Book a Week 2018 - BW8: Munching through England and Scotland

[Robin M]

Happy Sunday and welcome to Week eight in our Open Roads Reading Adventure. Greetings to all our readers and to all following our progress.  Mister Linky is available weekly on 52 Books in 52 Weeks  to share a link to your book reviews.

 

 

Are you ready to munch your way through England and Scotland?  The fun part about traveling in countries different from your own is the food. Whether you're an armchair traveler or on vacation and like to cook or prefer someone else do the work, it's time to explore some foodie books.

 

 

We are going back in time with Dorothy Hartley's Food in England: A Complete Guide to the Food that Makes Us Who We Are.

 

 

 

and Kate Colquhoun 's Taste: The Story of Britain through it's Cooking

 

 

 

 

 

as well as An Comunn Gaidhealach Recipes for the Highlands and Islands of Scotland. 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Then there's a new look at the old and the new with The British Table by Colmen Andrews.

 

 

 

 

For a brief history of each country, plus their contemporary food and traditions, check out The Spruce's The Food and Cooking of England as well as Scotland.    Then check out Goodread's Popular British Cooking Books.

 

 

I'm totally starving now.   I've got bangers and mash on my mind, plus I just read about Scottish eggs and potato scones which sound super delicious. I just got back from the grocery store which included picking up bacon, sausage, potatoes, and onions.  Hubby advised he will be quite happy to be my taste tester.   *grin*  Join me this month in reading a foodie book about England and Scotland and/or trying out a new recipe or two.  Are you hungry yet? 

 

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Brit Tripping -  Huntingdonshire

 

Huntingdonshire was declared as royal forest by Henry II – which basically meant that it was reserved as a royal hunting grounds.

 

 

Rabbit Trails: Lucy Boston Period Home  Ely Cathedral

 

 

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What are you reading this week?

 

 

Link to week 7

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Edited February 18, 2018 by Robin M

[Robin M]

I'm still working on Chrysanthemum and Rose.  I'm on the vowel express stopping at A E U O and E stations. I'm currently reading Lisa Unger's  Beautiful Lies.

 

"What if your family was a lie? What if your name was a lie? What if your whole life was just a pack of Beautiful Lies? If Ridley Jones had slept ten minutes later or had taken the subway instead of waiting for a cab, she would still be living the lie she used to call her perfect life. Instead, she's in the wrong place at the right time to unleash a chain of events that begins with a mysterious package on her doorstep. A package that informs her that her entire world is just an illusion. Forced to question everything she knows about herself, Ridley wanders into dark territory, where everyone is hiding something."

 

 

 

Waiting in my backpack are: Emma Hamm's Silver Blood, Amy Stewart's Girl Waits With Gun, and Elizabeth Chadwick's Lady of the English.  I'm dithering about O 

[mumto2]

For Cambridgeshire I have been busy reading and listening to a couple of really great books! :). I doubt I ever would have read them without Brit Tripping so I have to say I am having a wonderful time.

 

Cambridge Blues https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/18929647-cambridge-blue was a really interesting police procedural with a fascinating Detective. He's different and I really frankly want to understand this character. Late last night I checked the second in this series out from overdrive and am halfway through it. His grandmother is his confidante among the unique bits. Not fluffy but good. Thanks to a drive down the A14 Huntingdonshire and Bedfordshire can also be considered for this book.

 

Mistress of the Art of Death https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/2228348.Mistress_of_the_Art_of_Death is the book I am currently listening to. This series is one of my BF favorites and I have never been able to get past the first bits. So glad I am listening to it this time because it is really good. Set in the 12th century a female doctor who has been trained in forensics by her father is sent from Sicily to investigate the murders of children in Cambridge. The local Jewish population is believed to be at fault and are being held at the castle. Love it, half way.

 

A Woman Unknown by Frances Brody https://www.goodreads.com/review/list/51042385-mumtotwo?shelf=currently-reading is my latest in a more cozy series that I enjoy. The setting should all be in Yorkshire and these are written by a local author. Kate Shackleton is a private detective in the 1920's having fallen in to the job because her father is the head of the police force and her husband was declared missing in WWI. The detective part grew out of her search for her husband.

 

I recently finished Man in the Queue by Tey which I enjoyed. I recently read the second in this series so am skipping to the third when my hold appears. I definitely will finish reading all of the Tey books this year......there aren't many (7, I think) so a reasonable goal!

