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Book a Week 2017 - BW20: Happy Mother's Day


Robin M
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I've decided that I will doubt I will ever choose to read Tom Clancy again. I've been listening forever and am so bored. I'm actually listening to The Bear and the "Dragon" not Nightingale which I think I originally posted. A best seller from one of the kids birth years. Only 35 hours to go, yawn. It's fine because I am really having to concentrate on my quilt. I have already requested it next on dh's library card. Wondering if I need to use one of the dc's cards for another hold. I hope I can get this done within a month!

It's been years since I read any of Tom Clancy's books. I stopped when he started highlighting other writers with his name on the book. I have the physical book Bear and The Dragon  if you would like me to send it to you.  I much preferred the earlier Jack Ryan books and recommend Patriot Games if it works with any birth years. Yes, they all are quite long and filled with subplots and intriguing.  

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I finished Susan Wise Bauer's The Story of Western Science.  I'm not very good at sticking with one chapter a week, clearly.  I found so much of it fascinating.  Really an excellent jumping off point for science education.

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Some currently free Kindle books that sound intriguing.  These are all in the fantasy/urban fantasy realm ~

 

The Devil's Concubine (The Devil of Ponong series #1) by Jill Braden

 

Dream Job (The Dreamwalker Chronicles Book 1)

 

Stolen Chaos: An Urban Fantasy Novel (The Cardkeeper Chronicles Book 1)

 

The Given & The Taken (Tooth & Claw Trilogy Book 1)

 

Regards,

Kareni

 

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It's been years since I read any of Tom Clancy's books. I stopped when he started highlighting other writers with his name on the book. I have the physical book Bear and The Dragon if you would like me to send it to you. I much preferred the earlier Jack Ryan books and recommend Patriot Games if it works with any birth years. Yes, they all are quite long and filled with subplots and intriguing.

Thank you for the thought but I can get the book from Overdrive if I decide to give up on the audio. I think I 'm 11 hours into it now and really want to conquer it. I loved many of the Jack Ryan movies especially Hunt for Red October. I think I may like these stories better condensed in movie form with a handsome man or two!

 

I just looked and I also have books on my fire. 📚📙📘📗📔📕📑. I had no idea!

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I just finished a fantasy book that had some unique world building; I suspect some here might enjoy the book also.  It would be suitable for all readers, I think.

 

Silver Blood (Series of Blood Book 1)  by Emma Hamm

 

"A PROPHECY TO FULFILL

Two hundred years ago, our world changed forever. Two realms combined in an explosion of magic. One morning everything was normal and the next? Every human body was host to another magical creature who had thoughts and a mind of its own. However, with power comes darkness. Someone wants to wipe this earth clean and will stop at nothing to consume it.

SHE IS NOT A HERO

Or so she thought. Wren had grown up with another voice in her head but had never considered herself magical. She doesn't have the talents other people have. She certainly doesn't have the abilities anyone else has. But she is charming and manages her business quite well. She deals in emotions and makes people happy. It's a simple life, but it's hers.

HE THINKS SHE COULD BE

Burke was a bodyguard first and always. He had been sent to collect her and deliver her in person to the most powerful creatures in their world. But the moment he steps through the broken door of her shop, his world changes forever. She's strange. She's uncomfortable. And she's so damned beautiful. He is convinced she is part of a prophecy that can save their world.

But how to convince her?"

 

Regards,

Kareni

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We have arrived for our annual Caledonian pilgrimage. Iffy wi-fi and typing on a phone makes book reporting a little erratic. I did get a copy of The Razors Edge from the local library so soon I will read the thread and see where I should be up to. Also I looked over the natiobal Authors shelf and discovered to my surprise that Grassic Gibbon who wrote the classic Scottish novel A Sunset Song also wrote Spartacus! Who knew? So that's at the top of my tbr pile.

 

On the plane I finished Graham Greene's Monsignor Quixote which was light and fun but not hard to leave in the seat pocket when I disrmbarked. Started Faulkner's The Reivers but was interrupted by Heathrow and may not get back to it for a while, as there is Maugham and Gibbon and a James Hogg novel at the used bookstore calling for me. Wee Girl has moved up to Advanced Enid Blyton and is reading one of her boarding school series. She is up to the second form at St Clares now. Perhaps shes getting a good education vicariously.

 

ETA: Have to keep reminding her not to get tea or jaffa cake on the library books. Oh bliss....

 

ETA2: Wikipedia informs me that the movie was based on a different novel Spartacus. Too bad. Still, looking forward to the Scottish version of the Roman slave rebellion!

