Book a Week 2017 - BW26: pearls, pearls, and more pearls

[Robin M]

Happy Sunday and welcome to week 26 in our 2017 adventurous prime reading year. Greetings to all our readers and those following our progress. Mister Linky is available weekly on 52 Books in 52 Weeks  to share a link to your book reviews.

 

Do you remember back in the 90's when pearl parties were all the rage?  One of my friends hosted and I 'found' three pearls. They are still in little pink folders in my jewelry box.  Occasionally I take them out, reminisce and back in they go.  One of these days I'll figure out what to do with them.

 

 Have you managed to spell Pearl or read a book about pearls or by an author named Pearl or one with Pearl in the title yet?  If not, you are in luck.  This week, Monday June 26th is Pearl S. Buck's birthday.   In 1938, she was the first American woman to win the Nobel Prize for Literature - 

 

"for her rich and truly epic descriptions of peasant life in China and for her biographical masterpieces".

 

I remember reading Pearl S. Buck's books way back in my 20's, but I think it was my mother's Readers Digest condensed versions which is probably why I didn't appreciate her works as much as I should have at that age.  As we say with age comes wisdom and since I've finally developed a fondness for historical fiction, I'm ready to dive in. How about you?  

 

We have many choices since she wrote over 70 books including novels, story collections, biographies, autobiographies, poetry, drama as well as Chinese translations.  Learn more about Pearl with Peter Conn's Rediscovering Pearl S. Buck: A Cultural Biography or through writer Anchee Min's Pearl of China.  Plus check out writers following in her path at the Pearl S. Buck Writing Center and read author contributions in the Spring 2017 Literary Journal. 

 

 

Stories with Pearl in the title include: 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Follow a few rabbit trails and read about Pearl Harbor, the band Pearl Jam or even art in the Islamic empire with Pearls on a String.

 

 

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

War and Peace – continue reading Volume one – part two

 

 

Story of Western Science:  Chapter 21 with eight more chapters to go!

 

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

 

What are you reading this week?  We are halfway through the year.  Where has your reading taken you so far?

 

 

Link to week 25
 

 

Edited June 25, 2017 by Robin M

[Matryoshka]

Hi all,

 

I said I'd repost the War and Peace read-a-long list near the top of this week's post so it would be easier to find. This is what I've got so far, feel free to tell me to add you. :)

 

War and Peace read-a-long:

 

Maude: Matryoshka, Stacia(1), JennW, Melissa M, Penguin, Mumto2, Mothersweets, Violet Crown, Angelaboord, Ali in OR, LaughingCat, Angel, cstarlette...

P/V: Lady Florida, Jane in NC, Strawberries, ErinE...

Briggs: Scoutermom, Stacia(2), RobinM...

Garnett: Ethel Mertz...

 

Dutch (Bloemen & Wiebes): Loesje, Tress

Edited July 2, 2017 by Matryoshka

[Robin M]

Supposedly our heat way is over, the highs should be in the 90's and our delta breezes are back.  I refused to do our usual two and half mile evening walk all week after attempting it in the heat without our usual evening cool off.  Gah!  Went out last night and it was balmy, breezy 70 ish.  Wonderful!

 

I finished spelling out Pearl for the June Birthstone Bookology challenge

 

P: The Girl Who Played with Fire by Stieg Larsson is his second novel in the Millenium series. Salander is wanted for a triple murder and she chooses to simply disappear. Even the reader doesn't know if she is innocent or guilty and only knows what Blomkist does as he decides to investigate without her.

 

E: Gods and Ends by Devon Monk is her third novel in the paranormal trilogy, Ordinary Magic. Vampires, devils, even a crochet and knitting rivalry almost turns into a gang war as Delaney works to protect the town of Ordinary, Oregon.

 

A: Ashley Bell by  Dean Koontz is an excellent psychological thriller about a writer who been diagnosed with brain cancer and only has a year to live.  She wakes in the hospital believing she is totally cured after a mysterious middle of the night encounter and thinks she needs to save a life.

 

R: Relics by Douglas Preston and Lincoln Child is the first book in his Pendergast series. Someone's been savagely murdered in the natural history museum.  Is the culprit human or animal? No one knows for sure.

 

L: Late Eclipses by Seanan McGuire, the 4th book in her October Daye series has October running for her life, trying to stay away from the Queen of the Mist's who wants her dead and trying to save Lily and Luna who are dying from a mysterious ailment.

 

I also read The Girl who Played with the Hornet's Nest and don't want to give away any spoilers except to say everyone who knows Salander personally are in her court, doing what they can to help her.

 

Nora Robert's hits it out of the park as usual with her latest Come Sundown, a thriller of epic proportions with a loving extended family who run a dude ranch/resort and a nasty villain, living on the edges of life and sanity.

 

Last but not least, a new to me author John Dechancie's and his science fiction adventure, Starrigger. A fascinating adventure about an interstellar trucker, a hitcher who knows him but he doesn't remember her and a gangster one step behind him all the way.

 

My reading has slowed down quite a bit since I'm concentrating more on writing, plus most of the books were  chunky.  I just started #7 in Robert Jordan's Wheel of Time series with A Crown of Swords.  Plus I'm about to start War and Peace.   Both will keep me busy for the rest of the month.

 

 

Edited June 25, 2017 by Robin M

[Onceuponatime]

I just finished The Subtle Knife and am halfway through The Haunted Bookshop by Christopher Morley.

[Jane in NC]

Continuing to send good thoughts to all who need them.

It is the details within War and Peace that have completely engaged me, the references to needlework in reticules and amber tips of Turkish pipes. I was taken aback by seeing Laurence Sterne quoted within the text ("We love people not so much for the good they've done us, as for the good we've done them.") Thoroughly enjoyed this week's W&P reading assignment.

The Case of the Missing Servant by Tarquin Hall had been on my library list for some time. It is an easy entertainment but not the sort of psychological mystery that I prefer. The detective, a portly resident of Delhi, certainly enjoys his food which I suspect is why the book made it on my list. I too can be distracted by samosas or chole.

My generous Secret Santa package had included Rebecca Solnit's A Field Guide to Getting Lost, a book once referenced by our dear Shukriyya. I am working my way slowly through these essays as I do with nonfiction.

And also from the dusties is something Stacia sent me a while back, Good Morning Comrades, by Ondjaki, an Angolan author. A relevant quote:

 

And then I saw that, in a country, the government's one thing and the people are another.

 

 

It has been a good week with pleasant reading, progress made on the socks I had started knitting a few months ago, a shirt sewn, a lovely kayak in the slough, my usual bike riding...

[JennW in SoCal]

This week the War and Peace playlist takes us to Vienna in 1805 where a 35 year old Beethoven is going deaf yet entering an extraordinary period of creativity and experimentation, writing music noted for its complexity and emotion. This middle period of his compositions revolutionizes classical music, taking it from the beautiful, formal structure of the Classical period, exemplified by the music of his teacher, Haydn, and setting it on the path towards the Romantic era lushness of Brahms, Liszt, Chopin, Schumann and Wagner.

 

Some music historians point to his Eroica Symphony as specifically THE lynchpin that divides Classical and Romantic music. This 3rd symphony was first performed for the public in April 1805, the year in which War and Peace opens. The symphony was originally to be named The Bonaparte symphony in honor of Napoleon. But legend has it that when Beethoven learned Napoleon had crowned himself emperor, he was so outraged that he tore a hole in the paper of the title page while scratching out the name “Bonaparteâ€. It was renamed Eroica, or The Heroic Symphony, and it is heroic in scale and theme.

 

The best introduction to this symphony is an episode of “Keeping Scoreâ€, a PBS series by Michael Tilson Thomas and the San Francisco Symphony. Unfortunately all I can offer to share with you is the first half of the episode, which is all youtube has. But it is still a terrific introduction and the infectious enthusiasm of the musicians should inspire you to listen to the rest of the symphony. If you are interested in the full episode, or if you are wondering how to introduce classical music into your homeschool, look for this series at your library.  