 

I also read the first Dalgliesch by PD James. Cover Her Face wasn't what I had hoped for. A bit disappointed is all I can say. I have the first in another series by PD James on hold. https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/3832.Cover_Her_Face

[Violet Crown]

This week I finished

 

14. C. P. Snow, The Masters

15. Irène Némirovsky, Snow in Autumn

16. T. S. Eliot, Four Quartets

17. Irène Némirovsky, The Courilof Affair

 

Currently reading Daily Life in the Twelfth Century, Based on the Observations of Alexander Neckam in London and Paris. Interesting and informative; but definitely for the general reader (not that I'm a medievalist) and frustratingly speculative or under-informative in many places. Also reading Pilgrim's Progress, for upcoming Bedfordshire, and for Lenten reading, Augustine on the Psalms. Plus my unfinished books from previous weeks. Oh why am I adding more books . Especially since reading time is compromised by Winter Olympics viewing. Though very averse to explicit sex and violence in my reading and viewing, I could not take my eyes off the street brawl that was the US vs Soviet, sorry Russian, sorry OAR, hockey game. A better person would have been reading St. Augustine.

 

Brit tripping:

London: George Gissing, New Grub Street

Cambridgeshire: C. P. Snow, The Masters (Cambridge College)

Huntingdonshire: T. S. Eliot, Four Quartets (Little Gidding)

 

There are other places

Which are also the world's end, some at the sea jaws,

Or over a dark lake, in a desert or a city--

But this is the nearest, in place and time,

Now and in England.

 

--Four Quartets, "Little Gidding"

Edited February 18, 2018 by Violet Crown

[mumto2]

I'm still working on Chrysanthemum and Rose. I'm on the vowel express stopping at A E U O and E stations. I'm currently reading Lisa Unger's Beautiful Lies.

 

"What if your family was a lie? What if your name was a lie? What if your whole life was just a pack of Beautiful Lies? If Ridley Jones had slept ten minutes later or had taken the subway instead of waiting for a cab, she would still be living the lie she used to call her perfect life. Instead, she's in the wrong place at the right time to unleash a chain of events that begins with a mysterious package on her doorstep. A package that informs her that her entire world is just an illusion. Forced to question everything she knows about herself, Ridley wanders into dark territory, where everyone is hiding something."

 

 

 

Waiting in my backpack are: Emma Hamm's Silver Blood, Amy Stewart's Girl Waits With Gun, and Elizabeth Chadwick's Lady of the English. I'm dithering about O

Two O ideas that you might own. The Last One by Alexandra Oliva https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/27245997-the-last-one and The Rook https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/10836728-the-rook. I really loved both and just added The Rook to my spooky London list. ;) Also Melissa F. Olson's Scarlett Bernard books are also favorites and have been free on kindle in the past or with prime so you might have one of those available. Edited February 18, 2018 by mumto2

[ErinE]

This week I finished several in-progress books plus my littles were sick most days so I spent much of my time at home, reading.

Books finished:

• Elric of Melnibone (Elric #1) by Michael Moorcock. Fantasy. An albino sorcerer who rules an Elf kingdom fights his cousin who seeks the kingdom's throne. #90 on the NPR Top 100 Science Fiction and Fantasy.
• The Unschooled Wizard by Barbara Hambly. Fantasy. An omnibus of two novels, a mercenary with newly discovered powers fights an evil wizard and a terrifying murderer with no physical body. This was the second novel in my nostalgic reads and unlike The Hound and the Falcon, it was just as good as I remember. The mercenary is balding and scarred. His second-in-command is a former nun. The relationship between the two is realistic. They tease each other, they communicate, there’s no silly misunderstandings. In one scene, she refuses to stop a friendship at his request because she is her own person and he recognizes that he was wrong to ask. I loved this book when I was younger and enjoyed it now. Once my buying hiatus is over, I plan on picking up a copy. If you click through, check out the cover. I remember as a young girl wanting to be the warrior woman shown. She was fierce, intelligent, sensible, and (important to the vertically challenged) tall. I highly recommend this with one caveat: in the second novel, an animal is killed in a terrible manner, but the character is sickened by the act and questions his own morality when the scene is over.
• Beneath the Sugar Sky (Wayward Children #3) by Seanan McGuire. Fantasy. A child from an illogical world tries to resurrect her murdered mother in a world where logic reigns. I loved this quote:

 

“Children have always tumbled down rabbit holes, fallen through mirrors, been swept away by unseasonal floods or carried off by tornadoes. Children have always traveled, and because they are young and bright and full of contradictions, they haven’t always restricted their travel to the possible. Adulthood brings limitations like gravity and linear space and the idea that bedtime is a real thing, and not an artificially imposed curfew. Adults can still tumble down rabbit holes and into enchanted wardrobes, but it happens less and less with every year they live. Maybe this is a natural consequence of living in a world where being careful is a necessary survival trait, where logic wears away the potential for something bigger and better than the obvious. Childhood melts, and flights of fancy are replaced by rules. Tornados kill people: they don’t carry them off to magical worlds. Talking foxes are a sign of fever, not guides sent to start some grand adventure.

But children, ah, children. Children follow the foxes, and open the wardrobes, and peek beneath the bridge. Children climb the walls and fall down the wells and run the razor’s edge of possibility until sometimes, just sometimes, the possible surrenders and shows them the way to go home.â€
 

 

 

This was my least favorite of the Wayward Children series, but I still consider them all good, imaginative reads. They are promoted as YA, but I recommend pre-reading first as they have gruesome scenes.

• Invisible Man by Ralph Ellison. Literature. A black man with no name navigates the world's expectations for him, but none really see him. Recommended, but there are many brutal moments. I listened to the version read by Joe Morton and he is fantastic.
• Un Lun Dun by China Mieville. Fantasy - YA. The friend of the chosen one tries to save an alternate London from a looming evil.
• Rabid: A Cultural History of the World’s Most Diabolical Virus by Bill Wasik and Monica Murphy. A history of rabies and the medical communities’ fight against the disease.
• The Wizard and the Prophet: Two Remarkable Scientists and Their Dueling Visions to Shape Tomorrow's World by Charles C. Mann. History - Science. The author places two men at two ends of a spectrum and frames the history around it. Since I was familiar with Norman Borlaug and his work before reading the book, I felt Mann’s attempt to put William Voigt, an ecologist, and Borlaug at opposite and opposing ideologies was incorrect. The environmental history turned into a bit of inside baseball and I wasn’t wild about the book’s organization, but it was an interesting read.
• The Bottom Billion: Why the Poorest Countries Are Failing and What Can Be Done About It by Paul Collier. Economics - Developing Countries. An economist looks at ways to help developing countries grow, with an emphasis on them forming their own structures, methods, and processes with financial and intellectual support from the developed world.
• Dragonsbane (Winterlands #1) by Barbara Hambly. Fantasy. A witch with little magical power fights a marauding dragon and evil sorceress. After finishing The Unschooled Wizard, I perused Hambly’s back catalog and remembered I owned this e-book, a favorite of Brandon Sanderson. After finishing, I can see why as the protagonist is different from typical fantasy heroes. She’s a mother of two conflicted between her love for her family and her drive to be the best magician possible. Her love interest is a scarred warrior turned farmer, more interested in reading treatises on pig breeding than fighting dragons. I’ve added Hambly to my focus author list. Highly recommended.
• Year Zero by Rob Reid. Science Fiction. A musical licensing lawyer discovers aliens have been downloading music illegally and now owe a sizeable fine that would beggar the universe.
• The Android’s Dream by John Scalzi. Science Fiction. Shocked to discover she's a genetic hybrid, a pet-store owner runs from aliens seeking to make her a blood sacrifice. A terrible beginning morphs into an okay story. Though the title is a callback to Philip K. Dick’s Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep? (the basis for the movie Bladerunner), it has nothing to do with the book other than the fact that sheep DNA is a factor in the story.

I’m finishing up my re-read of Outlander (#89 on NPR’s Sci-Fi/Fantasy list) with Heir to the Empire and The Book of the New Sun up next. I’m listening to Great Ideas of Philosophy which has been interesting, being grounded in history and stories rather being just an explanation of philosophical ideas. I have a few more financial history books borrowed from the library, and I think I may focus on my TBR pile by my bed so I can free up some space.

I finished ROSE for the month of February:

• R: Red Mars by Kim Stanley Robinson
• O: Evolving Ourselves by Juan Enriquez and Steve Gullans
• S: The Caves of Steel by Isaac Asimov
• E: Elric of Melnibone by Michael Moorcock

Edited February 18, 2018 by ErinE

[Mothersweets]

Good morning! 

