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Book a Week 2015 - BW20: rabbit trails


Robin M
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Hi, Shukriyya! :seeya:  Hope you'll be able to pop in more often. So good to see you here!

 

I just finished the most powerful chapter yet in the book about the Newark riots. It talks about the grand jury presentment (about nine months after the riots) & goes through some of the circumstances of the deaths of the people who were shot & died. In case after case, the documents end with the sentence...

 

"Due to insufficient evidence of any criminal misconduct, the jury found no cause for indictment."

 

And it is repeated over & over & over as the chapter goes over the details of each of the 26 people who died. (Most of the 26 were bystanders who were shot, some even being inside their own apartments when shot through the windows or walls; I think only one had a weapon of any kind. Of the ones shot in the street, many were shot in the back or with massive amounts of firepower.) It's both outrageous & heartbreaking.

 

:crying:

 

ETA: Sadly, the book is still timely re: issues in the US, as this story was posted today in The Baltimore Sun: Video spotlights Freddie Gray at Baker and Mount streets.

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I didn't have time to post my middle of the night read earlier and want to before I forget. I read the second book in the Gideon Crew series by Preston/Childs called Gideon's Corpsehttp://www.prestonchild.com/books/gideonscorpse/I thought it was a real page turner in turns of action packed escapism, rather like the Rollins series many of ud were reading last year. I have never read anything by either of the authors individually but may have to try them. Waiting for the last in the series...

 

Since several of us here are veteran home ed mom's I thought I would mention the really lovely morning I had. I took Ds to a brand new social group that has started in a nearby village mainly because the location sounded nice and a friend wanted to meet there. Over the years we have belonged to many such groups and they always seem to go poof within a year or so. This morning most of my close home ed buddies showed up unexpectedly. We had a great gossip and ds had a great time too. Dd wishes she had come. I really hope this one lasts awhile.

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From David Copperfield, some books from his library:

----------

The natural result of this treatment, continued, I suppose, for some six months or more, was to make me sullen, dull, and dogged. I was not made the less so by my sense of being daily more and more shut out and alienated from my mother. I believe I should have been almost stupefied but for one circumstance.

 

It was this. My father had left a small collection of books in a little room upstairs, to which I had access (for it adjoined my own) and which nobody else in our house ever troubled. From that blessed little room, Roderick Random, Peregrine Pickle, Humphrey Clinker, Tom Jones, the Vicar of Wakefield, Don Quixote, Gil Blas, and Robinson Crusoe, came out, a glorious host, to keep me company. They kept alive my fancy, and my hope of something beyond that place and time,—they, and the Arabian Nights, and the Tales of the Genii,—and did me no harm; for whatever harm was in some of them was not there for me; I knew nothing of it. It is astonishing to me now, how I found time, in the midst of my porings and blunderings over heavier themes, to read those books as I did. It is curious to me how I could ever have consoled myself under my small troubles (which were great troubles to me), by impersonating my favourite characters in them—as I did—and by putting Mr. and Miss Murdstone into all the bad ones—which I did too. I have been Tom Jones (a child's Tom Jones, a harmless creature) for a week together. I have sustained my own idea of Roderick Random for a month at a stretch, I verily believe. I had a greedy relish for a few volumes of Voyages and Travels—I forget what, now—that were on those shelves; and for days and days I can remember to have gone about my region of our house, armed with the centre-piece out of an old set of boot-trees—the perfect realization of Captain Somebody, of the Royal British Navy, in danger of being beset by savages, and resolved to sell his life at a great price. The Captain never lost dignity, from having his ears boxed with the Latin Grammar. I did; but the Captain was a Captain and a hero, in despite of all the grammars of all the languages in the world, dead or alive.

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From David Copperfield, some books from his library:

----------

The natural result of this treatment, continued, I suppose, for some six months or more, was to make me sullen, dull, and dogged. I was not made the less so by my sense of being daily more and more shut out and alienated from my mother. I believe I should have been almost stupefied but for one circumstance.