 

Keeping Score: Eroica Symphony

 

There is also a companion website with some interactive activities including a music score, and a clickable timeline.

 

This short article talks about how Napoleon’s invasions and occupations of Vienna caused Beethoven several headaches.

 

Last year I recommended a wonderful book by Edward Dusinberre, the first violinist of the Takacs quartet, Beethoven for a Later Age.  Here is a fun TED talk by him with his quartet along to demonstrate the first of the quartets written during this same middle period of Beethoven’s life. Playing the opus 59 quartets is one of life’s great delights, and my music friends and I make a point of playing Beethoven every month or so. (I play quartets with 2 different groups almost weekly, sometimes on violin, sometimes on viola. The musicians of Takacs quartet are lightyears better than any of us, though!)

 

Finally, a bit of trivia. Beethoven was a renowned pianist, but he also studied viola as a youth.  Those of you outside the music world probably have no idea of the wealth of viola jokes out there -- it is the misunderstood middle child of the string family!  But the truth is that many great composers played viola and often would play viola when gathered with friends to play quartets. I believe our Ethel Mertz is a fellow violist.

 

 

I'll post a bit later about my current reads, and to talk War and Peace. Are we discussing Book 1 today??

 

 

[Matryoshka]

Speaking of W&P, I didn't quite finish the section I was supposed to - we have an exchange student coming Thursday, and I have to clean.the.house.  And what takes more time, declutter.  I managed to listen to some of my audiobook while decluttering, but by the time I got to the last bit of W&P for this week, I just started falling asleep.  But I'm not far behind. :)

 

So, this week I finished:

 

64. El jardín de los senderos que se bifurcan / The Garden of Forking Paths by Borges. (ebook) A short collection of short stories.  It was all I could take. 2 stars.

 

65. Pavilion of Women by Pearl S. Buck - My June birthstone read.  If I'd known it was her birthday this week, I may have waited!  I've only read one other book by her, The Good Earth (of course) which I liked just fine, but I just loved this one.  Madame Wu turns 40 and decides it's her time to live life for herself.  A lot easier to do when you have a pile of servants to do the grunt work, lol.  But I really liked Madame Wu's character, and the story.  It takes place during a war, but the Wu family lives far away and is barely touched by it.  Still, times are changing.  5 stars.

 

66. The Vegetarian by Kang Han (ebook) - Many reviews have mentioned that this is a disturbing book.  It is disturbing, and odd.  But I finished it in two sittings.  4 stars.

 

67. The Cat's Table by Michael Ondaatje (audiobook) - quite liked the author's memories of a trip he took in his childhood (with negligible adult supervision) on a boat from Sri Lanka to England.  Read by the author.  4 stars.

 

 

Currently Reading: 

 

- Tooth & Claw by Jo Walton.  Robin said it was Fantasy month, so figured I'd get in a fantasy book.  Some describe this as Pride and Prejudice with dragons (not eating the regency people, but playing the regency people).  Except they're also cannibals.  Also going to count for my "No Human Characters" Big Bingo square.

 

- The Round House by Louise Erdich (audiobook) - set in the 1980's on a Native American reservation.  Narrated by a preteen boy whose mother is violently assaulted, which throws his happy family life into turmoil as both his parents withdraw from him to deal with the trauma themselves.  He determines to help find her rapist and bring him to justice.

 

- The Lost City of the Monkey God (ebook) - just came in from Overdrive hold.  Haven't gotten very far yet.  Theme seems to be adventurers get their butts kicked by jungle but still manage to find something cool there.

 

- War and Peace (of course!) ;)  Got midway through chapter 22, so a bit behind, but not too bad.  Must catch up.

 

 

Coming up: 

 

- All Our Wrong Todays - for next month's SciFi book club

 

- A Long Way Home, the book that got made into the movie Lion, came in from a very long library hold, so I should get to that sometime soon.

 

- Something by the author Xinran, which will finish up my A-Z author challenge.  I'm trying to decide between a fiction or non-fiction book by her.

[Jane in NC]

Forgot to mention that I finished listening to The Winter Ghosts, an atmospheric ghost story by Kate Mosse, an audio book given to me by a friend. The novel has more of a psychologically driven than action packed plot in that the main character is haunted by loss. It is a poignant tale of the ramifications of WWI on communities and individual families.  But Mosse does not see the 20th century in isolation. She brings a previous atrocity, the mass execution of the Cathars (14th century), into her story, a grim reminder that humans never seem to learn anything. 

 

The audio version is read by the wonderful Julian Rhind-Tutt.

Edited June 25, 2017 by Jane in NC

[Jane in NC]

 

This week the War and Peace playlist takes us to Vienna in 1805 where a 35 year old Beethoven is going deaf yet entering an extraordinary period of creativity and experimentation, writing music noted for its complexity and emotion. This middle period of his compositions revolutionizes classical music, taking it from the beautiful, formal structure of the Classical period, exemplified by the music of his teacher, Haydn, and setting it on the path towards the Romantic era lushness of Brahms, Liszt, Chopin, Schumann and Wagner.

 

Some music historians point to his Eroica Symphony as specifically THE lynchpin that divides Classical and Romantic music. This 3rd symphony was first performed for the public in April 1805, the year in which War and Peace opens. The symphony was originally to be named The Bonaparte symphony in honor of Napoleon. But legend has it that when Beethoven learned Napoleon had crowned himself emperor, he was so outraged that he tore a hole in the paper of the title page while scratching out the name “Bonaparteâ€. It was renamed Eroica, or The Heroic Symphony, and it is heroic in scale and theme.

 

The best introduction to this symphony is an episode of “Keeping Scoreâ€, a PBS series by Michael Tilson Thomas and the San Francisco Symphony. Unfortunately all I can offer to share with you is the first half of the episode, which is all youtube has. But it is still a terrific introduction and the infectious enthusiasm of the musicians should inspire you to listen to the rest of the symphony. If you are interested in the full episode, or if you are wondering how to introduce classical music into your homeschool, look for this series at your library.  

 

Keeping Score: Eroica Symphony

 

There is also a companion website with some interactive activities including a music score, and a clickable timeline.

 

This short article talks about how Napoleon’s invasions and occupations of Vienna caused Beethoven several headaches.

 

Last year I recommended a wonderful book by Edward Dusinberre, the first violinist of the Takacs quartet, Beethoven for a Later Age.  Here is a fun TED talk by him with his quartet along to demonstrate the first of the quartets written during this same middle period of Beethoven’s life. Playing the opus 59 quartets is one of life’s great delights, and my music friends and I make a point of playing Beethoven every month or so. (I play quartets with 2 different groups almost weekly, sometimes on violin, sometimes on viola. The musicians of Takacs quartet are lightyears better than any of us, though!)

 

Finally, a bit of trivia. Beethoven was a renowned pianist, but he also studied viola as a youth.  Those of you outside the music world probably have no idea of the wealth of viola jokes out there -- it is the misunderstood middle child of the string family!  But the truth is that many great composers played viola and often would play viola when gathered with friends to play quartets. I believe our Ethel Mertz is a fellow violist.

 

 

I'll post a bit later about my current reads, and to talk War and Peace. Are we discussing Book 1 today??

 

 

Volume One, Part One.

 

Jenn, I love your musical links!

 

 

[Chrysalis Academy]

The heat wave is over here too- last night I had to put on my fleece jacket to extend my porch-sitting-and-reading time into the evening! It was delicious.

 

I finished quite a few things over the past couple of days, but the highlight was definitely The Silk Roads: A New History of the World, which I listened to, and it was fantastic. It covered the period from late antiquity to the immediate past, with a regional focus on, well, the Silk Roads - essentially, the central part of the Eurasian landmass. Other key regional powers were discussed at the relevant time, from Portugal & Spain to Britain and the US, but always focused on how they affected or were affected by the events concerning central Eurasia. It was such a great history - the breadth, both temporal and spatial, was immense, but the focus on a part of the world that Western Civ/western history courses often give short shrift was enlightening. Many surprising twists to familiar stories. It's hard to explain, but the very fact of focusing on a particular part of the world reframed the whole story of history in a way that made it feel fresh and new - kind of like looking at a map centered on Eurasia, rather than the Americas, or a map with Antarctica on top does. Everything there is familiar, you've seen & heard about it before, but you see new things when you look at it from a different perspective.  Highly, highly recommended.