 

Last week I read The Time of the Hunter's Moon by Victoria Holt. Ugh. While I usually enjoy Gothic romance, this one had a really terrible 'hero'. It did take me through several English counties - Sussex, London, Nottinghamshire, one I can't think of right off the top of my head, and Devon. I only gave it two stars because I liked a few of the minor characters.  https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/18920047-the-time-of-the-hunter-s-moon

 

Blue Lightning (Shetland Island #4) by Ann Cleeves. I just love Jimmy Perez and was getting interested in his relationship with his fiancee, Fran, and was NOT prepared for what happened near the end of the book.  I couldn't decide who the killer was and didn't figure it out until the end. The mystery aspect of the story was ok but I mainly read these for the character development and the setting. https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/7939087-blue-lightning

Edited February 18, 2018 by Mothersweets

[Mothersweets]

 

• The Unschooled Wizard by Barbara Hambly. Fantasy. An omnibus of two novels, a mercenary with newly discovered powers fights an evil wizard and a terrifying murderer with no physical body. This was the second novel in my nostalgic reads and unlike The Hound and the Falcon, it was just as good as I remember. The mercenary is balding and scarred. His second-in-command is a former nun. The relationship between the two is realistic. They tease each other, they communicate, there’s no silly misunderstandings. In one scene, she refuses to stop a friendship at his request because she is her own person and he recognizes that he was wrong to ask. I loved this book when I was younger and enjoyed it now. Once my buying hiatus is over, I plan on picking up a copy. If you click through, check out the cover. I remember as a young girl wanting to be the warrior woman shown. She was fierce, intelligent, sensible, and (important to the vertically challenged) tall. I highly recommend this with one caveat: in the second novel, an animal is killed in a terrible manner, but the character is sickened by the act and questions his own morality when the scene is over.
•  

 

I don't blame you - I'd want to be her, too! The older I get, the more my lack of height (5'2") bothers me. 

[SKL]

I ordered a few books from Amazon.  Uncle Tom's Cabin came and I'm starting to read it.  I also received the Mahabharata.  Unfortunately both books have really tiny print, and at my age that is a challenge.  May need to keep my readers in the "reading room"....

[Kareni]

I finished a couple of books recently ~

 

The Aura (The Kate Benedict Series Book 1)  by Carrie Bedford

 

This paranormal mystery is set primarily in London with occasional scenes in Italy.  It was an enjoyable read but did require some willing suspension of disbelief -- not for the auras that the main character sees (given the title, I was happy to accept that) but rather for the amount of sharing an inspector was willing to do with a civilian. 

 

"SHE KNOWS WHO'S GOING TO DIE! BUT NO ONE WILL BELIEVE HER...
Life spins out of control for London architect Kate Benedict when she sees a dancing aura above certain people’s heads that seems to signal death. Suddenly she’s psychic. But that can't be! Psychic’s not acceptable in her circle, where the supernatural is strictly for the superstitious. And yet…people are dying. People close to her.

Kate's tentative attempts to talk about her new-found metaphysical gift are met with eye rolls, so much so that she can’t even tell the nice Scotland Yard detective who's investigating the death of a close friend, Rebecca Williams. And now Rebecca’s neighbor has an aura.

So what's Kate to do but try to save him by turning detective herself? A break-in and attack on her boyfriend confirm that the murderer’s catching on that Kate knows too much. But he (or maybe she) has no idea that what Kate knows is a little on the paranormal side."

**

 

I also re-read with pleasure Patricia Briggs'  Shifting Shadows: Stories from the World of Mercy Thompson.

 

Regards,

Kareni

[Kareni]

Some bookish posts ~

 

Wild Thing: How Maurice Sendak Helped Me Understand My Son  by A.J. O'Connell

 

What Is a Memoir? by Patricia Thang

 

Top 10 books about South Korea  by Mary Lynn Bracht

 

15 SF/F Books That Don’t Contain Sexual Violence Against Women  by Jenn Northington

 

12 More Books About Books for Big Book Nerds

**

 

Some books that are currently free for Kindle readers ~

 

Girl on a Train  by A J Waines

 

The Dragon Lady  by Angelique S. Anderson

 

Wuthering Heights  by Emily Brontë

 

Regards,

Kareni

[Kareni]

A fun post ~

The Best Things Found Between the Pages of Old Books  by Sarah Laskow

 

Have you ever found something of interest between the pages of a book? 