 

It was this. My father had left a small collection of books in a little room upstairs, to which I had access (for it adjoined my own) and which nobody else in our house ever troubled. From that blessed little room, Roderick Random, Peregrine Pickle, Humphrey Clinker, Tom Jones, the Vicar of Wakefield, Don Quixote, Gil Blas, and Robinson Crusoe, came out, a glorious host, to keep me company. They kept alive my fancy, and my hope of something beyond that place and time,—they, and the Arabian Nights, and the Tales of the Genii,—and did me no harm; for whatever harm was in some of them was not there for me; I knew nothing of it. It is astonishing to me now, how I found time, in the midst of my porings and blunderings over heavier themes, to read those books as I did. It is curious to me how I could ever have consoled myself under my small troubles (which were great troubles to me), by impersonating my favourite characters in them—as I did—and by putting Mr. and Miss Murdstone into all the bad ones—which I did too. I have been Tom Jones (a child's Tom Jones, a harmless creature) for a week together. I have sustained my own idea of Roderick Random for a month at a stretch, I verily believe. I had a greedy relish for a few volumes of Voyages and Travels—I forget what, now—that were on those shelves; and for days and days I can remember to have gone about my region of our house, armed with the centre-piece out of an old set of boot-trees—the perfect realization of Captain Somebody, of the Royal British Navy, in danger of being beset by savages, and resolved to sell his life at a great price. The Captain never lost dignity, from having his ears boxed with the Latin Grammar. I did; but the Captain was a Captain and a hero, in despite of all the grammars of all the languages in the world, dead or alive.

VC--I love this but then Tom Jones is one of my top ten favorite novels should I write such a list.

 

From Jane, who looks forward to reading Peregrine Pickle this summer! (Smollett in July in case anyone else wants to join us.)

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While patience is a very useful virtue, I find it hard to appreciate the things in my life that offer me opportunities to increase my capacity for it.  :grouphug:  I hope your food tolerances are quickly determined and leave you with better health and well being. Good luck with your husband's job search - I've found it to be a nerve wracking process.  And hurrah for your daughter's milestones!  You must be so proud of her.  

 

 

 

Thank you so much, Eliana!!!

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slogging through my current book. Almost done. 

I hate that feeling!  Hopefully you'll finish soon and get into a great book!

 

From David Copperfield, some books from his library:

----------

The natural result of this treatment, continued, I suppose, for some six months or more, was to make me sullen, dull, and dogged. I was not made the less so by my sense of being daily more and more shut out and alienated from my mother. I believe I should have been almost stupefied but for one circumstance.

 

It was this. My father had left a small collection of books in a little room upstairs, to which I had access (for it adjoined my own) and which nobody else in our house ever troubled. From that blessed little room, Roderick Random, Peregrine Pickle, Humphrey Clinker, Tom Jones, the Vicar of Wakefield, Don Quixote, Gil Blas, and Robinson Crusoe, came out, a glorious host, to keep me company. They kept alive my fancy, and my hope of something beyond that place and time,—they, and the Arabian Nights, and the Tales of the Genii,—and did me no harm; for whatever harm was in some of them was not there for me; I knew nothing of it. It is astonishing to me now, how I found time, in the midst of my porings and blunderings over heavier themes, to read those books as I did. It is curious to me how I could ever have consoled myself under my small troubles (which were great troubles to me), by impersonating my favourite characters in them—as I did—and by putting Mr. and Miss Murdstone into all the bad ones—which I did too. I have been Tom Jones (a child's Tom Jones, a harmless creature) for a week together. I have sustained my own idea of Roderick Random for a month at a stretch, I verily believe. I had a greedy relish for a few volumes of Voyages and Travels—I forget what, now—that were on those shelves; and for days and days I can remember to have gone about my region of our house, armed with the centre-piece out of an old set of boot-trees—the perfect realization of Captain Somebody, of the Royal British Navy, in danger of being beset by savages, and resolved to sell his life at a great price. The Captain never lost dignity, from having his ears boxed with the Latin Grammar. I did; but the Captain was a Captain and a hero, in despite of all the grammars of all the languages in the world, dead or alive.

This (almost) makes me want to try Dickens again.  ....Almost 

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In honour of Eurovision BookDepository is running Bookovision http://m.bookdepository.com/bookovisionthere are some really interesting looking books

 

There are indeed some interesting titles on the list; thanks for sharing the link, TeacherZee.

 

Butterflies in November  sounds intriguing and is conveniently available at my library.

 

 

I don't usually watch movies; however, my husband and I saw The Wall a few years ago.  What a curious experience that was.  I wonder how closely the movie followed the book.

 

Regards,

Kareni

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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!