 

Currently I'm listening to Prisoners of Geography, which is good, but a bit of a letdown after The Silk Roads. It's equally broad in perspective, but not quite as deep. Still good, though.  I'm also reading Economics Through Everyday Life, first suggested by Butter (thank you!), re-reading Dune (thanks to Nan), The Inquisitor's Tale (thanks to my dds and Amy). And I'm again reading An Everlasting Meal, which is my favorite cookbook ever, but which ironically I have never read all the way through. I always start it, get inspired to cook things, go off on rabbit trails and set it aside. Then when I come back to it, I start over at the beginning (because it's so wonderful), get a bit further before wandering off to cook, and never finish. I think I've only made it as far as p. 187, but I've probably read the first two chapters 6 or 7 times.  I'm determined to make it all the way to the end this time!!

 

 

[Ethel Mertz]

 

This week the War and Peace playlist takes us to Vienna in 1805 where a 35 year old Beethoven is going deaf yet entering an extraordinary period of creativity and experimentation, writing music noted for its complexity and emotion. This middle period of his compositions revolutionizes classical music, taking it from the beautiful, formal structure of the Classical period, exemplified by the music of his teacher, Haydn, and setting it on the path towards the Romantic era lushness of Brahms, Liszt, Chopin, Schumann and Wagner.

 

Some music historians point to his Eroica Symphony as specifically THE lynchpin that divides Classical and Romantic music. This 3rd symphony was first performed for the public in April 1805, the year in which War and Peace opens. The symphony was originally to be named The Bonaparte symphony in honor of Napoleon. But legend has it that when Beethoven learned Napoleon had crowned himself emperor, he was so outraged that he tore a hole in the paper of the title page while scratching out the name “Bonaparte”. It was renamed Eroica, or The Heroic Symphony, and it is heroic in scale and theme.

 

The best introduction to this symphony is an episode of “Keeping Score”, a PBS series by Michael Tilson Thomas and the San Francisco Symphony. Unfortunately all I can offer to share with you is the first half of the episode, which is all youtube has. But it is still a terrific introduction and the infectious enthusiasm of the musicians should inspire you to listen to the rest of the symphony. If you are interested in the full episode, or if you are wondering how to introduce classical music into your homeschool, look for this series at your library.  

 

Keeping Score: Eroica Symphony

 

There is also a companion website with some interactive activities including a music score, and a clickable timeline.

 

This short article talks about how Napoleon’s invasions and occupations of Vienna caused Beethoven several headaches.

 

Last year I recommended a wonderful book by Edward Dusinberre, the first violinist of the Takacs quartet, Beethoven for a Later Age.  Here is a fun TED talk by him with his quartet along to demonstrate the first of the quartets written during this same middle period of Beethoven’s life. Playing the opus 59 quartets is one of life’s great delights, and my music friends and I make a point of playing Beethoven every month or so. (I play quartets with 2 different groups almost weekly, sometimes on violin, sometimes on viola. The musicians of Takacs quartet are lightyears better than any of us, though!)

 

Finally, a bit of trivia. Beethoven was a renowned pianist, but he also studied viola as a youth.  Those of you outside the music world probably have no idea of the wealth of viola jokes out there -- it is the misunderstood middle child of the string family!  But the truth is that many great composers played viola and often would play viola when gathered with friends to play quartets. I believe our Ethel Mertz is a fellow violist.

 

 

I'll post a bit later about my current reads, and to talk War and Peace. Are we discussing Book 1 today??

 

 

Thanks for the music links and the viola jokes! 

 

Rose - Thanks for The Silk Road recommendation! 

 

I finished The Lost Book of the Grail by Charlie Lovett. I absolutely adored this book full of all things Anglican, Arthur, and a fictional saint. Originally, I borrowed the book from the library, but I have since decided we must own it. 5 Stars.

 

In other reading: I'm trying to catch up to where DS is with Lord of the Rings and SWB's History of the Ancient World. I'm a bit behind with W&P, though I am also reading Give War & Peace a Chance alongside it. My IRL book group meets on Wednesday and I've only just started the book: Mr. Rosenblum Dreams in English by Natasha Solomons. So many books, so little time!

[mumto2]

Thank you Jenn for all the musical links which I plan to explore as soon as I finish my audio book The Moonstone. Which I am loving. I highly recommend it as an audio book. I'm down to 4 hours. I hope I have time to finish it tomorrow!

 

War and Peace....yep, it's a soap opera. I didn't manage to finish all the assigned reading but expect to catch up quickly now that I have officially started reading.

 

My birthstone reading is going well overall. Pearl is complete with Balogh's The Secret Pearl and Moonstone will be complete very soon. I'm working my way through Alexandrite with 5 letters to go.

 

I'm currently a bit distracted because there was a recent thread about our favourite light reading which several of us responded to on the main board. That thread is to blame for my checking The Cat who knew Shakespeare out. I started it.....need I say more!

[Robin M]

 

I'll post a bit later about my current reads, and to talk War and Peace. Are we discussing Book 1 today??

 

We can if everyone has had a chance to get started.  If you all are ready to chat about it, dive right in.  I haven't finished part one yet...today hopefully.  Just a recommendation - underline, highlight, take notes as you go along,  any thought or question that arises otherwise, like me, you may quickly forget what epiphany or thought hit at that moment.  

 

What do you think so far of Tolstoy's writing, the characters, the story? what struck you the most?  Any favorite characters or descriptions or ideas or quotes you want to share.

Edited June 25, 2017 by Robin M

[Lori D.]

I guess our heat wave is in process of breaking -- "down" to a high of 107Ëš for today after a run of a week at temps over 112Ëš -- 3 days in a row of 115Ëš and 116Ëš. Looks like we'll finally "only" be at 100Ëš a week from today.

 

  :crying:   :blushing:  <--- closest I can come to a sweating and sunburning emotion

 

 

Finished Katherine by Anya Seton. Overall, really enjoyed the history, politics, and "anthropology" parts. A 600 page look at the seeds of The War of the Roses by focusing on the figure of Lady Katherine Swynford whose descendants (through her children with John of Gaunt) went on to become kings and royalty on both sides of the War of the Roses.

 

Now I'm moving on to The Sunne in Splendor by Sharon Kay Penman, an even lengthier tome at 900 pages, which follows the figures and events at the END of the War of the Roses, particularly focusing on King Richard III. I'm in for a long and medieval summer...  :laugh: But, I think I'm starting to get a handle on what was going on politically in England (and tangentially in Europe) in the 1300s-1400s. Fun!

 

Last week, for a quick break, I read Nancy Farmer's 1995 Newberry winner The Ear, The Eye and The Arm. sigh. A frustrating read. I *loved* the setting and premise: the African nation of Zimbabwe -- but in a dystopian future! SOOO cool getting some language and culture about the Shona tribe through the story. But. The writing is not great, character depth is completely lacking and character motivations are very random, and the plot feels like it was written by an enthusiastic teen fan-fiction -- lots of exciting episodes, but nothing hangs together or flows. :(

[Mothersweets]

Good morning everyone! 

 

I'm up to chapter 22 in War and Peace and am enjoying it. Not sure how much I can say without spoiling things but does anyone else find Pierre a bit irritating at times? He's so rude and clueless!

 

One thing that makes reading a bit difficult is how the names of the characters change - Natasha/Natalya/Natalie and/or they have 2 or 3 different names (Princess Drubetskya/Anna Mikhailovna) all together what is that all about? I mean, I'm guessing it is similar to how the English peerage works with different names depending on the title a person holds, right? Maybe I need a cheat sheet. :)

 

I've been listening to The Count of Monte Cristo with CraftLit for the past year and a half (eep!) and we are finally up to chapter 78. The revenge thing is in full swing. I'm amazed by Dumas' writing and how he kept his characters and storyline together and making sense for so long.