 

I found three five dollar bills once; I've also found the occasional receipt, boarding pass, bookmark, and tissue.

 

I posted back in 2014 about my most intriguing find.  I'll recopy the post here:

 

 

"Today (20 June 2014) while browsing the old book section of a local thrift store, I found something nifty in an old logic book:

 

A University of California, Schedule of Final Exams for April - May, 1915

 

 

It's ninety-nine years old and is in wonderful condition; it looks as though it could have been printed yesterday.

 

It's about 11 by 12 inches in size and printed on both sides.  So, some items of interest:

 

The vast majority of exams were three hours long.  (My husband who attended UCB in the seventies said that was true then as well.)

 

To name just a few (amongst the hundreds listed), there were exams in:

 

Civil Engineering

Geology

Hygiene

Celtic

Mining

Greek

Oriental Languages

Mechanics

Sanskrit

Jurisprudence - X

English - X

Zoology - X

Philosophy - X

Chemistry

Agriculture: Viticulture

Domestic Art

Latin (many, many sections)

 

I've marked with an X the exams the owner of this paper was scheduled to take.

 

The final exam for Subject A was scheduled for Monday, April 26, at 2:00pm.  My husband said that Subject A was still offered when he attended and was commonly referred to as Bonehead English.

 

My husband went looking for, and found, exam times for Professor Hildebrand's Chemistry classes.  This professor who was teaching classes in 1914 was still a member of the department some sixty years later when my husband was there.

 

And, no, we don't live in California.  So this paper has done some traveling in both time and distance."

 

Regards,

Kareni

[Critterfixer]

I'm halfway through Ozark, Ozark and still enjoying the short stories and poetry there. The Eye of the World waits for me to start reading it tonight, and I'm procrastinating writing the last 500 words for the day on my own starts-with-the-letter-E book--but I'm not counting that toward spelling ROSE.

 

The best thing I found between the pages of a book was a bookmark with a plug to study Latin written on it. I'm not exactly sure where it is right now.

[Faithr]

I finished another Georgette Heyer reread:  A Civil Contract.  It is different from most of her regency romances.  I quite like its quietness.

 

Still chugging through Apologia Pro Vita Sua and The Brothers Karamazov.   For that latter, that family is CRAZY!  I'm kind of in fear that something dreadful will change Alyosha?  Don't tell me!  

 

Felt like reading something socialist because we've been studying Marx and socialism in European history so I picked out a book that has been on my imaginary to be read list:  The Road to Wigan Pier by George Orwell.  It's all about the horrible working conditions in the North of England back in the late 1930s/early 40s.  The preface was a hoot because it was written by a guy who ran the Left Book Club - a bunch of socialists that didn't care for the way Orwell, a socialist himself, talked about how socialists were so annoying.  LOL.  

 

Also started reading Rethinking School by Susan Wise Bauer - might hold off on this until the summer though.  For the past couple of summers we've done a group read on a facebook group for homeschoolers and this one might be a good one for that.

 

Still chugging through The Odyssey with 16 yo dd.

[Ausmumof3]

Here because I've finally finished some books.

 

The little cafe in Kabul was a good journey. I have a Zanzibar wife put away by the same author to start at some time.

 

If anyone is after a light and entertaining read "Miss Blaines prefect and the golden samovar" by Olga Wotjas was fantastic! It features a time travelling crime solving librarian. It borders on ridiculous but because it keeps its self awareness of the ridiculousness it's pretty funny all the way through. It was a random pick a book by its cover and definitely a successful one. This is the authors first book so I'll be looking out for more books when they come.

 

I finished "teaching from rest" on audible and am a fair way through rethinking school. Also in the middle of another no 1 ladies detective agency and prereading "at the back of

The north wind" for ds as its featured in wayfarers. Ds isn't enjoying it much and although I quite like it is definitely odd in parts and I'm a bit unsure as to whether to make him push through with it or not. On the one hand he could do with some better quality lit than his current choices but I'm not sure if this is the best option? Do the other wayfarers suggestions get better??

[mumto2]

Here because I've finally finished some books.

The little cafe in Kabul was a good journey. I have a Zanzibar wife put away by the same author to start at some time.