Sounds like so much fun.  We were just talking about Fox in Socks the other day.  James used to torture me with it years ago, reading it aloud to him all the time and now he hardly remembers it.   :laugh:   I think I'll dig it out and make him read it to me.   :lol: 

 

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.

Pooh, I missed it.  I wanted to see that.

 

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 definitely prefer reading physical books on planes.  Learned my lesson when forgot and all I had was my nook. Had to sit there and fiddle my thumbs waiting until we got to the right altitude.   No more

 

 

 

 

This month my book club read:

 

7723468.jpg

 

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.

How exciting. I'll be you'll have loads of fun.  One of these years we'll be going.

 

 

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!

Welcome back, Doll!    Happy you checked in.  We've been worried. 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

I'm still plugging away with Swann's Way and about to put it on the back burner for a reread of if on a winter's night a traveler for class.  Fun wise, I'm reading Vicki Petterrson's The Lost.  Have been in hibernation mode with writing classes and end of the 9th grade wrap it up / tie it up with a bow / get er done now or else you'll have summer class blues.

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Here's a book that is currently free to Kindle readers; it sounds intriguing but the mention of horror makes me a tad nervous.

 

Ghost in the Canteen (The Adventures of Lydia Trinket Book 1) by Jen Rasmussen

 

"Homicidal toddlers, demon serial killers, handsome dead guys. Not to mention the PTA. Lydia Trinket has a few challenges, but she's got it all (mostly) under control. Until she goes to banish a poltergeist, and he banishes her instead.

Then Lydia is trapped in a netherworld with all the spirits she's sent there, and her long career as a ghost hunter looks a lot less successful from this side. She's surrounded by enemies in a constantly shifting landscape of dangers, where the whims of the dead outrank the laws of reality.

Survival would be good. Escape would be better. But Lydia is about to discover that there's no such thing as home free."

 

This Amazon review by Laura K. is informative ~

 

"I really enjoyed this book. Lydia is a messy, very human character, who tries, but doesn't always manage, to hide her vulnerability behind a tough snarky exterior. (And she's middle aged -- I love that she's not 25.) The concept of this book -- a living woman drawn into the world of the dead through the historic canteen she uses to banish troublesome ghosts -- is refreshingly unique. Jen Rasmussen moves smoothly between laugh-out-loud snark, horror, and truly moving observations about love, loss, and death. The plot moves along at speed and it's a hard book to put down (had a couple of 3am "just one more chapter" nights before finishing.) Unlike many books in series that seem to just stop rather than end, this book has a fully resolved story arc while leaving intriguing story threads to follow in future books. (As an added benefit, this is one of the most typo-free and error-free texts I've ever read and the ebook formatting is excellent.)"

 

Regards,

Kareni

 

 

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Well, serendipity strikes again. Who do I find in Darwin's Ghosts? Diderot, of all people. "For twenty-five years or so Diderot had been keeping up with scientific advances in anatomy, microscopy, physiology, and the natural sciences, speculating about the nature of life itself, and the origins of time and species."

 

Apparently, he was trying to create an encyclopedia and educate the general public, but that was seriously frowned upon at the time. He was constantly in danger of prison or worse, which is why he took to writing his philosophical stories in a cryptic fashion. The authorities had trouble pinning his words down to prove they were heretical.

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Well, some things don't change...still no multi-quoting :(

 

Writing in the dark here as sleep eludes me. Thank you, sweet BaWers, for the warm welcome back. I don't have too much literarily to contribute though. I could write an extemporaneous poem about the white, furry fact of a little dog snuggled up against the entangled limbs of the dream-embroidered darkness. Or I could keep things topical and respond to Rosie's cheeky comment...

 

:seeya: Shukriyya

 

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

I bet that's the Oracle of the Dreamtime, correct? I own only one round deck, Daughters of the Moon.

