Book a Week 2016 - BW17: darwin's bards

[Mom-ninja.]

Finished Staked and i must say the story took turns I was not expecting. I'm a little disappointed by some. Anyone have any idea as to when #9 is supposed to be published? 

[Butter]

Book #42: The Road to Oz by L. Frank Baum.  Fifth of the Oz books.  I love Baum's ability to play with words and his imagination so much.

[Violet Crown]

Finished The Eustace Diamonds by Trollope. Hefty but an enjoyable read; very influenced by Thackeray's Vanity Fair and Collins' The Moonstone, so if you like those, you'll like this.

 

Auditioning for Next Book now. First up: The Raven: A Biography of Sam Houston, by Marquis James, which apparently won a Pulitzer.

[Onceuponatime]

 

 

I should be reading Darwin but I just want to take a nap after my morning of picking strawberries and my early afternoon time wasting.

 

 

Ha! It appears I've been stalking you. We went strawberry picking in the early afternoon. Then I had a nap. Then I made a pie, which is waiting to be sampled. ðŸ“ðŸ“ðŸ“ðŸ“

[Chrysalis Academy]

I finished Mourning Becomes Electra by Eugene O'Neil. I had read it before but appreciated it more right after listening to Vandiver's Greek Tragedy course. I'm on a binge reading through modern remakes of classical tragedy.  I read The Darker Face of the Earth by Rita Dove last week, a retake on the Oedipus story. Interestingly, though they were both written in the 20th century they were both set right around the Civil War. It got me thinking about the Civil War as the U.S.'s Trojan War - not comparing the causes, but as a conflict that has had a defining impact on our national mythology.

 

 

[mumto2]

Finished Staked and i must say the story took turns I was not expecting. I'm a little disappointed by some. Anyone have any idea as to when #9 is supposed to be published?

 

I think they normally come out in the spring. I just took a look at Hearne's blog https://kevinhearne.com/writers-grove/ and Oberon has a book coming out this fall about poodles. :lol: There will also be some novellas. No date given for the next in the series.

 

I get to comment on the book now. ;) It was very different from the last few in the series which I considered a good thing overall. I have been getting bogged down in the middle of most of the recent ones in the series. Love the beginning and the end but the long running scenes are a bit boring in the last few books. I liked the fact that this one continuously moved on instead focusing on one part of the storyline forever. I am really sad about some of my favourite characters.

 

I am reading the latest in the China Bayles series Blood Orange. Not sure I like where it is going....I am also quilting pretty intensely right now. Trying to get the hexigon one sandwiched together so I can quilt it. The main problem is not enough floor space! Also the back wasn't large enough. Hopefully that part of the project will get finished today.

[Violet Crown]

Oberon has a book coming out this fall about poodles.

 

I am so looking forward to your review of this, down the road.

[aggieamy]

<<QUOTE>> I finished 'Blood, Sweet and Tears', a Dutch Biography about Winston Churchill by Harry van Wijnen:

 

Starting with becoming Prime Minister until the day of Pearl Harbour.

It mades me wonder if his Speeches are available online in audio format.

And a good movie / documentary about him / his life.. <<QUOTES>>

 

I love that cover.  There's so much detail there and it's a snapshot of the time. 

 

I am still working on Shades of Grey by Jasper Fforde (for book club) & West with the Night by Beryl Markham.

 

I find little reading time these days as I'm in the middle of starting not one, but two, part-time jobs -- both having to do with books. One is working in the local library as a desk/circulation clerk. The other is working in my local indie bookstore. Though I'm learning the ropes at the store as a clerk, my position there will lean more toward marketing & events over the coming months. One of the very cool perks of working at the bookstore is being able to request Advance Reading Copies (ARCs) of books from various publishers (including Melville House, a fave of mine)! The downside of ramping up/learning & then actually doing two jobs is that I have little to no time to read anymore! It's both exciting & overwhelming right now in an already busy life (dd is finishing her senior year of high school, dh is working out of state, etc...). I really didn't intend to end up with two jobs. I applied for both, thinking I might get one. For a short while, it looked like I would get neither. And, then, I ended up getting both (& actually the bookstore job is a new one they've created, so it's a bit of an unknown). So... wish me luck, friends!

 

 

 

You will do great.  Give it a few weeks and you'll feel less like a kid on the first day of kindergarten and more like a seasoned expert. 