 

Monte Cristo is another long story with a million characters and having a character chart http://dubsub.blogspot.com/2012/10/gankutsuou-count-of-monte-cristo-anime.html (scroll down a bit) has been really helpful. There are more detailed ones, too. Does anyone know of a good one for War and Peace? I've looked a bit but haven't found one.

 

I have read most of Who Thought This Was a Good Idea?:And Other Questions You Should Have Answers to When You Work in the White House by Alyssa Mastromonaco. I've started skimming at this point (about 2/3 of the way through) as it jumps around in time quite a bit and is a little too 'behind the scenes' for me to be interested. https://www.amazon.com/Who-Thought-This-Good-Idea-ebook/dp/B01LL8C3LI

Edited June 25, 2017 by Mothersweets

[Negin]

 

I remember reading Pearl S. Buck's books 

 

Stories with Pearl in the title include: 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Robin, I read Pearl S. Buck's "The Good Earth" a few years ago and loved it. I didn't even know that it's part of a trilogy or something until fairy recently. 

 

Interesting coincidence that you posted "Girl with a Pearl Earring". Early this morning, I remembered that a friend has loaned me her copy and that I should start reading it soon. 

 

I read The Stranger Beside Me : Ted Bundy - The Shocking Inside Story - 3 Stars - My feelings about this book are mixed. On the one hand, I didn’t know much about Ted Bundy, so I learned a lot about that. On the other hand, I just don’t like the author, who happened to be one of Bundy’s close friends. I really didn’t care for her confusion, misplaced compassion, and sympathy for him. That sort of mentality simply infuriates and frustrates me to no end. She even sent him money while he was in prison. He was a cold-blooded evil monster and she continued her friendship with him. I hate that sort of thing, never mind the stupid excuses for his behavior.

 

While reading this, I kept saying in my head, “Just die alreadyâ€. Thank God that he was stupid enough to head to Florida where those types of evil monstrosities were simply not tolerated, unlike some other states that seriously messed up.

 

Some interesting quotes:

 

“The most basic bit of advice given to women who have to walk alone at night is, ‘Look alert. Be aware of your surroundings and walk briskly. You will be safer if you know where you are going, and if anyone who observes you senses that.’ The stalking, predatory animal cuts the weakest from the pack, and then kills at his leisure.â€

 

“Yet, in reality, Ted loved things more than he loved people. He could find life in an abandoned bicycle or an old car, and feel a kind of compassion for these inanimate objects, more compassion than he could ever feel for another human being.â€

 

“Dr. Benjamin Spock, who worked in a veterans’ hospital dealing with emotional illnesses during World War II, commented at the time that there was a pronounced cross-sex problem in dealing with psychopathic personalities. The male psychopaths had no difficulty in bewitching female staff members, while the male staff picked up on them rapidly. The female psychopaths could fool the male staff but not the women.â€

 

 

MY RATING SYSTEM

5 Stars

Fantastic, couldn't put it down

4 Stars

Really Good

3 Stars

Enjoyable

2 Stars

Just Okay – nothing to write home about

1 Star

Rubbish – waste of my money and time. Few books make it to this level, since I usually give up on them if they’re that bad.

Edited June 25, 2017 by Negin

[Onceuponatime]

I forgot to say, I've amassed quite a collection of BAW postcards from around the world and the US. They bring me joy, so I repurpose them as bookmarks. I got a new one this week!

[Jane in NC]

Good morning everyone!

 

I'm up to chapter 22 in War and Peace and am enjoying it. Not sure how much I can say without spoiling things but does anyone else find Pierre a bit irritating at times? He's so rude and clueless!

 

One thing that makes reading a bit difficult is how the names of the characters change - Natasha/Natalya/Natalie and/or they have 2 or 3 different names (Princess Drubetskya/Anna Mikhailovna) all together what is that all about? I mean, I'm guessing it is similar to how the English peerage works with different names depending on the title a person holds, right? Maybe I need a cheat sheet. :)

 

Peavey provides a cheat sheet! I have referred to it more than once.

 

Pierre seems clueless when compared to the other members of the aristocracy who display expert manipulation skills. I find the backroom marriage deals to be rather interesting as I wonder about what is being offerred for both families. (Obviously marriage is not about the couple but the best brokered deal for the two families moving forward.)

 

The most intriguing characters for me at the moment are the members of the Bolkonsky family.

[Kareni]

A one day only currently free classic for Kindle readers ~

 

In the Fog by Richard Harding Davis

 

About the Author

Richard Harding Davis (1864–1916) was a pioneering journalist and novelist. As a war correspondent, he covered the Boer War, the Russo–Japanese War, and the Spanish–American War, where his writing about the Rough Riders helped make Teddy Roosevelt into a legendary national figure. He continued covering conflicts around the globe up until his death in 1916.

 

"The members of an exclusive London club endeavor to solve a baffling murder in this masterpiece from the golden age of detective fiction

Since the time of Shakespeare, there has been no group in London more influential than the Grill Club. A secret society whose members are drawn from the rich and the poor, the Grill is blind to politics, ideology, and wealth. The only demands made of its members are secrecy and an open mind.
 
On a foggy night in 1897, an American diplomat tells three other club members of a recent night when he was lost in the London fog and heard a distant scream. Following the sound, he entered a strange house, where he discovered a man lying dead on a princess’s divan. The crime baffled Scotland Yard, but the men of the Grill Club will get to the bottom of it—no matter how long it takes."

 

Regards,

Kareni

[Stacia]

.

Edited November 2, 2017 by Stacia

[Matryoshka]

Now I'm moving on to The Sunne in Splendor by Sharon Kay Penman, an even lengthier tome at 900 pages, which follows the figures and events at the END of the War of the Roses, particularly focusing on King Richard III. I'm in for a long and medieval summer...  :laugh: But, I think I'm starting to get a handle on what was going on politically in England (and tangentially in Europe) in the 1300s-1400s. Fun!

 

The Sunne in Splendor is what I'm planning on for the Middle Ages bingo square (picked because it got such rave reviews from many last year), and will finish BaW bingo for me.  But there's no way I'm going to start that till we've gotten through W&P - one huge tome at a time is enough. :lol:  So I guess Bingo's going to take me a while yet.   I'll keep whittling away at Big Bingo in the meantime... :D  

 

Speaking of which, it's halfway through the year this week, and thought I'd take stock.  I'm almost at blackout for BaW bingo, and I'm one book away each from finishing A-Z author and title challenges.   Good thing you guys forwarded me Rose's Big Bingo, which will keep me busy for a long time!  

 

I've finished 59 books that fit a Big Bingo category, not counting free spaces.  There are 23 books that overlap, if you don't count the free space - the one that doesn't is Bestseller in child/spouse birth year - Big Bingo has year married, younger dd birth year, older dd birth year, but I chose spouse's birth year for BaW bingo.  But I was able to reassign it to Russian Revolution (Dr Zhivago) - handy!  Assuming I keep it up at this pace, I'll get about halfway through Big Bingo this year, and maybe achieve blackout by next year, if I decide to stick with it.  There are some categories I'll a hard time with, so we'll see... but it would be frustrating to finish the whole thing minus a few!   Rose, will you start a new Big Bingo next year ('cause I know you're polishing this one off this year ;) )?