 

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

Hehe, yes, well what can I say? My card-reading has taken a decidedly classical shift. The world of non-illustrated Pips is really quite fascinating.
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I finished No Cause for Indictment: An Autopsy of Newark by Ron Porambo last night. It's a sprawling book, taking on racism, the Newark riots, the Mafia, crooked & militant police, corrupt politicians, feeble justice institutions, failing medical & educational systems, a meek Fourth Estate, & more. Porambo apparently went where others wouldn't, interviewing & pounding the pavement for four years to gather his information for this book (as well as for numerous newspaper articles & series he wrote on the topics). As a piece of journalism, it is not neutral -- not at all; Porambo is angry on behalf of the citizens of Newark & it shows in his acerbic writing. Even though the 40th anniversary reissue was apparently edited more than the original version, there is still plenty of personal vitrol left & he skews strongly against all the people & institutions he takes on; he even skewers Newark's newspapers for being weak & unopinionated when he feels they should have been leading the charge. Since I was not familiar with the Newark riots prior to reading this book, nor was I familiar the local politicians & influential people, I did get a bit bogged down in the sheer numbers of individuals covered in this book. It is sometimes hard to follow along as the book jumps around between topics even though, ultimately, it's all interrelated -- so many factors feeding into the slow & ugly demise of a city & its people, so many deaths that were completely overlooked or ignored. After all of the investigating & work, the afterword covers Porambo himself years later with an odd & bitter ending. Even with its weaknesses, I think it's an important book, a raw piece of American history. Unfortunately, it also shows how little progress we've made in almost 50 years. Despite its flaws, it is a scathing book that is worth reading.

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I managed to finish an interesting cozy today. Frozen Stiff https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/12071692-frozen-stiffwas the third in a series starring a forensic investigator. It was a good combination of light humour and amateur sleuthing which is what makes cozy's popular. I will admit that no more in the series seem to be available to me and I am fine with that. If I run into one in the future I would probably read it.

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I've read and enjoyed several books by Lisa Marie Rice in the past.  [i enjoy her bio which reads:  "Lisa Marie Rice is eternally 30 years old and will never age. She is tall and willowy and beautiful. Men drop at her feet like ripe pears. She has won every major book prize in the world. She is a black belt with advanced degrees in archaeology, nuclear physics, and Tibetan literature. She is a concert pianist. Did I mention her Nobel Prize? Of course, Lisa Marie Rice is a virtual woman who exists only at the keyboard when writing erotic romance. She disappears when the monitor winks off."] 

 

I've also enjoyed a romantic suspense book she wrote under the pseudonym Elizabeth Jennings ~ Darkness at Dawn.

 

Recently when I encountered The Button Collector by Elizabeth Jennings, I grabbed it.  I'm clearly not the only one as my Kindle mentions a couple of Lisa Marie Rice titles in the "Customers who bought this book also bought" list.  Oops!

 

So, as you may have gathered, this book is not what I expected as its author is a different Elizabeth Jennings than the one I was expecting!  That said, I enjoyed it.

 

 

"On a gray day at a gritty flea market, Caroline stumbles upon an unlikely treasure—jars and jars of buttons in a dazzling kaleidoscope of colors.

She is reminded of something she has made herself forget—she too has a jar of buttons, an inheritance from her mother, which Caroline has put on the back of a shelf, out of sight, out of mind, out of her life.

That night, Caroline takes the jar down from the shelf. Intending only to look at the buttons, she opens the lid . . . and pours out her family's secrets.

THE BUTTON COLLECTOR unfolds with a series of vignettes in which each button reveals a piece of the complicated history of Caroline's family. A tragic accident has forever altered the relationship between Caroline, her mother Emma, and her cousin Gail. Caroline sifts through the joys and anguishes of the past, bringing both herself and the reader to the realization that memories—like buttons—can sometimes be used to fasten together something we have left undone by mistake."

 

 

Here's a nice review: Book Diva Review: The Button Collector

 

And an interview with the author: The Power of Small Things

 

I don't believe any here would find the content of this book problematic.  My copy includes book discussion questions.

 

Regards,

Kareni

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We're celebrating the third and final graduate of the family-centered learning project, but I wanted to pop in, say, "Hello!" and post my list. I've reached Book 43 in my quest to read at least 104 books in 2015. (This is thanks in part to a modest graphic works binge a few weeks ago, I am unafraid to concede.) The last three books I've read have been simply terrific:

 

â–  The Psychopath Test (Jon Ronson; 2011. 288 pages. Non-fiction.)
â–  The Subprimes (Karl Taro Greenfeld; 2015. 320 pages. Fiction.)
■ So You’ve Been Publicly Shamed (Jon Ronson; 2015. 304 pages. Non-fiction.)

 

Jon Ronson's voice is quirky, a tad neurotic, and lots of fun. He presents interesting information in a compelling manner -- not unlike a documentarian. Shamed deals with the personal downfalls in the age of social media; Psychopath's content is pretty evident.