 

 

 

Bookriot listed what they consider must read memoirs

 

I've only read three from the list

 

Stephen King on writing (awesome)

Tolstoy and the Purple Chair (lead to huge increase in my wishlist)

Dreams of my Father (world's worst written book)

 

Have Out of Africa and Angela's Ashes in my stacks.

 

I'll be adding a few to my wishlist.

 

Which ones have you read?

 

 

I think I have only read the Stephen King memoir.  I prefer my memoirs to be silly and lighthearted.  I think the only memoirs I've read in recent years have been Dick Van Dykes and Bob Newhart. 

 

The funny thing about memoirs and biographies was that I used to devour them as a teen. Absolutely gobble them up. I think they functioned as some kind of 'ideal self' giving me ideas of what and who I wished to become. 

 

As an adult, I feel positively uncomfortable about them, unless they are highly fictionalized. I often avoid that section of the library. Weird.

 

 

I can't explain it but I know exactly what you are saying. 

 

My Family and Other Animals is one of my family's favourite ever read-alouds :)

 

How timely.  I'm still working on adding books to DD read aloud shelf and am glad for this recommendation.  

 

Finished The Eustace Diamonds by Trollope. Hefty but an enjoyable read; very influenced by Thackeray's Vanity Fair and Collins' The Moonstone, so if you like those, you'll like this.

Auditioning for Next Book now. First up: The Raven: A Biography of Sam Houston, by Marquis James, which apparently won a Pulitzer.

 

Added to my reading list.  I loved The Moonstone and Woman in White. 

Edited April 27, 2016 by aggieamy

[aggieamy]

I have been reading but a few of the titles I won't mention because they are research for my Flufferton Abbey week ... :coolgleamA:

 

DD and I finished The Kitchen Madonna by Rumer Godden.  It was just a lovely book and read more like a longish short story. 

 

Finished Appointment with Death by Agatha Christie. These books are so over the top unbelievable but I just adore them.  

 

 

[Butter]

My 9 year old son is reading Bambi.  He just said to me, "It's a good book, but... The beginning was great. But the middle. Why does the author keep killing off characters?!?!"  I don't think he's getting the environmentalist aspect of the book.  He's just horrified all the deer keep getting shot.

 

ETA: He just said, "Why do I get the idea the author is a vegetarian???"

Edited April 27, 2016 by Butter

[Kareni]

Last night I finished the contemporary romance One of These Nights: The Harvest Cove Series by Kendra Leigh Castle. It was an enjoyable read, and I would read more by this author.

 

"Moving to Harvest Cove has been like a dream come true for Zoe Watson, providing her with a job she loves and close friends she considers practically family. The only problem: a certain prickly—albeit handsome—park ranger who can’t seem to help tracking mud into her art gallery…or showing up in her dreams.

Jason Evans swore off relationships the day his ex-wife walked out the door, and the local gallery owner is no exception. But when an accident forces him to accept the one thing he hates most in the world—help—he discovers that with Zoe in his life, there are more highs than lows. Despite their long-simmering attraction, neither Jason nor Zoe thinks that two people with so little in common could possibly have a future together. But one of these nights, they may just discover how alike they are.…"

 

 

Regards,

Kareni

[Chrysalis Academy]

I finished Genghis Khan and the Making of the Modern World by Jack Weatherford. Stacia read/reviewed it last year, and I read Weatherford's Secret History of the Mongol Queens at that time.  This book was even better! Truly fantasitc. I think it has completed the transition in my thinking about the Renaissance, the role of the Mongols in history, and the dark side of "Enlightenment" history-telling.  I highly recommend this book, and thanks again to Stacia for turning me on to it.

[mumto2]

I am finally attempting to use an Overdrive audiobook on my Kindle Fire. I have never used the fire for anything except youtube and prime movies. I am not a techy. So I have checked out my book and can play it in my browser.....do I need to sign into the library every single time I want to "read" my book? I have supposedly downloaded an mp3 but can't find it. Any advice????

[Jane in NC]

Oops--posted in last week's thread which accidentally surfaced today.  So here is a repeat of my post from this evening.

 

 

Traveling ought also to teach him distrust; but at the same time he will discover how many truly kind-hearted people there are with whom he never before had, or ever again will have any further communication, who yet are ready to offer him the most most disinterested assistance.