 

Just for funz, these are the categories I've filled so far (though I reserve the right to reclassify some if it fits multiple categories ;) ): 

 

1.    Local Author – In the Heart of the Sea

2.    Middle East – Together Tea

3.    Seaworthy - Plover

4.    Yellow is the predominant color on the cover – Ensayo sobre la cegura

5.    Prime number – Station Eleven

6.    A book about books - Mockingbird

7.    Made into a movie – Hidden Figures

8.    Russian Revolution – Dr. Zhivago

9.    Selected by a friend – Ancillary Justice

10.  Dystopian – A Handmaid’s Tale

11.  Has a cemetery in it – Prisionero del cielo

12.  Cartels – El ruido de las cosas al caer

13.  Outer space - Radiance

14.  Published in at least 5 different languages - Nordermoor

15.  Voodoo – Wide Sargasso Sea

16.  Character smokes – Roadside Picnic

17.  Autobiography – Malcolm X

18.  Narrated from multiple viewpoints – Please Look After Mom

19.  Author's first published book - Homegoing

20.  Ancient (BC) up to 100 AD – Palace of Illusions

21.  Eastern Europe – Bear and the Nightingale

22.  One-word title - Pachinko

23.  Classic – Age of Innocence

24.  Medical – Spirit Catches You and You Fall Down

25.  Nebula Award - Annihilation

26.  Short story collection – Stories of Your Life and Others

27.  Female adventure – Miss Garnet

28.  LBGTQ – Sergio Y

29.  Mystery - Todeshauch

30.  Translated – Mann namens Ove

31.  Finance - Evicted

32.  Part of a series – Ladies No. 1 Detective Agency

33.  "Sun" in the title – A Thousand Splendid Suns

34.  Disease – Ghost Map

35.  Newsworthy – Hillbilly Elegy

36.  YA – Hollow City

37.  Your name in the title – Exiles of Erin

38.  Women's suffrage – Mary Wollenstonecraft and Mary Shelley

39.  Set in Africa – Happiness Like Water

40.  Western – News of the World

41.  Somerset Maugham – Razor’s Edge

42.  Book selected by your older daughter – Autobiography of Red

43.  Flufferton - Cranford

44.  Icelandic – Kühl graut der Morgen

45.  On a 2016 "Best of" list – Lab Girl

46.  Botany – Das geheime Leben der Bäume

47.  Civil Rights – Between the World and Me

48.  Steampunk – Invisible Library

49.  Written by a comedian – Born a Crime

50.  Over 500 pages – El laberinto de los espíritus

51.  Olympian – Boys in the Boat

52.  Philosophy – Too Like the Lightning

53.  Published in 2017 – Lincoln in the Bardo

54.  Book with a Duke as a main character – Seven Surrenders

55.  Biology – Song of the Dodo

56.  Argentinean author – El jardín de los senderos que se bifurcan

57.  Set in Asia –Pavilion of Women

58.  Booker Prize – The Vegetarian

59.  Michael Ondaatje – Cat’s Table

 

My current reads should get me Set in North America, No Human Characters, and Rainforest. :)

[Matryoshka]

One thing that makes reading a bit difficult is how the names of the characters change - Natasha/Natalya/Natalie and/or they have 2 or 3 different names (Princess Drubetskya/Anna Mikhailovna) all together what is that all about? I mean, I'm guessing it is similar to how the English peerage works with different names depending on the title a person holds, right? Maybe I need a cheat sheet. :)

 

Aren't you reading the Maude?  My version of Maude (the same cover as the one Stacia linked)  literally has a cheat sheet(on p. xxxvii), which I have been consulting regularly.

 

Generally, though, Russians have three names, first name, father's first name + gendered ending (aka patronymic), family name.

 

So, Anna Mikhailovna's father's name was Mikhail; the -ovna is the gendered ending; her brother would have the patronymic Mikhailovitch.

 

And everyone has a million nicknames for their first name (like Natalie/Natasha/Natalya).  Pierre is Piotyr in Russian, and gets Russian Peter nicknames too sometimes.

 

I know all this, but I still consult the cheat sheet regularly!

[Granny_Weatherwax]

I finished a YA novel this weekend while camping. The book was The Unfinished Life of Addison Stone by Adele Griffin. I'm giving it 3 out of 5 stars but I honestly don't know how I feel about the book. It was written as a fictional biography using interviews, news articles, personal recordings, and artwork and photographs to tell the story.  Addison is already dead at the beginning of the book and the biographer goes back to the beginning of Addison's life (her childhood) through interviews with friends, family, and teachers.  The bulk of the story is written about Addison's last year and a half of life and the events that lead to her death. I'm not sure if the author of the book intended it to be a mystery or simply mysterious but the question of why and how Addison died is left unanswered and even invokes a sense of the supernatural.

 

This book is YA but it's definitely not for the younger YA due to lots of drug references, partying lifestyle of young people, some sexual references, mental illness, unstable families...

---
I'm continuing my reading of W&P. It's going much slower than I had anticipated. I just can't seem to get into it. Maybe it's the edition I have. I might go take a look at the other edition available at my public library.

__

I am happy to have finished 26 out of 52 books. I have so much respect for those of you who have read 50+, 100+ books already this year.

[Violet Crown]

Our heat wave ended, too. It had gotten up to 70 degrees and the sun was spotted a few times; but today when I went running it was in the 50s again, windy, and with that familiar precipitation oscillating between drizzle and mist. The day it hit 70, a couple of people remarked that "this must be just like home for you." Once Middle Girl muttered, "Yes, in winter."

 

Nothing finished since my Conrad novel and Jacobite history book from last week. Right now I should be starting War and Peace but have gotten sidetracked by a Thomas Hardy short story collection, A Changed Man, all set in the fictional Wessex familiar from his novels. One character even gets drowned in what may be the same weir that drowns Eustacia and Wildeve so tragically in The Return of the Native. Someone should put a warning sign near that thing.

 

Also still reading Bacon's Essays and poems by William Soutar.

[Granny_Weatherwax]

I did make it through Part One of W&P in both the Maude & the Briggs translations. Not sure I will be able to keep up the continued pace of reading both versions. If not, I will plan to continue with the Maude/Oxford University Press version (of which I love the cover, a design of the lining of a woman's munisak from the late 19th century), maybe just looking up a footnote or other reference in the Briggs version once in awhile.<snip>

Can you tell me why you like the Maude edition over the Briggs?

 

I'm reading the Briggs and am struggling to get into the story. Do you think looking for another edition would be beneficial?

[JennW in SoCal]

Volume One, Part One.

 

I'm not sure what Volume One, Part One means.

 

My Naxos audio version of W&P is the Maude translation. It is not broken down into volumes and parts, but into books -- 15 of them, each with numerous chapters, and the entire book ends with 2 epilogues. My kindle version is a different translation. (I can't figure out which one!! It doesn't say and while the amazon site claims it is Maude, it is definitely different.) But it, too, is broken down into books, and even the Sparknotes summaries are divided by the books.  Sparknotes Anglicizes the names, though, which really annoys me. It is Andrei, not Andrew!!

 

So I assume Volume One, Part One is the same as Book One, the soap opera book where we meet everyone. I just started Book 6 last night, and Stacia, there is still lots of soap opera, but it gets to be very meaty, and I find myself totally caught up in the twists and turns of each character's fate. The war chapters, by the way, are especially gripping, almost too realistic for comfort. I try to think about the parallels between society and the war, the tactics, the politics, but have no pithy insights as of yet.

 

My favorite section of Book One is meeting Marya Bolkonsky as she endures yet another geometry lesson from her father. It is a scene I think familiar to all students, and to all homeschoolers: 

 

"Now madam," began the old man, bending over the book close to his daughter, and laying one arm on the back of the chair she was sitting on, so that the princess felt herself surrounded on all sides by the peculiar acrid small of old age and tobacco, which she had so long associated with her father. "Come, madam, these triangles are equal: kindly look; the angle A, B, C,..." 

 

Poor Marya is "so frightened that terror prevented her from understanding". I love how Tolstoy describes her eyes going dim, that she can sense nothing other than her father, and all she can think of is escape, while the Prince tries not to fly into a rage but almost everyday does rage and scold, sometimes flinging the book away.

 

"Whether it was the teacher's fault or the pupil's, every day the same scene was repeated."

 

Prince Bolkonsky is a great character. I just love him. And my favorite description of Andrei at this point in the book, something I read on someone's blog, describes him as going "all Holden Caulfield" in his disdain for his poor wife and sister.