 

The Subprimes is a satire that read so "true" that it was actually more frightening than funny. Although this thread stays remarkably angst- and controversy-free, the widening gap between "haves" and "have-nots" is discussed vigorously elsewhere on the boards. Folks interested in that divide will love Subprimes.

 

My complete list to date

 

â–  The Psychopath Test (Jon Ronson; 2011. 288 pages. Non-fiction.)
â–  The Subprimes (Karl Taro Greenfeld; 2015. 320 pages. Fiction.)
■ So You’ve Been Publicly Shamed (Jon Ronson; 2015. 304 pages. Non-fiction.)
â–  Shooting Arrows: Archery for Adult Beginners (Steve Ruis; 2012. 124 pages. Non-fiction.)
■ Beginner’s Guide to Traditional Archery (Brian J. Sorrells; 2004. 122 pages. Non-fiction.) *
â–  The Little Foxes (Lillian Hellman; 1947. Drama.)
â–  Jean Luc Mylayne (Terrie Sultan, and more; 2007. 140 pages. Non-fiction.)
â–  Lazarus, Vol. 3: Conclave (Greg Rucka; 2015. 144 pages. Graphic Fiction.)
â–  Joe the Barbarian (Grant Morrison; 2011. 224 pages. Graphic Fiction.)
â–  All My Puny Sorrows (Miriam Toews; 2014. 330 pages. Fiction.)
â–  Container Gardening for the Midwest (William Aldrich; 2008. 208 pages. Non-fiction.)
■ How to Win at College: Surprising Secrets for Success from the Country’s Top Students (Cal Newport; 2005. 193 pages. Non-fiction.)
â–  Read This! (Hans Weyandt; 2012 200 pages. Non-fiction.)
â–  Outcast (Robert Kirkman; 2015. 152 pages. Graphic Fiction.)
â–  Birthright, Vol. 1: Homecoming (Joshua Williamson; 2015. 128 pages. Graphic Fiction.)
â–  Spread, Vol. 1: No Hope (Justin Jordan; 2015. 160 pages. Graphic Fiction.)
â–  The Woods, Vol. 1 (James Tynion; 2014. 96 pages. Graphic Fiction.)
â–  Odd Thomas (Dean Koontz; 2003. 480 pages. Fiction.)
â–  My Sister Lives on the Mantelpiece (Annabel Pitcher; 2015. 224 pages. Fiction.)
â–  The Descent (Tim Johnston; 2015. 384 pages. Fiction.)
â–  The Stranger (Harlan Corben; 2015. 400 pages. Fiction.)
â–  Morning Glories, Vol. 5: For a Better Future (Nick Spencer; 2013. 136 pages. Graphic Fiction.)
â–  Morning Glories, Vol. 4: Truants (Nick Spencer; 2013. 216 pages. Graphic Fiction.)
â–  Morning Glories, Vol. 3: P.E. (Nick Spencer; 2012. 240 pages. Graphic Fiction.)
â–  Morning Glories, Vol. 2: All Will Be Free (Nick Spencer; 2011. 168 pages. Graphic Fiction.)
â–  Morning Glories, Vol. 1: For a Better Future (Nick Spencer; 2011. 192 pages. Graphic Fiction.)
â–  The Girl on the Train (Paula Hawkins; 2015. 336 pages. Fiction.)
â–  Afterparty (Daryl Gregory; 2014. 304 pages. Fiction.)
â–  Howards End Is on the Landing: A Year of Reading from Home (Susan Hill; 2009. 240 pages. Non-fiction.)
â–  Undivided (Neal Shusterman; 2014. 384 pages. Fiction.)
■ Can’t We Talk about Something More Pleasant?: A Memoir (Roz Chast; 2014. 240 pages. Graphic memoir.)
â–  The Party, After You Left (Roz Chast; 2014. 96 pages. Graphic collection.)
â–  The Days of Abandonment (Elena Ferrante; 2005. 188 pages. Fiction.)
â–  Naked Statistics: Stripping the Dread from the Data (Charles Wheelan; 2013. 302 pages. Non-fiction.)
â–  The Storm in the Barn (Matt Phelan; 2009. 208 pages. Graphic fiction.)
â–  Kayak Morning: Reflections on Love, Grief, and Small Boats (Roger Rosenblatt; 2012. 160 pages. Non-fiction.)
â–  Reading as Therapy: What Contemporary Fiction Does for Middle-Class Americans (Timothy Aubry; 2011. 268 pages. Non-fiction.)
â–  Dept. of Speculation (Jenny Offill; 2014. 192 pages. Fiction.)
â–  The Paying Guests (Sarah Waters; 2014. 576 pages. Fiction.)
â–  Vodou (Mauro Peressini and Rachel Beauvoir-Dominique; 2013. 108 pages. Non-fiction.)
â–  The Unspeakable: And Other Subjects of Discussion (Meghan Daum; 2014. 256 pages. Non-fiction.)
â–  The Shining Girls (Lauren Beukes; 2013. 400 pages. Fiction.)
â–  Abroad (Katie Crouch; 2014. 304 pages. Fiction.)