 

 

And so The Voyage of the Beagle ends.

 

I was ready for Darwin to return to England after almost 700 pages.  Enough English prejudice!  But then his diatribe against slavery in the last chapter demonstrates that Darwin does not justify reducing human value to that of livestock as do some of his contemporaries.

 

We are told

(A) traveler should be a botanist...

 

 

I want travelers to be bird enthusiasts but that does not diminish botany.

 

One thing that confused me momentarily was the mention of Napoleon's tomb in St. Helena.  Isn't Napoleon entombed in Paris?  Yes, but when the Beagle was published in 1839, Napoleon's remains were still in St. Helena, that Atlantic island off of Africa where Napoleon had been exiled.  (I honestly thought of the old NYC chestnut of Who is Buried in Grant's Tomb? when Darwin mentioned Napoleon's tomb in this isolated place.)

 

Moving forward.  I am reading A Raisin in the Sun, Lorraine Hansberry's remarkable play on race that was produced on Broadway in 1959.  More to say on the playwright another day.

[Butter]

Book #43: Toad in the Hole by Paisley Ray, #4 of the Rachael O'Brien Chronicles.  It's a nice mind vacation.  Rachael gets into some funny situations.  I enjoyed it.

 

Book #44: That Bear Ate My Pants! by Tony James Slater.  I love his sense of humor.  He's just a seriously funny guy.  I literally laughed out loud so many times.  This book is about his crazy adventures while he was a volunteer at an Ecuadorian animal rescue place.  The only problem is he really likes four letter words.

[Lady Florida.]

I haven't given a reading update in a while so...

 

Finished 

 

Charles and Emma audio book - Rose, I really enjoyed this. Thanks for suggesting it as a Beagle side read.

 

The Iliad - also audio book - I had forgotten just how bloody and violent this book is, but I'm glad to have reread it (or listened to it). It also reminded me how much I like The Odyssey better.

 

I'm almost finished with the first Inspector Roy Grace book by Peter James. I like it so far, though it took a strange twist. I'm not sure the twist was necessary for the story but who knows. I'm anxious to see how it ends.

 

Reading -

 

-Master and Commander - I'm really trying to feel the love here but it isn't happening. They're finally getting the Sophie (or is it Sophia?) out for real so maybe things will pick up now. 

 

-Battling the Gods - This had to go back to the library and there's a waiting list so I couldn't renew it. I considered buying the Kindle version but I don't think it's a book I really need to own. I added myself to the hold list and will just pick up where I left off when I get it. There are 2 people ahead of me on the list. It's not as though it's a story where I'll have to remember the plot when I check it out again.

 

-I'm slowly working my way through Voyage of the Beagle and The House of Mirth. 

 

-I also started over with Candide. Thanks, Mom-ninja. Your posts about it prompted me to pick it up again.

 

Edited April 28, 2016 by Lady Florida.

[Lady Florida.]

I keep reading this thread title as Darwin's beards.  :laugh:

[Kareni]

ETA: Does anyone else keep mistaking the thread's title for Darwin's Beards?

 

 

I keep reading this thread title as Darwin's beards.  :laugh:

 

Great minds think alike, it would appear!

 

Regards,

Kareni

[Chrysalis Academy]

I haven't given a reading update in a while so...

 

Finished 

 

Charles and Emma audio book - Rose, I really enjoyed this. Thanks for suggesting it as a Beagle side read.

 

Glad you liked it!

 

The Iliad - also audio book - I had forgotten just how bloody and violent this book is, but I'm glad to have reread it (or listened to it). It also reminded me how much I like The Odyssey better.

 

Agreed. I've been re-listening, too, and I think dd will not like The Iliad much. The Odyssey will be a much better intro to Greek epics for her.

 

I'm almost finished with the first Inspector Roy Grace book by Peter James. I like it so far, though it took a strange twist. I'm not sure the twist was necessary for the story but who knows. I'm anxious to see how it ends.

 

Reading -

 

-Master and Commander - I'm really trying to feel the love here but it isn't happening. They're finally getting the Sophie (or is it Sophia?) out for real so maybe things will pick up now. 