 

 

In other reading news, I finished Lab Girl. I thought it started out very strong, got a little mired in the middle, and finished strong but not as strong as in the beginning. But I still really enjoyed it, still would recommend it to any budding scientist or anyone who enjoys a good memoir.

 

I'm not a big reader of cozy mysteries, but I couldn't pass up Of Books and Bagpipes featuring a young American woman working at a secondhand bookshop in Edinburgh. I figure it is the closest I'm going to get to being a part of VC's and Amy's time in Scotland.  So far it is light and entertaining. 

[Kareni]

... I'm again reading An Everlasting Meal, which is my favorite cookbook ever, but which ironically I have never read all the way through. I always start it, get inspired to cook things, go off on rabbit trails and set it aside. ...

 

I'm reminded of The Neverending Story; in your case, it's the Everlasting Story.  An Everlasting Meal sounds quite intriguing.

**

 

Some currently free books for Kindle readers ~

 

Sihpromatum - Backpacks and Bra Straps  by Savannah Grace

 

"Savannah Grace’s best selling, award winning saga of her family’s four-year-long backpacking adventure continues. "Backpacks and Bra Straps" picks up where "I Grew My Boobs in China" leaves off, offering insights into how family dynamics are affected by such intensive togetherness as well as a candid, intriguing look at world-wide travel and the camaraderie of the backpacking community, told from a perceptive young woman’s viewpoint. This second instalment of her Sihpromatum series takes us to Russia, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, through Western China and Tibet, and finally, to watch the sun rise over Mount Everest in Nepal. Savannah’s initial reluctance to travel and the personal growth she documents distinguishes this raw tale from most travel memoirs."

 

ALSO

 

Too Young to be Old: From Clapham to Kathmandu  by Frank Kusy

 

"As Frank Kusy turns 27 he is unexpectedly put in charge of an old people’s home in Clapham, South London. Driven to distraction by a crazy cast of characters he seeks solace in Buddhism, only to find himself up to his ears in plasticine pigs and marathon chanting sessions. Will he make his mum happy by holding down a ‘proper’ job? Will he make her unhappy by becoming a writer? Will he get to share cheese sandwiches with Kevin in Kathmandu? And will he be forced to exchange his underpants in Japan?"

 

Regards,

Kareni

 

[Granny_Weatherwax]

<snip>

 

 

It has been a good week with pleasant reading, progress made on the socks I had started knitting a few months ago, a shirt sewn, a lovely kayak in the slough, my usual bike riding...

This sentence makes me smile.

Edited June 25, 2017 by Scoutermom

[Violet Crown]

Regarding "pearl" titles: there's also Steinbeck's The Black Pearl; and Bulgakov's The Master and Margarita.

[Jane in NC]

This sentence makes me smile.

 

For Scoutermom:

 

 

No books in my kayak!

 

[Guest]

Hi, all. I am hoping I can join in here, although I don't accomplish as prodigious an amount of reading as some (all?) of you do. â˜ºï¸ I am currently reading Hillbilly Elegy, which I find very interesting. I am about 62% finished that one (on Kindle). I am also listening to The Snowball on audiobook while I do my workouts. This is a biography about Warren Buffet. It's interesting. I spend a lot of time mulling over wealth accummulation vs. Miserliness. Buffet often appears to the miserly side of the equation, though I do admire frugality.

 

I might go for a Pearl-themed book when I finish Elegy.

[JennW in SoCal]

Regarding "pearl" titles: there's also Steinbeck's The Black Pearl; and Bulgakov's The Master and Margarita.

 

And my favorite comic strip, Pearls Before Swine  :D

[Jane in NC]

Hi, all. I am hoping I can join in here, although I don't accomplish as prodigious an amount of reading as some (all?) of you do. â˜ºï¸ I am currently reading Hillbilly Elegy, which I find very interesting. I am about 62% finished that one (on Kindle). I am also listening to The Snowball on audiobook while I do my workouts. This is a biography about Warren Buffet. It's interesting. I spend a lot of time mulling over wealth accummulation vs. Miserliness. Buffet often appears to the miserly side of the equation, though I do admire frugality.

 

I might go for a Pearl-themed book when I finish Elegy.

 

Welcome to the book party, Danielle.  This is a great group and I am confident you'll enjoy hanging out with the BaWers!

[Kareni]

Hi, all. I am hoping I can join in here ....

 

Welcome Quill! 

 

Regards,

Kareni

[Butter]

I finished reading Princess: A True Story of Life Behind the Veil in Saudi Arabia by Jean Sasson.  It was pretty good.  It had an extreme obsession with sex.  Everything for women was terrible, everything for men was awesome.  It may really have been that way in the 50s-80s in Saudi Arabia.  She did not make things easier for herself.  She was pretty hotheaded.

[Chrysalis Academy]

The Sunne in Splendor is what I'm planning on for the Middle Ages bingo square (picked because it got such rave reviews from many last year), and will finish BaW bingo for me.  But there's no way I'm going to start that till we've gotten through W&P - one huge tome at a time is enough. :lol:  So I guess Bingo's going to take me a while yet.   I'll keep whittling away at Big Bingo in the meantime... :D

 

Speaking of which, it's halfway through the year this week, and thought I'd take stock.  I'm almost at blackout for BaW bingo, and I'm one book away each from finishing A-Z author and title challenges.   Good thing you guys forwarded me Rose's Big Bingo, which will keep me busy for a long time!  

 

I've finished 59 books that fit a Big Bingo category, not counting free spaces.  There are 23 books that overlap, if you don't count the free space - the one that doesn't is Bestseller in child/spouse birth year - Big Bingo has year married, younger dd birth year, older dd birth year, but I chose spouse's birth year for BaW bingo.  But I was able to reassign it to Russian Revolution (Dr Zhivago) - handy!  Assuming I keep it up at this pace, I'll get about halfway through Big Bingo this year, and maybe achieve blackout by next year, if I decide to stick with it.  There are some categories I'll a hard time with, so we'll see... but it would be frustrating to finish the whole thing minus a few!   Rose, will you start a new Big Bingo next year ('cause I know you're polishing this one off this year ;) )?

 

 

 

Um, well, only if my really really cool BaW friends make me another one!  :lol:  It was definitely a labor of love on their part.

 

Let's see, I've crossed off 125/240 squares, so I am on track to finish it this year, except for the fact that I've crossed off all of the free spaces, so from here on out not all of my books may fit the Bingo - the books I'm pre-reading for dd's classes next year, for example. So that could make it tricky. Looking at books in the category of "awesome things I never would have read if it wasn't for Bingo" (as opposed to books I would have read anyway and fit in to the categories, sometimes with a bit of stretching  ;) ) the highlights include:

 

Cheesy –Real Food Fake Food: Why You Don’t Know What You’re Eating and What You Can Do About It – Larry Olmsted

Seaworthy – Atlantic – Simon Winchester

How-to book – How to Cook a Wolf – MFK Fisher

Epistolatory – Nick and Jake: An Epistolatory Novel

Basque – The Basque History of the World – Mark Kurlansky

Outer space – Spaceman of Bohemia – Jaroslav Kalfar

  Vietnam – The Refugees – Viet Thanh Nguyen

 Art – The Goldfinch- Donna Tartt

 Edgar Award – The Sympathizer – Viet Thanh Nguyen

Clouds or type of could on the cover – Cloud Atlas – David Mitchell

Translated from a language not read previously in translation – The Vegetarian – Han Kang

Folklore - The Bear and the Nightingale – Katherine Arden

Western – Blood Meridian – Cormac McCarthy

Philately – Going Postal - Terry Pratchett

Haruki Murakami – What I Talk About When I Talk About Running

Silk Road – The Silk Roads: A New History of the World – Peter Frankopan

 

 

My main goals this year were to read more books in translation, and to read more books by African and African American writers.  I am pretty satisfied with my progress toward that goal, so far I've read 10 translated books, 7 books by African writers, and 5 by African American writers. Given all the hoops I'm jumping through we Bingo, that seems reasonable. Bingo has definitely been a fun challenge!