Edited by Violet Crown
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On The Razor's Edge -

I think people are right who are getting a gayish Maugham-vibe off of Elliott. Also Larry's autodidactic reading habits and search for God and the Meaning of Life is familiar from Maugham's quasi-autobiographical The Summing-Up. Mrs Bradley's insight into character combined with practical sense seems as if she has stepped right out of his advice for writers that makes up most of the same book. Frankly I regard the stuff in his introduction about the mysterious Actual Person the book is about as nonsense; really everyone seems to be a different aspect of Maugham himself.

 

Also a slightly annoying aspect of the book is that M doesnt let a page go by without new action - which I recall him also advising to writers on the ground that modern readers require constantly churning action in order to keep reading.

 

ETA: Gah, the typos

Edited by Violet Crown
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A one day only currently free Kindle classic.  Masochism has its name due to this author.

 

Venus in Furs by Leopold von Sacher-Masoch

 

"Obsession, infatuation, and sexual deviance fill this controversial psychodrama

Titillating and taboo, Venus in Furs tells the story of one nineteenth-century gentleman of means, Severin von Kusiemski, and his voracious lover, Wanda von Dunajew. Severin falls so deeply in love with his mistress that he asks the bemused paramour to enslave him.
 
Severin gets his wish: The beautiful Wanda, who has “a real talent for despotism,†takes to her role with unsettling aplomb. Days pass, and as she debases and brutalizes Severin, Wanda transforms into the whip-cracking dominatrix of his dreams. But even while Severin settles into his fantasy, events are unfolding that threaten to disrupt the power balance. This classic tale of sexual domination is as thrilling today as it was when it was originally published more than a century ago."

 

Regards,

Kareni

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We have arrived for our annual Caledonian pilgrimage. Iffy wi-fi and typing on a phone makes book reporting a little erratic. I did get a copy of The Razors Edge from the local library so soon I will read the thread and see where I should be up to. Also I looked over the natiobal Authors shelf and discovered to my surprise that Grassic Gibbon who wrote the classic Scottish novel A Sunset Song also wrote Spartacus! Who knew? So that's at the top of my tbr pile.

 

On the plane I finished Graham Greene's Monsignor Quixote which was light and fun but not hard to leave in the seat pocket when I disrmbarked. Started Faulkner's The Reivers but was interrupted by Heathrow and may not get back to it for a while, as there is Maugham and Gibbon and a James Hogg novel at the used bookstore calling for me. Wee Girl has moved up to Advanced Enid Blyton and is reading one of her boarding school series. She is up to the second form at St Clares now. Perhaps shes getting a good education vicariously.

 

ETA: Have to keep reminding her not to get tea or jaffa cake on the library books. Oh bliss....

 

ETA2: Wikipedia informs me that the movie was based on a different novel Spartacus. Too bad. Still, looking forward to the Scottish version of the Roman slave rebellion!

 

Well well well. In less than a week we will be in Scotland also. How fun!

 

DH is reading Waverly and poems by Robbie Burns. DD and I are reading Wildfire at Midnight by Mary Stewart which takes place on the Isle of Skye. DS is reading This is Edinburgh by Miroslav Sasek. It's how my family prepares for vacations. 

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I finished Starship Troopers by Robert Heinlein.  Based on the description it's sounds nothing at all like a book I would enjoy:

 

In one of Robert Heinlein's most controversial bestsellers, a recruit of the future goes through the toughest boot camp in the Universe--and into battle with the Terran Mobile Infantry against mankind's most frightening enemy.

 

No comedy of manners or romance at all. But DH picked it for book club because it's a classic. Our book club was very divided. Four of us (all women!) loved it, DH and another guy thought it was good, and the rest of the people hated it. Lots of narrative as Heinlein describes boot camp and training in such detail that you feel like it's half textbook but there were so many clever phrases and just the right amount of adventure that I loved it.

 

A few quotes:

 

“A boy who gets a C- in 'Appreciation of Television' can't be all bad.â€

 

About his Sergeant: “You got the impression that he never needed to sleep - just ten-thousand-mile checkups and dust him off occasionally.â€

 

About his basic training camp:  “We always trotted everywhere at Camp Arthur Currie. I never did find out who Currie was, but he must have been a trackman.â€

 

 

 

 

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Well well well. In less than a week we will be in Scotland also. How fun!

 

DH is reading Waverly and poems by Robbie Burns. DD and I are reading Wildfire at Midnight by Mary Stewart which takes place on the Isle of Skye. DS is reading This is Edinburgh by Miroslav Sasek. It's how my family prepares for vacations.