If anyone is after a light and entertaining read "Miss Blaines prefect and the golden samovar" by Olga Wotjas was fantastic! It features a time travelling crime solving librarian. It borders on ridiculous but because it keeps its self awareness of the ridiculousness it's pretty funny all the way through. It was a random pick a book by its cover and definitely a successful one. This is the authors first book so I'll be looking out for more books when they come.

I finished "teaching from rest" on audible and am a fair way through rethinking school. Also in the middle of another no 1 ladies detective agency and prereading "at the back of

The north wind" for ds as its featured in wayfarers. Ds isn't enjoying it much and although I quite like it is definitely odd in parts and I'm a bit unsure as to whether to make him push through with it or not. On the one hand he could do with some better quality lit than his current choices but I'm not sure if this is the best option? Do the other wayfarers suggestions get better??

Wayfarers didn’t exist when my kids were that age but At the Back of the North Wind did. It was on lists, multiple lists of what we should be reading, so when I spotted it in a library we tried it as a read aloud. We didn’t finish, beyond that I can’t remember. The sample schedule looks incredible for Wayfarers but I don’t really understand it so this advice could be totally odd. I think your other choices include Wizard of Oz which we loved and Doctor Doolittle which was also a hit at my house.

 

Kareni, What a great find in the book! I normally find icky pieces of paper and other useless things.

Edited February 18, 2018 by mumto2

[Guest]

So, this was a quitting kind of week for me, as I gave up on The Art of Asking by Amanda Palmer. I just hated it so very, very much. It was also quite the juxtaposition, having just read The Glass Castle, and how those flaky parents ignored reality while apparently hoping that the fix to problems would just drop out of The Infinite. So now, we have Palmer pretty much lauding the wonders of being an irresponsible shithead and then being ever so pleased when strangers offered her beds, pasta and record sales. Sheesh. I was at 53% and I thought I wanted to see it through in part to keep my book count up, but...no. It was causing me not to want to read.

 

I also quit on the Sci-Fi Borne. I had wanted to complete that one mostly for my IRL friend who called it one of her favorite 2017 reads. But - see above. I kept failing to read because all I had were these books I don’t like ordering me to finish them for the sake of my book count. I had also dabbled a bit more in my repeatedly-laid-off Strangers in Their Own Land. I don’t hate that book and I think the subject matter is important, but I get tired of that book easily.

 

In a side note, I don’t know how to mark something on GRs as DNF, yet not have it remain in my Currently Reading list and also not add to my 2018 Reading Challenge. I had to delete the two books entirely so they would go away. Is there another way to do this?

 

On Audible, I got American Panda, a novel about a young Chinese-American student at MIT under pressure to become a doctor and marry a Taiwanese man. I am most of the way through that book. It is cute, thouh light and quite predictable. It’s an enjoyable listen, though, and the Audible narrator is fairly good. (Much better than the narrator for Joy Luck Club!) I’m also plowing through a NF book on investing by Peter Leeds. DH is picking stock market dogs and I know they are dogs and I know his rationale is faulty, so I am reading the book partially to report an expert opinion on why his stocks are dogs, and partly so I can pick some winners in a friendly marital competiton. :D

Edited February 18, 2018 by Quill

[Ausmumof3]

Wayfarers didn’t exist when my kids were that age but At the Back of the North Wind did. It was on lists, multiple lists of what we should be reading, so when I spotted it in a library we tried it as a read aloud. We didn’t finish, beyond that I can’t remember. The sample schedule looks incredible for Wayfarers but I don’t really understand it so this advice could be totally odd. I think your other choices include Wizard of Oz which we loved and Doctor Doolittle which was also a hit at my house.

 

Kareni, What a great find in the book! I normally find icky pieces of paper and other useless things.

The lit is aimed at different ages so dr dolittle is for younger ones which my dd is enjoying. The alternative for ds I think is something by O Henry and he would love O Henry but I can't find the one mentioned online. I might just give him my other o Henry book because I think he'd enjoy that more. I'm just wondering if there's something in the book that will make it worth persisting. It's just this boy is a very concrete literal little soul which makes the metaphysical aspects of the book difficult for him.

[Matryoshka]

In a side note, I don’t know how to mark something on GRs as DNF, yet not have it remain in my Currently Reading list and also not add to my 2018 Reading Challenge. I had to delete the two books entirely so they would go away. Is there another way to do this?