[Matryoshka]

Um, well, only if my really really cool BaW friends make me another one!  :lol:  It was definitely a labor of love on their part.

 

LOL.  Well I'll get another good year out of it myself.  You have prodigious reading speed!  If there's not another one next year, the year after I'd be happy to be in on the bingo-building team, as I may go into withdrawal.  Thanks so much for sharing the list with the rest of us. :)

 

 

Let's see, I've crossed off 125/240 squares, so I am on track to finish it this year, except for the fact that I've crossed off all of the free spaces, so from here on out not all of my books may fit the Bingo - the books I'm pre-reading for dd's classes next year, for example. So that could make it tricky. Looking at books in the category of "awesome things I never would have read if it wasn't for Bingo" (as opposed to books I would have read anyway and fit in to the categories, sometimes with a bit of stretching   ;) ) the highlights include:

 

Cheesy –Real Food Fake Food: Why You Don’t Know What You’re Eating and What You Can Do About It – Larry Olmsted

Seaworthy â€“ Atlantic – Simon Winchester

How-to book â€“ How to Cook a Wolf – MFK Fisher

Epistolatory â€“ Nick and Jake: An Epistolatory Novel

Basque – The Basque History of the World – Mark Kurlansky

Outer space â€“ Spaceman of Bohemia – Jaroslav Kalfar

  Vietnam – The Refugees – Viet Thanh Nguyen

 Art – The Goldfinch- Donna Tartt

 Edgar Award – The Sympathizer – Viet Thanh Nguyen

Clouds or type of could on the cover – Cloud Atlas – David Mitchell

Translated from a language not read previously in translation – The Vegetarian – Han Kang

Folklore - The Bear and the Nightingale – Katherine Arden

Western â€“ Blood Meridian – Cormac McCarthy

Philately â€“ Going Postal - Terry Pratchett

Haruki Murakami – What I Talk About When I Talk About Running

Silk Road â€“ The Silk Roads: A New History of the World – Peter Frankopan

 

 

A lot of those are already on my to-read list (some, but not all of them, I think because I saw you tag them on Goodreads :) ).  I may switch categories for some of those - I may move Bear and the Nightingale over to Folklore where you have it and use Spaceman of Bohemia for Eastern Europe (because I've got Outer Space covered).  I can't use The Vegetarian for the category you used it for, because I've read Korean in translation before.  But I may use one of the Vietnamese books - I don't think I've read Vietnamese in translation before? The Goldfinch is somewhere in my Overdrive wishlist - good to know I can use it for the Art square!

 

 

My main goals this year were to read more books in translation, and to read more books by African and African American writers.  I am pretty satisfied with my progress toward that goal, so far I've read 10 translated books, 7 books by African writers, and 5 by African American writers. Given all the hoops I'm jumping through we Bingo, that seems reasonable. Bingo has definitely been a fun challenge!

 

 

 

I've always tended to a wide variety of books, so when I started BigBingo a number of months into the year, I was able to retroactively match virtually every book I'd read into a square.  I was surprised!  This year I've read 18 books not written in English, and 7 by African or African-American writers (not quite sure which category to put Yaa Gyasi and Trevor Noah into?).  And virtually all of the other books I've read are set in other countries, about the immigrant experience, or set in outer space/ future / alternate reality.  Apparently I'm not all that interested in reading about people like me. :tongue_smilie:

Edited June 26, 2017 by Matryoshka

[Matryoshka]

Hi, all. I am hoping I can join in here, although I don't accomplish as prodigious an amount of reading as some (all?) of you do. â˜ºï¸ I am currently reading Hillbilly Elegy, which I find very interesting. I am about 62% finished that one (on Kindle). I am also listening to The Snowball on audiobook while I do my workouts. This is a biography about Warren Buffet. It's interesting. I spend a lot of time mulling over wealth accummulation vs. Miserliness. Buffet often appears to the miserly side of the equation, though I do admire frugality.

 

I might go for a Pearl-themed book when I finish Elegy.

 

 

Come right in!  I never thought I'd come close to reading what I've read this year - I think I averaged under 10 books a year in the recent past, and the ladies here encouraged me to just jump in and set my own goal.  I think I originally set my goal at 23 books.  Oops, blew past that.  But reading about what everyone else is reading is so inspiring!  Also, I started using ebooks and audiobooks a lot more - I had pretty much stuck to paper books before that. Overdrive is my new favorite thing. :)

 

But welcome, and don't worry about keeping up, just read at your own pace.

[Stacia]

.

Edited November 2, 2017 by Stacia

[Mothersweets]

Aren't you reading the Maude?  My version of Maude (the same cover as the one Stacia linked)  literally has a cheat sheet(on p. xxxvii), which I have been consulting regularly.

 

Generally, though, Russians have three names, first name, father's first name + gendered ending (aka patronymic), family name.

 

So, Anna Mikhailovna's father's name was Mikhail; the -ovna is the gendered ending; her brother would have the patronymic Mikhailovitch.

 

And everyone has a million nicknames for their first name (like Natalie/Natasha/Natalya).  Pierre is Piotyr in Russian, and gets Russian Peter nicknames too sometimes.

 

I know all this, but I still consult the cheat sheet regularly!

 

Thank you - makes more sense now! 

 

And I have the Maude version on my kindle but am doing most of my reading from my Ann Dunnigan translation https://www.amazon.com/War-Peace-Signet-Classics-Tolstoy/dp/0451530543/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1498445711&sr=8-1&keywords=war+and+peace+dunnigan+translation The print is kind of small, too, so I'm thinking of trying a different copy.

 

I'll see if the kindle version has the cheat sheet!

[Chrysalis Academy]

LOL.  Well I'll get another good year out of it myself.  You have prodigious reading speed!  If there's not another one next year, the year after I'd be happy to be in on the bingo-building team, as I may go into withdrawal.  Thanks so much for sharing the list with the rest of us. :)

 

 

 

A lot of those are already on my to-read list (some, but not all of them, I think because I saw you tag them on Goodreads :) ).  I may switch categories for some of those - I may move Bear and the Nightingale over to Folklore where you have it and use Spaceman of Bohemia for Eastern Europe (because I've got Outer Space covered).  I can't use The Vegetarian for the category you used it for, because I've read Korean in translation before.  But I may use one of the Vietnamese books - I don't think I've read Vietnamese in translation before? The Goldfinch is somewhere in my Overdrive wishlist - good to know I can use it for the Art square!

 

 

 

 

I've always tended to a wide variety of books, so when I started BigBingo a number of months into the year, I was able to retroactively match virtually every book I'd read into a square.  I was surprised!  This year I've read 18 books not written in English, and 7 by African or African-American writers (not quite sure which category to put Yaa Gyasi and Trevor Noah into?).  And virtually all of the other books I've read are set in other countries, about the immigrant experience, or set in outer space/ future / alternate reality.  Apparently I'm not all that interested in reading about people like me. :tongue_smilie:

 

Just a heads-up: The Refuges and The Sympathizer were written in English, so they work for the Vietnam square, but not for the Translated square. The author is Vietnamese-American, emigrated to the US after the war in Vietnam. I thought both of those books were fantastic.

 

Re; not reading about people like yourself . . . I get it! I read a lot of scifi/fantasy/dystopian/post-apocalyptic stuff, books set in other countries, or a lot of "old" books set and/or written in the past. I read very little contemporary "straight" fiction, which was why I was so pleasantly surprised to enjoy Commonwealth as much as I did.

 

Yep, Big Bingo had a lot of "easy" categories - but I'm definitely zeroing in on some more challenging ones. Some I"m still not sure what I'll choose: Record breaker? Manga? Book you see someone reading in public? (how sad is it that I haven't seen anyone reading a book in public for 6 months now? Not sure if it's that I don't get out enough, or that no one reads anymore) I cannot believe there's a book about this (I'm pretty open-minded  ;) ), Man hunk on the cover, I laughed till I cried (I've chuckled with a few books, but no real belly laughs so far . . . )

[Ausmumof3]

Good morning everyone!