 

-Battling the Gods - This had to go back to the library and there's a waiting list so I couldn't renew it. I considered buying the Kindle version but I don't think it's a book I really need to own. I added myself to the hold list and will just pick up where I left off when I get it. There are 2 people ahead of me on the list. It's not as though it's a story where I'll have to remember the plot when I check it out again.

 

I'm on a pause with this too, but I liked it enough to buy myself a copy when I had to return it to the library!

 

-I'm slowly working my way through Voyage of the Beagle and The House of Mirth. 

 

Yes, our Beagle progress is slow, we've been in Tech Week for a play.  I keep wanting to re-read The Age of Innocence, but it is still lingering on my stack.

 

-I also started over with Candide. Thanks, Mom-ninja. Your posts about it prompted me to pick it up again.

 

Not sure why I felt the need to have a specific conversation with you this morning, Kathy, but I had a mental response to almost everything in your post, so there ya go.  :lol:

[Kareni]

There's a lovely post on the Tor.com site that I truly enjoyed reading.

 

On Finding the Right Book at the Right Time by Caitlyn Paxson

 

"Sometimes a book comes into your life at just the right moment. There’s something in it that speaks to your specific place in space and time, like the heavens aligning for an eclipse.

 

I spent my 16^th year as an exchange student in France, living with a French family, attending a French school, and being completely immersed in the language—which I barely spoke a word of when I arrived. Even though I was an obsessive reader, I left my books at home. The whole point, I’d reasoned, was to forsake English for a year while I learned a different language. I rapidly realized my mistake—I was forlorn without books that I could understand. ..."

 

 

As if often the case with this site, the comments are well worth reading.

 

Please share if you have a story of the right book coming into your life at the right time.

 

Regards,

Kareni

[Kareni]

And another interesting bookish post from the Tor.com site ~

 

Five Books with Unusual Methods of Travel by Martha Wells

 

 

and this post is good though it's all about movies rather than books ~

 

Huge Adult Ideas Taught to Us By Weird Movies  by Leah Schnelbach and Emily Asher-Perrin

 

Regards,

Kareni

[aggieamy]

I would like to add a few last books to DD's books-to-read-aloud list.  I have a bunch of great younger books on my list thanks to suggestions from here over the last year.  I want to add a few "meatier" books though.  Maybe a classic or two?  The problem is that I'm such a Flufferton gal that I'm drawing a bit of a blank on book ideas.  My brainstorming has only gotten me as far as The Moonstone, a Lord Peter Wimsey novel, and Cotillion by Georgette Heyer.  Obviously I need some help.  I thought about P&P or a Dickens novel but I don't know how well those would do as a read aloud.  Anyone else attempt any high brow read alouds with older kids?

[aggieamy]

I am finally attempting to use an Overdrive audiobook on my Kindle Fire. I have never used the fire for anything except youtube and prime movies. I am not a techy. So I have checked out my book and can play it in my browser.....do I need to sign into the library every single time I want to "read" my book? I have supposedly downloaded an mp3 but can't find it. Any advice????

 

I have so much trouble getting Overdrive to work for me.  I think there's supposed to be an app that you can use but I've given up on it in favor of just using Audible.

 

and this post is good though it's all about movies rather than books ~

 

Huge Adult Ideas Taught to Us By Weird Movies  by Leah Schnelbach and Emily Asher-Perrin

 

Regards,

Kareni

 

That was a cool list to read though.  Thought provoking in a way that I hadn't thought about when I watched those movies in the 80's. 

[Onceuponatime]

I would like to add a few last books to DD's books-to-read-aloud list. I have a bunch of great younger books on my list thanks to suggestions from here over the last year. I want to add a few "meatier" books though. Maybe a classic or two? The problem is that I'm such a Flufferton gal that I'm drawing a bit of a blank on book ideas. My brainstorming has only gotten me as far as The Moonstone, a Lord Peter Wimsey novel, and Cotillion by Georgette Heyer. Obviously I need some help. I thought about P&P or a Dickens novel but I don't know how well those would do as a read aloud. Anyone else attempt any high brow read alouds with older kids?

How old?

 

I don't know how you feel about it, but anything by Edgar Allen Poe, especially his poetry, is fun to read aloud. The vocabulary is very rich.

 

Some other thoughts:

The Hobbit

Around the World in 180 days- or other Verne

Black Beauty

Treasure Island

The Prince and the Pauper

Gulliver's Travels

The importance of Being Earnest

[Kareni]

I would like to add a few last books to DD's books-to-read-aloud list. 

