beautiful' language though.

[Kareni]

Hello ladies from a long-lost BaWer :seeya:

 

Welcome back!

 

 

Last night I finished Mate Bond the most recent book in Jennifer Ashley's paranormal Shifters Unbound series.  I enjoyed it.  I do think though that one should start with the first book in the series,  Pride Mates,  as this book builds on books that have come before.

 

"To cement the leadership of his North Carolina Shiftertown, Bowman O’Donnell agreed to a “mating of convenience.†Two powerful wolf shifters, he and Kenzie keep the pack in order and are adored by all. Bowman would do anything to protect Kenzie, for in each other’s arms they’ve found far more than friendship. But as strong as their attachment is, they still haven’t formed the elusive mate bond—the almost magical joining of true mates.

 

Now with a monster ravaging the countryside and threatening the Shiftertown community, some in the pack fear that a pair without a true mate bond isn’t strong enough to lead. Bowman and Kenzie will have to rely on their instinctive trust in one another to save their Shifters—and the ensuing battle will either destroy them or give them the chance to seize the love they’ve always craved."

 

 

Not knowing that Mate Bond would arrive with the most recent crop of library holds, it was amusing that one day earlier I had picked up a Jennifer Ashley book to re-read.  It's my favorite of her historical romances, The Madness of Lord Ian Mackenzie.

 

Regards,

Kareni

[Angel]

 

What a fun trip!  Skye makes a wonderful Luna.  Isn't it fun how even our big kids can still be kids at a place like Universal?!?!

Skye makes a great Luna in more ways than one  :lol:   Part of it is her Aspie-ness, part is just her own unique personality.  And yes, I am glad that at 20 she is not "too old" to still have fun.  Heck, dh and I were just big kids too  ;)

 

On a fun note .... SIX DAYS UNTIL WE LEAVE FOR ENGLAND AND THEN OUR CRUISE.  I'm so excited.   :hurray:   DH is loading up all our Kindles with books right now.

Oh. MY. Goodness!  What a great trip!  Well, England, that is...not sure about cruising :laugh:!  Is it just you and dh or are the kids going too?  Be safe and have a wonderful time!  

 

For those who don't wander out on the chat board, an old BAWer, Eaglei is in need of constant prayer for her son who is in critical condition while in the midst of a bone marrow transplant, a long and arduous process. Evidently complications have arisen.   Please keep him and the family and all involved in your thoughts and prayers or join the prayer circle in the thread here.  We're keeping the thread bumped to the first page for the duration for constant prayer.

Thanks for posting this!  I very rarely venture outside of here anymore!

 

Hello ladies from a long-lost BaWer :seeya:

 

I'm not sure how often I'll be posting here but I did want to stop by and say hello and that I think of you wonderful ladies a whole lot!

:seeya:  So glad you popped in to say Hello!  We've missed you!

[Angel]

This month for Book Club we were supposed to read a play, so this week I read Pygmalion by Bernard Shaw (#19).  Skye had read this her senior year, and I remember her saying how different the ending was from the movie.  It has been a while since I’ve actually seen My Fair Lady, and that worked out for me.  I only have vague memories to compare with.  In the beginning I found it difficult to get into the groove of reading a play.  Once everyone had their proper names it became easier.  The jumps in Eliza’s progress between Acts kind of threw me for a little bit of a loop.  I can see where seeing it performed or made into a movie gives her evolution more substance.  I really disliked Henry Higgins.  What a selfish, self-centered, manipulative character!   I believe in the movie he realizes his error and ends up with Eliza?  In the play I can’t even tell if he cares for her at all, or if she is just another convenience to have around, or if the only thing he cares for is the fact that he is not getting his way.  I’m still trying to figure that one out!  And the author’s “epilogue†was filled with a dizzying wrap up that left me scratching my head at his meaning.  I came away with a respect for Eliza, a contempt for Henry Higgins, and wondering if I’m missing some bigger picture here.  AN OK STORY THAT LEFT ME WANTING.

 

Quote:  “The great secret, Eliza, is not having bad manners or good manners or any other particular sort of manners, but having the same manner for all human souls:  in short, behaving as if you were in Heaven, where there are no third-class carriages, and one soul is as good as another.â€

 

“Remember that you are a human being with a soul and the divine gift of articulate speech:  that your native language is the language of Shakespeare and Milton and The Bible…â€