 

I'm up to chapter 22 in War and Peace and am enjoying it. Not sure how much I can say without spoiling things but does anyone else find Pierre a bit irritating at times? He's so rude and clueless!

 

One thing that makes reading a bit difficult is how the names of the characters change - Natasha/Natalya/Natalie and/or they have 2 or 3 different names (Princess Drubetskya/Anna Mikhailovna) all together what is that all about? I mean, I'm guessing it is similar to how the English peerage works with different names depending on the title a person holds, right? Maybe I need a cheat sheet. :)

 

I've been listening to The Count of Monte Cristo with CraftLit for the past year and a half (eep!) and we are finally up to chapter 78. The revenge thing is in full swing. I'm amazed by Dumas' writing and how he kept his characters and storyline together and making sense for so long.

 

Monte Cristo is another long story with a million characters and having a character chart http://dubsub.blogspot.com/2012/10/gankutsuou-count-of-monte-cristo-anime.html (scroll down a bit) has been really helpful. There are more detailed ones, too. Does anyone know of a good one for War and Peace? I've looked a bit but haven't found one.

 

I have read most of Who Thought This Was a Good Idea?:And Other Questions You Should Have Answers to When You Work in the White House by Alyssa Mastromonaco. I've started skimming at this point (about 2/3 of the way through) as it jumps around in time quite a bit and is a little too 'behind the scenes' for me to be interested. https://www.amazon.com/Who-Thought-This-Good-Idea-ebook/dp/B01LL8C3LI

I think Pierre is considered somewhat autobiographical. So I guess we see his weaknesses because they are Tolstoy's weaknesses. I didn't like him much to begin with because of his inability to resist manipulation but in the end I really liked him... I think it's a journey of self discovery for Pierre.

[Ausmumof3]

I finished reading Princess: A True Story of Life Behind the Veil in Saudi Arabia by Jean Sasson. It was pretty good. It had an extreme obsession with sex. Everything for women was terrible, everything for men was awesome. It may really have been that way in the 50s-80s in Saudi Arabia. She did not make things easier for herself. She was pretty hotheaded.

I think there may be a sequel to this that shows some of the progress in Saudi Arabia though there's still a long way to go.

[mumto2]

Hi, all. I am hoping I can join in here, although I don't accomplish as prodigious an amount of reading as some (all?) of you do. â˜ºï¸ I am currently reading Hillbilly Elegy, which I find very interesting. I am about 62% finished that one (on Kindle). I am also listening to The Snowball on audiobook while I do my workouts. This is a biography about Warren Buffet. It's interesting. I spend a lot of time mulling over wealth accummulation vs. Miserliness. Buffet often appears to the miserly side of the equation, though I do admire frugality.

I might go for a Pearl-themed book when I finish Elegy.

Welcome! I read Hillbilly Elegy at the start of this year and enjoyed it.

[Kareni]

I've finished a few books recently ~

 

I enjoyed the almost contemporary romance (it's set in the 90s) How to Love Her (McCullough Mountain Prequel)  by Lydia Michaels.

 

"Kate McCullough has always been a good girl, but when one bad choice lands her in a heap of trouble, her entire life changes in the blink of an eye. If not for her accidental friendship with Anthony Marcelli, she’d be lost.

Captivated by her wild charm and natural beauty, Anthony pushes for more than friendship only to have Kate pull back. He’s determined to show her how great they could be as a couple, but she’s the strong-willed sort, and adamant that they should only be friends. Refusing to give up, he risks everything to prove her wrong—even if that means going toe-to-toe with the craziest McCullough of all—her father."

**

 

I also read a couple of books about which we needn't say more; they were rather disappointing. 

 

Heated Mating (Luminet Warrior Series Book 1)  (this one is currently free) and Claiming Her Warriors (Luminet Warrior Series Book 2);  both are by Savannah Stuart (aka Katie Reus).

 

Regards,

Kareni

[Ali in OR]

I'm also behind in W&P (same Maude version as Stacia)  but enjoying it. It was slow to start because I had to continually go back to the list of characters to remember who everyone was, but I'm not having to do that quite as much now and I can get into the story more. I'm enjoying the younger generation--just finished the Natalia name-day festivities and enjoyed the "crushes" and can foresee some trouble ahead I think.

 

W&P would really be enough reading for me but I'm currently inundated with library books that have just come available. Not sure I'll get to all of them. Also just ordered the summer reading for my kids' English classes for high school and I'd like to read all of those. My work is cut out for me. Here's the reading pile:

W&P (in progress)

Spaceman in Bohemia (in progress)

Hillbilly Elegy (library)

All Our Wrong Todays (library)

Rogue River Journal (high school senior summer reading)

Refuge (high school senior summer reading)

Into the Beautiful North (high school freshman summer reading)

Spare Parts (high school freshman summer reading)

 

Finished Midnight Riot this week and enjoyed it. Please don't mention any other interesting books...I can't keep up!

 

[Matryoshka]

Just a heads-up: The Refuges and The Sympathizer were written in English, so they work for the Vietnam square, but not for the Translated square. The author is Vietnamese-American, emigrated to the US after the war in Vietnam. I thought both of those books were fantastic.

 

Well, drat.  So, if I had to pick one of those two for the Vietnam square, which would you recommend?

 

And... anyone know of an awesome book translated from an obscure language?

 

Re; not reading about people like yourself . . . I get it! I read a lot of scifi/fantasy/dystopian/post-apocalyptic stuff, books set in other countries, or a lot of "old" books set and/or written in the past. I read very little contemporary "straight" fiction, which was why I was so pleasantly surprised to enjoy Commonwealth as much as I did.

 

 

Hm, maybe I should look at that one.  That would be stretching me. :)  Any category it might fit into? 

 

Yep, Big Bingo had a lot of "easy" categories - but I'm definitely zeroing in on some more challenging ones. Some I"m still not sure what I'll choose: Record breaker? Manga? Book you see someone reading in public? (how sad is it that I haven't seen anyone reading a book in public for 6 months now? Not sure if it's that I don't get out enough, or that no one reads anymore) I cannot believe there's a book about this (I'm pretty open-minded   ;) ), Man hunk on the cover, I laughed till I cried (I've chuckled with a few books, but no real belly laughs so far . . . )

 

 

 

I've got an idea for Record breaker - One Summer, America 1927 by Bill Bryson - it's about a bunch of records broken that year.  I was thinking of finally trying one of those Jeeves & Wooster books and see if that made me laugh out loud...  won't know till I try!

 

All the rest of those leave me equally stumped.  If the lovely ladies of BaW make you another Big Bingo for next year, I may well declare victory wherever I'm at and give that one a go... ;)

[Stacia]

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Edited November 2, 2017 by Stacia

[Stacia]

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Edited November 2, 2017 by Stacia

[Loesje22000]

Hi, all. I am hoping I can join in here, although I don't accomplish as prodigious an amount of reading as some (all?) of you do. â˜ºï¸ I am currently reading Hillbilly Elegy, which I find very interesting. I am about 62% finished that one (on Kindle). I am also listening to The Snowball on audiobook while I do my workouts. This is a biography about Warren Buffet. It's interesting. I spend a lot of time mulling over wealth accummulation vs. Miserliness. Buffet often appears to the miserly side of the equation, though I do admire frugality.

 

I might go for a Pearl-themed book when I finish Elegy.

Welcome!!

 

The more the merrier :)

 

I had to find my way, but now I've found it, it is not hard to read more :)

 

++++

 

I finished this week:

 

The green path.

I started a new bingo:

http://www.abc.nl/subjects/bingo.php

Just to continue to broaden my readings.

And I read this book for that bingo.

I don't know how to rate this book.

It is not bad or irritating, it also not fantastic or great.

But I really disliked the word use, and I could not get in the story.

 

I also finished the complete guide of fasting by Fung.

And I think I will give it a try this summer.

 

Further I read parts of books:

Some short stories in Roman Fever

Chapter 1 (your book 1) in W&P

 

And I started sister of my heart last night, as I have to return it to the library to day.