 

Here's one suggestion that you might both enjoy ~

 

The Scarlet Pimpernel by Baroness Orczy

 

Regards,

Kareni

[Kareni]

Today I finished the contemporary romance Simple Man by Lydia Michaels;  I enjoyed it.  Be aware that it does have adult content.  There were parts of the book that were problematic (for instance, the heroine behaved in a distinctly unprofessional manner); however, there were also parts that had me laughing aloud.

 

 

"Behind every simple man is an unsung hero waiting for love...

Months after Shane Martin’s sister vanishes, life crashes down and he finds himself the guardian of a nephew he never knew existed. Blissfully ignorant, Shane trades in his musician status, full of late nights and fast women, for midnight feedings and lullabies. But when Kate McAlister, his prissy, stuck up caseworker, arrives unexpectedly, he realizes he could lose everything.

Kate isn’t impressed by Shane’s messy bachelor pad, rocker image, or sexy tattoos. As a matter of fact she finds it all very sophomoric. The sooner she’s off the case the better. Everything from his long hair to his sarcastic attitude threatens her professionalism. But when he lowers his guard and asks for help, she discovers a side to this tattooed musician she can’t resist."

 

 

Regards,

Kareni

 

[Kareni]

And, since I clearly can't stop posting today (which sounds far more polite than something else I could say), here is something for the Harry Potter fan ~

 

Meredith McCardle painted page 1 of Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone on a wall in her house

 

Regards,

Kareni

[mumto2]

I have so much trouble getting Overdrive to work for me. I think there's supposed to be an app that you can use but I've given up on it in favor of just using Audible.

 

 

Audible would take more technical ability than I possess I suspect. So I might as well try free first. I haven't listened to an audio book for me since they came as tapes....

 

I thought I would give an update. I still can't find the mp3 that I downloaded on my kindle but the listen in my browser feature is working really well for me right now. Obviously this method has some big negatives because it reauires good internet but it is working.

 

I listened to about 3 hours of Elizabeth Peter's Crocodile on a Sandbank while quilting today. It's a book that I have tried to read many times but never made it beyond the first pages. I am enjoying it although I still thought the start was slow. ;)

[Chrysalis Academy]

Speaking of memoirs . . . I just started reading The Boy Kings of Texas - heard about it on a This American Life episode somebody posted on Chat yesterday - and it is just slaying me.  I swear I live in this neighborhood, NoCal version, and I see and hear these kids every day, and my heart is just breaking for this boy.  I guess this is what good memoir is all about: it brings you into a life you haven't lived, you couldn't possibly live, and makes it so real to you that you feel like it's happening to you.  Talk about keeping it real.  

[Onceuponatime]

I finished Catcher in the Rye. Personally, it felt like a depiction of self destructive mental illness exacerbated by grief and life circumstances. Plus, he may very well have been on the atypical spectrum. The kid had no ability to compartmentalise, very poor social skills, a high need for stimulation, and conflictingly high moral standards. I felt so sorry for him, especially the obviously overwhelming grief over his brother's death, his parent's physical and emotional distance, and boarding school. He had no stable foundation. Then I read about Salinger, he was an odd cookie, to say the least. The book was dedicated to his mother. I wonder what he wanted her to know about himself from it.

Edited April 29, 2016 by Onceuponatime

[marbel]

I would like to add a few last books to DD's books-to-read-aloud list.  I have a bunch of great younger books on my list thanks to suggestions from here over the last year.  I want to add a few "meatier" books though.  Maybe a classic or two?  The problem is that I'm such a Flufferton gal that I'm drawing a bit of a blank on book ideas.  My brainstorming has only gotten me as far as The Moonstone, a Lord Peter Wimsey novel, and Cotillion by Georgette Heyer.  Obviously I need some help.  I thought about P&P or a Dickens novel but I don't know how well those would do as a read aloud.  Anyone else attempt any high brow read alouds with older kids?

 

I've read Oliver Twist and Bleak House to my kids. Dickens is fun but not really easy to read aloud.  Bleak House took almost 6 months to complete, but we had a lot of interruptions.  We all loved it though.