Really! Where in Scotland? PM me if you like.

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ETA: Have to keep reminding her not to get tea or jaffa cake on the library books. Oh bliss....

 

I'm not familiar with jaffa cake, but I'm reminded of Jaffa balls which I loved as a child in Australia.  Chocolate and orange ... yum.

**

 

Some fun posts from Tor.com ~

 

From the Five Books About series:  Bad Girls Dance Where They Want To  by Ellen Klages

 

"Growing up, I was not a good girl. Good girls follow the rules, listen to their mothers, don’t make a fuss. They are quiet, polite, proper, and well-behaved. I rarely managed to pull that off. Branded a bad girl, I was sent to my room, grounded, and even—once or twice—threatened with expulsion from my stolid, conservative high school. Which was fine with me. Because . . ."

**

 

Science Fiction and Fantasy’s Best Moms (Who Aren’t Dead or Evil)  by Stubby the Rocket

 

"It’s a common trope in SFF literature and film that moms (and sometimes both parents) are either deceased or evil. But in honor of Mother’s Day we want to celebrate the moms who are neither fridged nor villains—the ones will nurture, support, and kick ass to protect their kids… and sometimes save the planet and/or the future in the process...."

**

 

ETA: From Dark to Dark: Yes, Women Have Always Written Space Opera  by Judith Tarr

 

"Every year or two, someone writes another article about a genre that women have just now entered, which used to be the province of male writers. Usually it’s some form of science fiction. Lately it’s been fantasy, especially epic fantasy (which strikes me with fierce irony, because I remember when fantasy was pink and squishy and comfy and for girls). And in keeping with this week’s theme, space opera gets its regular turn in the barrel.

 

Women have always written space opera...."

 

 

Regards,

Kareni

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We have arrived for our annual Caledonian pilgrimage. Iffy wi-fi and typing on a phone makes book reporting a little erratic. I did get a copy of The Razors Edge from the local library so soon I will read the thread and see where I should be up to. Also I looked over the natiobal Authors shelf and discovered to my surprise that Grassic Gibbon who wrote the classic Scottish novel A Sunset Song also wrote Spartacus! Who knew? So that's at the top of my tbr pile.

 

On the plane I finished Graham Greene's Monsignor Quixote which was light and fun but not hard to leave in the seat pocket when I disrmbarked. Started Faulkner's The Reivers but was interrupted by Heathrow and may not get back to it for a while, as there is Maugham and Gibbon and a James Hogg novel at the used bookstore calling for me. Wee Girl has moved up to Advanced Enid Blyton and is reading one of her boarding school series. She is up to the second form at St Clares now. Perhaps shes getting a good education vicariously.

 

ETA: Have to keep reminding her not to get tea or jaffa cake on the library books. Oh bliss....

 

ETA2: Wikipedia informs me that the movie was based on a different novel Spartacus. Too bad. Still, looking forward to the Scottish version of the Roman slave rebellion!

Dd loves Jaffa cakes so I am sure our girls would like each other. Tonight's plans for our Tower meeting include her and her bf eating a package of them. ;)

 

Kareni, yes they are chocolate and orange. As hard as it is to believe I don't actually like them.

 

I finished the latest CS Harris. As others have said it was good with more of a continuing story line than normal if that's possible. I can't wait for the next one!

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21. "Going Clear: Scientology, Hollywood, & the Prison of Belief" by Lawrence Wright.  A much longer read than the other two on the topic I read.  On the whole, I liked the others better, but he discusses L. Ron Hubbard much more than they did.


 


20. "QB: My Life Behind the Spiral" by Steve Young.


19. "Batneezer: The Creature from my Closet" by Obert Skye.


18. "Lord of the Hat: The Creature from my Closet" by Obert Skye.


17.  "Beyond Belief" by Jenna Miscavige Hill.


16. "Ruthless" by Ron Miscavige.


15. "Katfish: The Creature from my Closet" by Obert Skye.


14. "Pinocula: The Creature from my Closet" by Obert Skye.


13. "Potterwookiee: The Creature from my Closet" by Obert Skye.


12. "Worth the Wrestle" by Sheri Dew (LDS).


11.  "Wonkenstein: The Creature from my Closet" by Obert Skye.


10. "Cub Scout Wolf Handbook". 


9. "A Little Princess" by Frances Hodgson Burnett.


8. "A Mother's Reckoning: Living in the Aftermath of Tragedy" by Sue Klebold


7. "Columbine" by Dave Cullen.