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I am just starting Mansfield Park and finally finished the lectures for Coursera's "The Emergence of the Modern Middle East."  (The course ended a month ago so I'm a bit behind).  I haven't studied the political history of the middle east before and the lectures were enjoyable, easy to follow and the professor has a soothing voice.  I'm uncertain what lectures to listen to next.

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26. "Temple Theology: An Introduction" by Margaret Barker.  Ms. Barker is a Method Preacher from England and a biblical scholar.  She makes my head ache, in a good way.  Really difficult to describe her works.  Wholly inadequate description, but she compares early Christianity to early Judaism, using surviving fragments of manuscripts.


 


25. "Walking With the Women of the New Testament" by Heather Farrell (LDS). Not a profoundly deep book, but impressive in its own right, because she has attempted -- as far as I can tell, successfully -- to list every woman mentioned in the New Testament, whether named or not.  I was surprised by how many there were.


 


24. "Cub Scout BEAR Handbook."  Yes, I really did read it cover to cover.  I've been a Bear Den Leader for long enough to know the old book, and I'm trying to wrap my head around the new program, so I took the book with me to wait for my son's all day neuropsych evaluation.


 


23. "How to Read Literature Like  a Professor for Kids" by Thomas C. Foster.


22.  "Women and the Priesthood" by Sheri Dew (LDS).


21. "No More Meltdowns" by Jed Baker, Ph.D. 


20. "Amazed by Grace" by Sheri Dew (LDS).


19. "Teaching from Rest: A Homeschooler's Guide to Unshakable Peace" by Sarah Mackenzie.


18. "How to Become a Straight-A Student" by Cal Newport.


17. "Eight Plus One" by Robert Cormier.


16.  "Unbroken" by Laura Hillenbrand.


15. "How to Train Your Dragon" by Cressida Cowell.


14.  "As You Wish" by Cary Elwes.


13. "The Giver" by Lois Lowry. 


12. "My Louisiana Sky" by Kimberly Willis Holt. 


11. "Things I Overheard While Talking to Myself" by Alan Alda.  


10. "When I Was Your Age" edited by Amy Ehrlich.


9. "Freak the Mighty" by Rodman Philbrick.  


8. “Broken Things to Mend†by Jeffrey R. Holland (LDS)


7. “When You Can't Do It Alone†by Brent Top. (LDS)


6. “What to Do When You Worry Too Much†and “What to Do When Your Temper Flares†by Dawn Huebner, Ph.D.â€


5. “Tales of a Female Nomad†by Rita Golden Gelman.


4. “Heaven is for Real†by Todd Burpo.


3. "Your Happily Ever After" and "The Remarkable Soul of a Woman" by Dieter F. Uchtdorf. (LDS)


2. "Cliff-Hanger" by Gloria Skurzynski and Alane Ferguson.


1. "Rage of Fire" by Gloria Skurzynski and Alane Ferguson.


 

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I am just starting Mansfield Park and finally finished the lectures for Coursera's "The Emergence of the Modern Middle East."  (The course ended a month ago so I'm a bit behind).  I haven't studied the political history of the middle east before and the lectures were enjoyable, easy to follow and the professor has a soothing voice.  I'm uncertain what lectures to listen to next.