 

We read The Nine Tailors which was also good though they did find some of the "technical" information about the church bells a bit annoying.  :-)

 

Let's see... We did Around the World in 80 Days, and Huckleberry Finn, and started The Prince and the Pauper but I found it so hard to read aloud that I gave up on it.  I realized that day that I am not a Mark Twain fan.   Oh, To Kill A Mockingbird! 

 

I wish we had time to squeeze in one more read-aloud.  I think My Antonia would have been good.  I really wanted to go through Moby Dick together but we ran out of time for that.  

[Stacia]

Amy, my kids' favorite read-aloud when they were about your dd's age was The Wee Free Men by Terry Pratchett. :-)

 

But you have to do the accents properly when reading!

[Rosyl]

I keep reading this thread title as Darwin's beards.  :laugh:

 

me, too.

 

[Rosyl]

I have so much trouble getting Overdrive to work for me.  I think there's supposed to be an app that you can use but I've given up on it in favor of just using Audible.

 

 

I just use audible, too. 

the overdrive works for certain things for me like SYNC http://www.audiobooksync.com, but not from the library.  It's odd really I download the books from amazon through the library, but the audio doesn't work the same.  I think it should be EASIER.  

 

 

ETA: SYNC is a free summer audiobook program for teens 13+.

The 2016 season is May 5th - August 17th 2016.

SYNC 2016 will give away 30 titles - two paired audiobook downloads a week!

Edited April 29, 2016 by Rosyl

[Kareni]

I don't usually listen to audiobooks; the one exception is when we go on a road trip.  Last night my husband and I finished listening to Lois McMaster Bujold's Beguilement (The Sharing Knife, Book 1). We had started it last weekend while on a scouting mission for my husband to find a location from which to view the Transit of Mercury which will take place on May 9 this year.  The audio version is 11 hours and 59 minutes long (yes, a curious amount) and, as we'd only listened to about half on our trip, we continued on with it at home for several evenings.  We both enjoyed it even though it's a bit more romance driven than my husband would have wished.  As he said, "It's definitely not The Martian!"  It's the first work by Bujold that I've read/heard. 

 

 

"One of the most respected writers in the field of speculative fiction, Lois McMaster Bujold has won numerous accolades and awards, including the Nebula and Locus Awards as well as the fantasy and science fiction genre’s most prestigious honor, the Hugo Award for Best Novel, four times (most recently for Paladin of Souls). With The Sharing Knife series, Bujold creates a brand new world fraught with peril, and spins an extraordinary romance between a young farm girl and the brave sorcerer-soldier entrusted with the defense of the land against a plague of vicious malevolent beings. Meet Fawn Bluefield and Dag Redwing Hickory in Beguilement, the first book in Bujold’s unforgettable four-volume fantasy saga, and witness the birth of their dangerous romance—a love threatened by prejudice and perilous magic, and by Dag’s sworn duty as Lakewalker patroller and necromancer."

 

**

 

Yesterday I read Fever at Dawn by Péter Gárdos and translated by Elizabeth Szász; it was a quick read and also a poignant one.

 

 

"In this improbably joyous novel about two recovering concentration camp survivors, love is the best medicine.

July 1945. Miklos is a twenty-five-year-old Hungarian who has survived the camps and has been brought to Sweden to convalesce. His doctor has just given him a death sentence — his lungs are filled with fluid and in six months he will be gone. But Miklos has other plans. He didn't survive the war only to drown from within, and so he wages war on his own fate. He acquires the names of the 117 Hungarian women also recovering in Sweden, and he writes a letter to each of them in his beautiful cursive hand. One of these women, he is sure, will become his wife. 

  

In another part of the country, Lili reads his letter and decides to write back. For the next few months, the two engage in a funny, absurd, hopeful epistolary dance. Eventually, they find a way to meet. 

  

Based on the true story of Péter Gárdos's parents, and drawn from their letters, Fever at Dawn is a vibrant, ribald, and unforgettable tale, showing the death-defying power of the human will to live and to love."

 

 

Regards,

Kareni

[Ali in OR]

I would like to add a few last books to DD's books-to-read-aloud list.  I have a bunch of great younger books on my list thanks to suggestions from here over the last year.  I want to add a few "meatier" books though.  Maybe a classic or two?  The problem is that I'm such a Flufferton gal that I'm drawing a bit of a blank on book ideas.  My brainstorming has only gotten me as far as The Moonstone, a Lord Peter Wimsey novel, and Cotillion by Georgette Heyer.  Obviously I need some help.  I thought about P&P or a Dickens novel but I don't know how well those would do as a read aloud.  Anyone else attempt any high brow read alouds with older kids?