6. "Changed through His Grace" by Brad Wilcox (LDS)>


5. "The Reason I Jump" by Naoki Higashida.


4. "No Doubt About It" by Sheri Dew.


3. "Amazed by Grace" by Sheri Dew.


2. "The Gifts of Imperfection" by Brene Brown.


1. "Catch Me If You Can: The True Story of a Real Fake" by Frank W. Abagnale.


 

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For some reason Anne Bishop's the Others series is my go to read these days.  I finished a(nother) re-read of her Etched in Bone (A Novel of the Others) this afternoon.  This series is best read in order, so I recommend starting with Written In Red: A Novel of the Others if you want to begin the series.  (Written in Red is still on sale for $2.99 for Kindle readers.)

 

My book group met tonight to discuss Virginia Woolf's Mrs. Dalloway.  It was a good meeting, and I'd say we did the book justice. 

 

Regards,

Kareni

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I finished reading Discern by Andrea Pearson.  It's the first in a long series.  It's fantasy set on earth in a world where fourth children are magical.  Legend has it that there are two other groups and those groups want to steal all the magic.  And, of course, it turns out those groups aren't just legend.  I really enjoyed that first book.

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A one day only currently free Kindle classic thriller ~

 

The Council of Justice by Edgar Wallace

 

"Her rise through the ranks of the Red Hundred was swift and inexorable. From scraps of conversation overheard in her father’s kitchen, she crafted speeches that brought men to tears. When the time came for bloodshed, she did not hesitate—generals and princes died by her hand. As her beauty grew, so did her influence. Now the Woman of Gratz and the anarchist horde in her thrall are ready to declare war—on London, whose streets and tube stations they want to sow with fear, and on the Four Just Men, the only organization powerful enough to stop them.

Of course, Manfred, Gonsalez, and Poiccart—aided in this adventure by the mysterious and wealthy Bernard Courtlander—are still wanted by Scotland Yard for the assassination of the foreign secretary. Recognizing her advantage, the Woman of Gratz pounces—even though it means betraying her ideals, and her heart. To the gallows goes one of the four, a smile on his face.

The second installment in the Four Just Men series established Edgar Wallace as one of the most dedicated and popular thriller writers of the early twentieth century."

 

Regards,

Kareni

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I finished Station Eleven.  I really enjoyed it, somehow odd to say about a book that is post-apocalyptic (well, post-pandemic).  Much more hopeful than most books of that genre, and I enjoyed the characters and the writing.

 

Now I've started El ruido de las cosas al caer/The Sound of Things Falling by Juan Gabriel Vásquez.  I was going to read Ficciones by Borges, as I wanted another ebook, but just like the last time I wanted to take it out, someone else has it!  It's always available when I'm reading something else.  :glare:   I had Sound of Things Falling lying about, so I decided to read that, as none of the other ebooks available were speaking to me.  The blurbs say it's about cartels in Colombia (hey, cartel square in Big Bingo ;) ), and I'd been a bit worried that it would be all about violence, and I'm sure that will come up at some point, but so far it's very different from that - I'm really liking it so far.  

 

Since we've talked about books that punctuate dialogue oddly (mostly dispensing with quotation marks or even paragraphing them), this one's got an oddity.  Normal dialogue in Spanish has a long dash at the beginning, and nothing at the end (new speaker begins new paragraph, typically).  This one uses both beginning and ending quotation marks like German does (German doesn't use the same ones as English; they're like this »hello«), except this book reverses the order like this: «hello».  I have a feeling this is about the printing and not a style choice by the writer - I'm guessing in translation it uses normal quotes in whatever language it's translated to.  I have lots of other books printed in South America, and they all have normal Spanish punctiation... so I'm wondering what's up with that.  Just checked the printing location - this Spanish-language edition was actually printed in the USA...  I think I've seen this weird punctuation in a Spanish book once before, but can't remember which book.  Maybe it's how US printers print Spanish books???  LOL, I've also noticed now that they've printed the words on the spine in the wrong direction for Spanish (it should go bottom to top, not top to bottom like in English).   

 

And I'm all caught up with Razor's Edge.  Really enjoying that one too, and was sad to stop reading, but I'd like to stick with the group conversation. :)

Edited by Matryoshka
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I finished Doctor Zhivago the other day, and while I gave it four stars I'm not so sure it's worth four stars. I did like it but not as much as other Russian literature. I found the descriptions of life during the revolution and afterwards fascinating, and I think much of its praise was due to that. I also think it got more than it deserved because of the rumored CIA involvement in the Nobel Prize. As a love story, and a Russian tragedy, it just doesn't measure up. Maybe it was the translation, but I don't think so.