 

Oh bummer! I wish I'd known about that! I enjoyed 'Constitutional Struggles in the Muslim World' last year and this would have paired with it nicely. :(

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Some intriguing titles mentioned in this piece ~

Beyond The Best-Sellers: Nancy Pearl Recommends Under-The-Radar Reads

 

Regards,

Kareni

Thanks for this list. Several sound interesting and they are actually at my libraries. My holds list is growing. ;)

 

ETA....One of the books that intrigued me was The Revolutions by Felix Gilman, to be honest my library had a far more captivating description then NPR which made me go looking for reviews. This http://www.strangehorizons.com/reviews/2014/07/the_revolutions.shtml is fascinating. I don't have the skill to do any more than link but along with a great description compares this book to Jonathan Strange and Mr. Norrell. I just keep coming back to that book this week. Both covers are really good imo. I am getting the one without the newspaper article apparently.

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First, I would never have opened Guantanamo Diary without Stacia's encouragement.  Last month, she wrote:

 

 

Also, for those mentioning Guantanamo Diary.... It is surprisingly readable & you may be able to get through it more easily than you think you could. There are definitely things that are harsh, but the manner of the writing makes it easier to read, I think. Perhaps it is because Slahi often looks for the humanity within himself & others (even his interrogators) & leans on God. All the blacked-out words/sections (by gov't censors) also make it interesting, along with the various footnotes.

 

Eliana, I do think that you too can face this one as I did.

 

For one thing, Mohameddu Ould Slahi gives a lesson in resilience.  Chance places us where we are--but shift our geography or our decade of birth and any of us could be in other circumstances.  I have often said that I read certain books to keep memory alive.  What shocks me about Guantanamo Diary is that the author does not need me to keep his memory--he remains imprisoned fourteen years after turning himself in to his government's police for questioning.

 

This book raises questions on how our government acted in the days and months following 9/11.  I cannot help but wonder about the sort of mind that devised a plan to place people on land outside of the US (ironically Cuba) so that US law would not apply despite US control of the facility.  These prisoners were initially denied basic protections of the Geneva Convention.  Fortunately that has changed but as an American I find it mind boggling that we tortured prisoners here.  My friends, we are better than that. 

 

Guantanamo Diary reminds us that memory is short. Yes, Mohameddu Ould Slahi was a member of al Qaeda--but that was back when the US supported al Qaeda and other Mujahadeen groups in their fight against the Soviet occupation in Afghanistan during the Cold War. 

 

And Guantanamo Diary provides an amazing lesson in self education.  The author learns his fourth language (English) at Guantanamo.  He polishes his grammar and writes in idioms.  After several years of imprisonment he is given access to books:

 

...I still remember one book called The Catcher in the Rye that made me laugh until my stomach hurt.  It was such a funny book.  I tried to keep my laughter as low as possible, pushing it down, but the guards felt something.

 

"Are you crying?" one of them asked.

 

"No, I'm alright," I responded.  It was my first unofficial laughter in the ocean of tears.

 

 

Faith in God and curiosity for life are the ingredients that keep Mohameddu Ould Slahi going.  Amazing.

 

Thank you Stacia for recommending this book

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I finished Snake Oil by T Ford.  It. Was. Awful.  The story was kind of cute.  But the writing.  Oh, my goodness, the writing.  It was so bad.  So, so, so incredibly bad.  I had to edit as I read just to make it make some sort of sense and even then sometimes it just didn't.  This is a book for kids.  Absolutely no way should you just give it to a kid to read.  It really felt like the author had just written a draft and published it.  All done, no editing.  It badly needs editing.  And with editing it might actually be a good book.  As it is, I can't recommend it at all.

 

I also finished King Arthur and His Knights of the Round Table by Roger Lacelyn Green.  It was a very good retelling of the King Arthur/Knights of the Round Table stories.  It's aimed at kids so how it dealt with Guinevere and Launcelot's indiscretions leading to the downfall of Camelot was very well done.

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Oh bummer! I wish I'd known about that! I enjoyed 'Constitutional Struggles in the Muslim World' last year and this would have paired with it nicely. :(

 I think there's going to be an "Emergence of the Modern Middle East part II" so you could be on the watch list for that.  I tried a Shakespeare class last night but it's has too much reading and I need my hands and eyes free to work.  Maybe a myth lecture course?

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58 (this is so I remember where I,ve gotten to)

 

I read Wrong About Japan. I recently discovered Hello Talk and have been conversing, via the translate function, with some people in Japan. Hence the book. This turned out to be a really fast way to get hiragana down lol. And some vocab. The timing of this project of mine looks totally stupid if you don,t take into account that quote about learning thing from The Sword in the Stone. Sigh.

 

Nan

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