 

My kids go off to public high school, but there were a few books that I wanted to share with them first (and some that just came up in history reading that in hindsight were worthwhile). I think we did most of these during my older dd's 8th grade year--her last at home, and history-wise we were covering 1860-2000.

 

To Kill a Mockingbird (which the high school does too, but I wanted to share it with them)

My Antonia (beautiful book, but also we have some Bohemian ancestors who immigrated to Nebraska)

A Tale of Two Cities (I could explain a lot of stuff reading it aloud--hard to understand otherwise)

Animal Farm

All Quiet on the Western Front (we got tired of war books, but this is definitely worth reading)

Murder on the Orient Express (I loved Christie as a teen and wanted to introduce them to her)

The Hound of the Baskervilles (our first Sherlock Holmes--we all love the BBC shows)

Jane Eyre

 

We never got to Pride and Prejudice--maybe we should do some summer reading!

Edited April 29, 2016 by Ali in OR

[Robin M]

Good afternoon.  The voting drama with the Hugo Awards continues this year.

 

Award nominees

 

Reactionaries attacks the Hugo's again

 

On a happier note:

 

14 Books that celebrate Charlotte Bronte

 

11 Books inspired by Shakespeare 

[Mom-ninja.]

 Anyone else attempt any high brow read alouds with older kids?

Honestly, I leave the classics to audio books now. I read The Swiss Family Robinson and it was a long slog. I wanted to poke my eyeballs. Then I tried Watership Down. Yep, gave up. Downloaded the audio version and gave myself permission to be okay with that. 

 

I did just finish Brave New World with my oldest and like reading it to him. (Psst, skipped a few phrases here and there) Mostly, though I just download and listen to the professional narrators.  

 

 

Oh, as for Overdrive I got the app on my phone and it works fine. I need to put it on my kids' Fires. It's actually easier to use Overdrive app on my phone then trying to download mp3 and put it on my mp3 player.  

Edited April 29, 2016 by Mom-ninja.

[Chrysalis Academy]

Good afternoon.  The voting drama with the Hugo Awards continues this year.

 

Award nominees

 

Reactionaries attacks the Hugo's again

 

On a happier note:

 

14 Books that celebrate Charlotte Bronte

 

11 Books inspired by Shakespeare 

 

I'm so jazzed that Ancillary Mercy was nominated!!!   :hurray:  :hurray:  :hurray:

 

I was surprised not to see Jane Steel on the Bronte list, and The Gap of Time on the Shakespeare lists.  I put The Madness of Love on hold, we're going to see a local production of Twelfth Night next weekend - a traditional production, all male cast! Very excited.

[Rosie_0801]

This was a bit of fun: http://indianexpress.com/article/research/william-shakespeare-teaching-tarot-cards-delhi-university-teacher-2768242/

I just love it when university teachers use techniques I also use. It makes me feel smart. :D

[Rosyl]

Soccer Practice ='s lots of reading time.

 

23.  Ethan Frome by Edith Wharton  This book is so disturbing to me.  I have no idea why I have read it 3x's.

 

  The last line in the book:  There was one day, about a week after the accident, when they all thought Mattie couldn’t live. Well, I say it’s a pity she did . . . if [Mattie] ha’ died, Ethan might ha’ lived; and the way they are now, I don’t see’s there’s much difference between the Fromes up at the farm and the Fromes down in the graveyard; ’cept that down there they’re all quiet, and the women have got to hold their tongues.

 

24.  Dying in the Wool by Frances Brody

25.  The Rosie Project by Graeme Simsion  I loved this book.  It had me laughing out loud and I even teared up in a part.  Loved it.

 

What I dislike about Ethan Frome is he thinks another person, another place will make him happy and I find it disturbing that he is willing to die rather than change. I think I have read it over the years thinking age would give me a better perspective, maybe I would have more empathy or compassion.  Nope!  :closedeyes: 

What I liked about Rosie was Don was willing to change his attitude and his situation.