 

 

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An enjoyable post on the Word Wenches site in which my name is mentioned; I feel honored! ~

 

The Books That Bind by Susanna Kearsley

 

"Susanna here, pursued by my deadlines at the moment, so I missed out on contributing to Nicola’s lovely AAW post this week about old and new favourites (for the record, I would also have put Mary Stewart at the top of my list).

But in reading through the equally lovely comments I came across the interchange between Kareni and Nicola, about books that are passed down with love to the next generation of readers—“Inheritance booksâ€, Nicola called them, and suggested it might be a topic somebody could blog on in a future post.

This isn’t that post.

But it is a post about one such book, passed down with love from my mother to me, and what happened because of it...."

 

 

Regards,

Kareni

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I finished Doctor Zhivago the other day, and while I gave it four stars I'm not so sure it's worth four stars. I did like it but not as much as other Russian literature. I found the descriptions of life during the revolution and afterwards fascinating, and I think much of its praise was due to that. I also think it got more than it deserved because of the rumored CIA involvement in the Nobel Prize. As a love story, and a Russian tragedy, it just doesn't measure up. Maybe it was the translation, but I don't think so.

 

I also gave it four stars when I read it earlier this year, but I think I know what you mean.  I thought it was very interesting for the same reasons you mention, but the story itself often seemed like a framework for the political events.

 

Although I even felt that way a teeny bit about Anna Karenina - although I liked that one much more.  The story was better told, and the characters more engaging.  I totally didn't get Lara / Zhivago as an epic romance - seemed more like they were just thrown together.  Maybe I would have bought his depth of feeling more if he'd gone with her at the end instead of (spoilers in white)leaving her in the clutches of a man she despised while he stayed but then never even bothered to reconnect with his family but shacked up with some other random woman?  What???

 

I think the only other Russian classics I've read are The Idiot and The Master and Margarita, neither of which I loved - like Zhivago better than either of those...  what else have you really liked?

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BINGO!

 

B:

-1 / Pieter Aspe

De maagd van Bassincourt / G. Heyer

In het Winterpaleis / E. Stachniak

De Bewoonde Wereld / N. French

De kaart van de Tijd / F.J. Palma

 

I:

Het spel der spellen (Wildcards #1) / red. G.R.R. Martin

De drie Maria's / Lluis Llach

Een jaar in de Provence / Peter Mayle

De scheepsjongen / J. Boyne

Ivanhoe / W. Scott

 

N:

True Grit / C. Portis

Imperium / R. Harris

Post voor mrs. Bromley / Stefan Brijs

Verhaal van de dienstmaagd / M. Atwood

Wraak / L. Hammer

 

G:

Een phoenix uit de as / H. Boeting

Duin / F. Herbert

Dit kan niet waar zijn: J. Luyendijk onder Bankiers / J. Luyendijk

Kwartet / A. Enquist

Ravijn / J. van Buren

 

O:

Het lied van de dodo / D. Quammen

Zwarte Messias / Chika Unigwe

Alles onder de hemel / M. Asensi

Portret van een Dame / H. James

Annie M.G. Schmidt / A. van de Zijl

 

 

https://www.goodreads.com/review/list/40511334-loesje?shelf=baw-2017-bingo&utm_campaign=mybooksnav&utm_content=mybooks_cta&utm_medium=web&utm_source=homepage

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An enjoyable post on the Word Wenches site in which my name is mentioned; I feel honored! ~

 

The Books That Bind by Susanna Kearsley

 

"Susanna here, pursued by my deadlines at the moment, so I missed out on contributing to Nicola’s lovely AAW post this week about old and new favourites (for the record, I would also have put Mary Stewart at the top of my list).

 

But in reading through the equally lovely comments I came across the interchange between Kareni and Nicola, about books that are passed down with love to the next generation of readers—“Inheritance booksâ€, Nicola called them, and suggested it might be a topic somebody could blog on in a future post.

 

This isn’t that post.

 

But it is a post about one such book, passed down with love from my mother to me, and what happened because of it...."

 

 

Regards,

Kareni

 

How exciting! And I love the idea of "inheritance books"! 

 

By the way, I looked up My Lord Monleigh https://www.amazon.com/Lord-Monleigh-Jan-Cox-Speas/dp/0380018470/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1495224877&sr=8-1&keywords=my+lord+monleighon amazon and they're asking a ridiculous amount for it - boo hiss!