 

26.  Mennonite in a Little Black Dress by Rhoda Janzen

 

22. A Wish on Gardenia Street by Shelley Shepard Gray

21. Love Letters by Beverly Lewis

 20.  The Atonement by Beverly Lewis

19.  Big Girl Panties By Stephanie Evanovich

18.  Eyes of Silver, Eyes of Gold by Ellen O'Connell and a brief sequel called Rachel's Eyes.

17  Trolley Car Days by Ruth Kane 

16.  The Triumph of Wm. McKinley by Karl Rove    

15.  Defending Jacob By Wm. Landay

14. The Decision by Wanda Brunstetter

13.  Five Miles South of Peculiar by Angela Hunt

12.  The Alchemist by Paulo Coelho

11. In the Time of the Butterflies Julia Alvarez   

10.  The Sound of Things Falling  by Juan Gabriel Vásquez

9.  DIY Succulents:  From Placecards to Wreaths by Tawni Daigle

8.  The Scarlett Thread by Francine Rivers on audio.

7. Travels with Casey by Benoit Denizet-Lewis

6.  The Rescuer Suzanne Woods Fisher

5.  A Town Like Alice  by Nevil Shute

4.  Jackson Bog by Michael Witt.  
3.  Toward the Sunrise by Elizabeth Camden     

2.  Wonderland Creek by Lynn Austin

1.  Crucial Conversations by Patterson and Grenny

Edited April 30, 2016 by Rosyl

[Kareni]

This was a bit of fun: http://indianexpress.com/article/research/william-shakespeare-teaching-tarot-cards-delhi-university-teacher-2768242/

 

I just love it when university teachers use techniques I also use. It makes me feel smart. :D

 

What an intriguing article, Rosie; thanks for sharing the link.  Have you used tarot cards solely to teach Shakespeare or for many different authors? 

 

Regards,

Kareni

[Butter]

Not even sorta book related... My Fritzy tested Thursday and today he got his black recommended belt at taekwondo.  It's his last belt before he tests for his official first degree belt in 6 weeks.  Our instructor handed him his belt and the kid just totally started glowing.  He kept hugging his belt.  He says he's going to sleep with it tonight.  It's been a long time and a whole lot of work to get to this point :)

[Robin M]

Not even sorta book related... My Fritzy tested Thursday and today he got his black recommended belt at taekwondo.  It's his last belt before he tests for his official first degree belt in 6 weeks.  Our instructor handed him his belt and the kid just totally started glowing.  He kept hugging his belt.  He says he's going to sleep with it tonight.  It's been a long time and a whole lot of work to get to this point :)

:hurray:  :hurray:  :hurray:   Picture please! 

[Butter]

Here you go :)

 

He was just so excited to tie that belt on.

 

I'm pretty sure we have the best taekwondo instructor in the world :)

 

With his older siblings. (They're wearing their demo team uniforms since they performed today.)

[Kareni]

Congratulations, Heather, to your son.  And thanks for sharing those great photos of him as well as your other children.

 

Regards,
Kareni

[Ali in OR]

Great pics! What a happy face! Congrats!

 

[Rosie_0801]

What an intriguing article, Rosie; thanks for sharing the link.  Have you used tarot cards solely to teach Shakespeare or for many different authors? 

 

Regards,

Kareni

 

We're not that advanced! My kid is only 9! (And I still hate Shakespeare.)

 

I used to use them for illustrating mythology. Some of the ancient myths introduce too many characters too quickly, so I'd lay the cards down as they were introduced, then point each time they were mentioned again. Then I stuck them up on the wall in family tree formation.

[Kareni]

We're not that advanced! My kid is only 9! (And I still hate Shakespeare.)

 

I used to use them for illustrating mythology. Some of the ancient myths introduce too many characters too quickly, so I'd lay the cards down as they were introduced, then point each time they were mentioned again. Then I stuck them up on the wall in family tree formation.

 

That sounds like an inspired idea.  Thanks for sharing the details, Rosie.

 

Regards,

Kareni

[Violet Crown]

Not even sorta book related... My Fritzy tested Thursday and today he got his black recommended belt at taekwondo. It's his last belt before he tests for his official first degree belt in 6 weeks. Our instructor handed him his belt and the kid just totally started glowing. He kept hugging his belt. He says he's going to sleep with it tonight. It's been a long time and a whole lot of work to get to this point :)

Proud mama Heather!