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BINGO!

 

B:

-1 / Pieter Aspe

De maagd van Bassincourt / G. Heyer

In het Winterpaleis / E. Stachniak

De Bewoonde Wereld / N. French

De kaart van de Tijd / F.J. Palma

 

I:

Het spel der spellen (Wildcards #1) / red. G.R.R. Martin

De drie Maria's / Lluis Llach

Een jaar in de Provence / Peter Mayle

De scheepsjongen / J. Boyne

Ivanhoe / W. Scott

 

N:

True Grit / C. Portis

Imperium / R. Harris

Post voor mrs. Bromley / Stefan Brijs

Verhaal van de dienstmaagd / M. Atwood

Wraak / L. Hammer

 

G:

Een phoenix uit de as / H. Boeting

Duin / F. Herbert

Dit kan niet waar zijn: J. Luyendijk onder Bankiers / J. Luyendijk

Kwartet / A. Enquist

Ravijn / J. van Buren

 

O:

Het lied van de dodo / D. Quammen

Zwarte Messias / Chika Unigwe

Alles onder de hemel / M. Asensi

Portret van een Dame / H. James

Annie M.G. Schmidt / A. van de Zijl

 

 

https://www.goodreads.com/review/list/40511334-loesje?shelf=baw-2017-bingo&utm_campaign=mybooksnav&utm_content=mybooks_cta&utm_medium=web&utm_source=homepage

Woot Woot! Congratulations! 

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Woot Woot! Congratulations!

Thank you!

And thanks to all the help I got here!

 

I think I found a way to make BaW, Goodreads and the Library work for me.

I entered a lot of undiscovered shelves, corners, and paths of our library :)

The only con is that the Librarians don't like it, I ask that much from the back ground collection and the depository. I'm afraid they had a lot to walk for me...

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BINGO!

 

Congratulations!

 

How exciting! And I love the idea of "inheritance books"! 

 

By the way, I looked up My Lord Monleigh https://www.amazon.com/Lord-Monleigh-Jan-Cox-Speas/dp/0380018470/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1495224877&sr=8-1&keywords=my+lord+monleighon amazon and they're asking a ridiculous amount for it - boo hiss!

 

Yes, $2000 is just a tad too rich for my taste for a used book!

 

On the upside, however, it looks as though a lot of libraries have it in their collections.  You can use WorldCat to see if one local to you has it; alternatively, you might be able to borrow it through interlibrary loan.

 

Regards,

Kareni

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BINGO!

 

B:

-1 / Pieter Aspe

De maagd van Bassincourt / G. Heyer

In het Winterpaleis / E. Stachniak

De Bewoonde Wereld / N. French

De kaart van de Tijd / F.J. Palma

 

I:

Het spel der spellen (Wildcards #1) / red. G.R.R. Martin

De drie Maria's / Lluis Llach

Een jaar in de Provence / Peter Mayle

De scheepsjongen / J. Boyne

Ivanhoe / W. Scott

 

N:

True Grit / C. Portis

Imperium / R. Harris

Post voor mrs. Bromley / Stefan Brijs

Verhaal van de dienstmaagd / M. Atwood

Wraak / L. Hammer

 

G:

Een phoenix uit de as / H. Boeting

Duin / F. Herbert

Dit kan niet waar zijn: J. Luyendijk onder Bankiers / J. Luyendijk

Kwartet / A. Enquist

Ravijn / J. van Buren

 

O:

Het lied van de dodo / D. Quammen

Zwarte Messias / Chika Unigwe

Alles onder de hemel / M. Asensi

Portret van een Dame / H. James

Annie M.G. Schmidt / A. van de Zijl

 

 

https://www.goodreads.com/review/list/40511334-loesje?shelf=baw-2017-bingo&utm_campaign=mybooksnav&utm_content=mybooks_cta&utm_medium=web&utm_source=homepage

 

Congratulations!!!    :hurray:   

 

I'm almost there, but I've still got a couple more books to go...  (and one of them is chunky, although it's not for the chunky square...)

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Matryoshka, I read The Sound of Things Falling last year & loved it. It was the first book I read in 2016. (Thanks again to idnib for that one!) You say you are worried about the violence, but it's really more about the psychological effects of being the generation that was around during the rise of the cartels & the related violence -- so it's addressing the violence in a different way.

 

Yes, that's definitely the sense I'm getting, which is much more my speed.  I don't shy away from books about violent times (war, slavery, genocide, totalitarian regimes), but when I first heard cartel, I was thinking it might be a bit like a mobster book (focusing on the crime families and their thuggery), but so far not at all...   I guess the difference for me is in point of view - I'd rather hear the story from the point of view of those affected than those doing the violence.

 

I really don't know that much detail about that time in Colombia, so I'm looking forward to learning more.

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How exciting! And I love the idea of "inheritance books"! 

 

 

I love that too!  I have a few 'inheritance books' - quite a few from my mom, but also one from my grandmother that my mom also read and passed on to me (that biography of Liszt I liked so much), and I also got some of my great-grandfather's books, which are all in Fraktur (pre-WWII German print).  I read his 2-volume set of Buddenbrooks.

 

My dh somehow got passed along a 2-volume set of Anna Comstock's Handbook of Nature Study from 1920.  I was very happy when I discovered that on my bookshelf!

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Finished The Razor's Edge. As a non-resident I can only check out a few books on my library card, and precious slots are filled with homeschooling-related books, so I had to finish up so as to check out other books.

 

It is 3 am. Stupid jet lag. Reading Robert Frost (brought from home) & listening to the yelping seagulls. Even the students have ceased their drunken partying and are asleep. To sleep, perchance to dream...

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Just finished the cyborg romance (yes, that appears to be a genre!) ~ Peyton 313 (Cyborgs- Mankind Redefined) by Donna McDonald.  It was a pleasant read even though the heroine spent a lot of time crying and repenting her prior actions.  This book is currently free for Kindle readers.  (Adult content)

 

"Worst epic fail of her scientific career? Falling for a cyborg she helped create.

Dr. Kyra Winters never meant for her cyber science discoveries to be used for evil, but that’s exactly what happened. Now returning Peyton 313’s humanity is the last chance she’ll ever have to atone. She can’t get back the lost decade, but she can change the present by restoring the cyborg who was once Marine Captain Peyton Elliot.

Certainly her grand plan for rectifying her mistakes didn’t include madly kissing the confused, passionate Marine when he begged her to. The same scientific mind that constructed the cyborg creator code now warned her not to let Peyton’s tempting offers of heaven cloud her rational decision making. Yet it’s difficult to resist the cyborg she’s restoring when he’s also the most intriguing man she’s ever known."

 

Regards,

Kareni

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Congratulations!

 

 

Yes, $2000 is just a tad too rich for my taste for a used book!

 

On the upside, however, it looks as though a lot of libraries have it in their collections.  You can use WorldCat to see if one local to you has it; alternatively, you might be able to borrow it through interlibrary loan.

 

Regards,

Kareni

 

I'd forgotten about interlibrary loan - thanks! 

 

I love that too!  I have a few 'inheritance books' - quite a few from my mom, but also one from my grandmother that my mom also read and passed on to me (that biography of Liszt I liked so much), and I also got some of my great-grandfather's books, which are all in Fraktur (pre-WWII German print).  I read his 2-volume set of Buddenbrooks.

 

My dh somehow got passed along a 2-volume set of Anna Comstock's Handbook of Nature Study from 1920.  I was very happy when I discovered that on my bookshelf!

 

 

Very cool! What a lovely remembrance of your ancestors.  I love seeing what my parents, grandparents, etc. were interested in. 

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Congratulations to all of the 52 books readers and bingo achievers! Admittedly my book reading has slowed down as I attempt to stay abreast of the news these days. Yowsers.

 

Also wishing safe travels to our BaWers as they embark on their summer adventures.

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Congratulations to all of the 52 books readers and bingo achievers! Admittedly my book reading has slowed down as I attempt to stay abreast of the news these days. Yowsers.

 

Also wishing safe travels to our BaWers as they embark on their summer adventures.

 

Loesje - Congrats on Bingo!!

 

Jane - my reading is slow for the very same reason. Between the news, our online new house searches, and WTM, my email notifications are running over...

 

For my IRL Book Group - I finished The One-in-a-Million Boy by Monica Wood. Five stars. Brilliant novel and seemingly effortless interweaving of characters and their perspectives. HIghly recommend.

 

I'm still reading Madeleine Albright's Prague Winter. Fascinating history of the Czech Republic during WWII years. Also, still reading Tolkien with DS. Just discovered Wilma Dykeman and have her Family of Earth: A Southern Mountain Childhood sitting on my shelf. Also finished and thoroughly enjoyed Robert Morgan's The Road from Gap Creek (also set in the mountains of North Carolina).

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Last night just before midnight I finished the second Mosaic Chronicles book, Praxis by Andrea Pearson.  It's three novellas combined into one book.  I couldn't stop reading because two of those novellas are SO creepy.  Not exactly scary, by I had to know the end before going to sleep.  Even so, I ended up dreaming a mashed up version of the Mosaic and Kilenya series.  The author laughed at me (not meanly; she was highly amused) when I told her.

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A one day only currently free Kindle classic ~

 

The Battle of Dorking by George Tomkyns Chesney  

 

About the Author
George Tomkyns Chesney (1830–1895) was a British general, most famous for his military literature. In 1848 he journeyed to India to join the Bengal Engineers, with whom he had an illustrious career and fought in the siege of Delhi. Chesney wrote books on topics as diverse as a hypothetical invasion of Britain by Germany, to the workings of the Indian government. After his career as a soldier, Chesney was elected to the House of Commons, where he served until his death.
 

 

 

"Britain is under attack, and winning at Dorking is the only way the empire can be saved

It is the late nineteenth century, and a country much like Germany is on the move in Europe. It has already beaten its rivals on the continent and mobilized to the Netherlands, provoking the fear of British citizens. Then the nation strikes. Its powerful weapons destroy the Royal Navy, and invasion cannot be far behind.
 
Written as a hypothetical exercise to raise awareness among average British citizens about the potential danger that a resurgent Germany could pose, The Battle of Dorking earned its place in literary history as the forerunner to the invasion-novel genre, predating The War of the Worlds by almost twenty years. The novel’s drama, which culminates in a fight that will change the course of history forever, thrilled audiences when it was originally released as a serial, and it maintains its power today."

 

Regards,

Kareni

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The weeks are flying by! Trying to get in a quick update before running DS to chess club. Recently I have finished:

 

The Daily Show: An Oral History - recommend to fans of the show! DH and I have been watching forever, but were unaware of some of the behind-the-scenes drama. They even hunted down some of the former guests to get input on different things. It seems pretty honest; no one seems to be going out of their way to make anyone else sound great.

 

The Hammer of Thor (Magnus Chase #2) - read this at DS's suggestion. Didn't like it as much as the first Magnus Chase, and as usual was rolling my eyes at Rick Riordan's superfluous use of trendy brand names. 

 

The Little Book of Hygge - I should have skipped this one. Everything I needed to know was already covered on the BaW thread! 

 

The Disney Book - This is a DK book with lots of beautiful pictures and a timeline of info about the history of Disney. Recommend to Disney fans just for the visuals, although you can find more thorough histories of the company elsewhere. 

 

The Book Thief - Loved this one. Death is the narrator as a young girl grows up in Nazi Germany. He foreshadows everything that is going to happen, but it's still heartbreaking when it does.

 

Currently I am reading The Princess Bride for my "story within a story" in the Popsugar challenge.  I've just barely started it, but this is DS's favorite book, the only one he took with him to summer camp last year. I'm sure I must have watched the movie as a kid, but I have no memory of it other than the few lines that everyone quotes all the time.

 

Congrats to those who are hitting 52 books and bingo already! 

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Congrats to all the 52 book & bingo finishers!

 

I finished Lady Fortescue Steps Out. Here's my review from Goodreads:

This was an interesting mixture. The story was interesting and original (and unlikely, but let's ignore that). I really enjoyed meeting the variety of characters and their methods for coping with poverty. The romance was terrible, but luckily not a huge focus. There was some social commentary thrown in that seemed a bit out of place. The part I enjoyed most was the narration by Davina Porter. Her voices for the different characters were amazing and so humorous. I'm positive I would not have enjoyed this story as much if I had read it instead. 

 

I also finished up the fourth section in The Razor's Edge and was sad to stop. There were a couple of humorous bits that I enjoyed.

Edited by melbotoast
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Had dinner with father in law yesterday and had a lovely time discussing books.  He enjoys reading the classics and is currently working his way through all of Anthony Trollope's books. I think he's just about talked me into tackling one of his books.   I told him about the group reading Razor's Edge and his eyes light up, as he thoroughly enjoyed it as well as Moon and Sixpence.  

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Had dinner with father in law yesterday and had a lovely time discussing books.  He enjoys reading the classics and is currently working his way through all of Anthony Trollope's books. I think he's just about talked me into tackling one of his books.

 

 

Do you have an idea which one? If not,  I suggest either The Way We Live Now or one of the Baretshire books - either The Warden or Doctor Thorne. There's one in between those two but they really don't need to be read in order. Some of the characters overlap but the stories can be followed regardless of the order in which they're read.

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