 

The ladies here helped me through that dilemma last year.  You need to create a shelf marked 'Abandoned' or "DNF" or whatever you want to call it, and then you mark it as "exclusive" which you can do, after you create it, by hitting the (Edit) link next to the Bookshelves title when you're in the MyBooks view on a desktop computer (there's a bunch of things that are hard or impossible to do in Mobile view).  Then put the book on that shelf.  Because it's "exclusive" it will then remove it from Currently Reading without you having to delete it entirely.  hth! :)

[Guest]

The ladies here helped me through that dilemma last year. You need to create a shelf marked 'Abandoned' or "DNF" or whatever you want to call it, and then you mark it as "exclusive" which you can do, after you create it, by hitting the (Edit) link next to the Bookshelves title when you're in the MyBooks view on a desktop computer (there's a bunch of things that are hard or impossible to do in Mobile view). Then put the book on that shelf. Because it's "exclusive" it will then remove it from Currently Reading without you having to delete it entirely. hth! :)

Perfect! I will try that when I get on my laptop!

[Kareni]

And yet another bookish post ~

 

Romance Wanderlust: Literary Hotels by Carrie S.

 

"...In this month’s Romance Wanderlust, we’ll explore two very different bookish hotels. As always, I’m obligated to say that I haven’t been to either hotel (sadly) and therefore this is not a review or endorsement.

 

The Library Hotel in Manhattan is swanky, and when I say “swanky†I mean “they leave a Belgian chocolate on your pillow every night.†The hotel is organized by the Dewey Decimal System. Starting with the third floor, the categories for the floors are Social Sciences, Language, Math and Science, Technology, The Arts, Literature, History, General Knowledge, Philosophy, and Religion. Each room is a subcategory. For instance, you can stay in Room 1100.006 (Love) or Room 500.005 (Dinosaurs) or 700.005 (Music). If you are feeling amorous, you can stay in Room 800.001 (Erotic Literature)...."

 

Regards,

Kareni

[Matryoshka]

After spending the first half of the week slogging through an actually enjoyable but verrrry long read, I put it aside and finished three other books.  I actually loved them all, so went from a frustrating to a quite enjoyable reading week.  Should have put the other book aside earlier.  :)

 

13. La Belle Sauvage by Phillip Pullman - I really like these books and this world, and am quite looking forward to the next installment.  5 stars.

 

14. Spaceman of Bohemia by Jaroslav KalfaÅ™  - I really loved this book.  Some weird mix of Major Tom, Solaris and Metamorphosis, along with a lot of themes from Eastern European novels pre-and post-wall, but written in a much more engaging way than I've read elsewhere. I got fond of the giant spider. Is probably not everyone's cup of tea, but I think this will be one of my favorite books of the year.  And now I want to visit Prague.  And eat Nutella.  5+ stars.

 

15. Augustown by Kei Miller - Once I started the second half, I had to keep reading through till the finish.  And I also really liked this book.  4.5 stars.

 

Currently reading:

 

Seems like the same stuff as last week...

 

- Ornament of the World (audiobook) - about Al Andalus in medieval Spain

 

- The Wizard and the Prophet (ebook) - expires today.  Hopefully I'll get a bit more read before it goes *poof*, but I have the hardcopy coming in at the library.  Am really liking the book, it's just very long and not for power-reading.

 

Coming up:

 

Have to read Embassytown by Tuesday for SciFi book club.  Girl in the Tower is still sitting around but the library might want it back soon if I don't get to it.  I have a bunch of audiobooks on hold; I'll have to hunt around if the next one doesn't come in soon.

 

I also just bought a book called The New Spaniards about Spanish culture since Franco, which I want to read before my trip to Spain in April.  And speaking of Spanish, I'm going to start reading through Abriendo Puertas, a Spanish lit text I may use if the WTM moms who asked end up wanting that class next year.  :)  

 

My brother also just gave me a really cool looking book for my birthday, Soul Made Flesh, the Discovery of the Brain and How It Changed the World.  Not sure where that will land in the queue, but it's one I'd like to get to.

[JennyD]

This week I read Seven Days of Us, by Francesca Hornak.  Relatively light novel about a British family quarantined together for a week after the older daughter returns from treating a Ebola-like epidemic in Africa.  Decent read.

 

I also finished listening to the audiobook of Born a Crime, by Trevor Noah.  I have to thank Erin for recommending this one -- what a remarkable book, and I'm so glad I listened to Noah reading it.  

 

 

[Robin M]

Two O ideas that you might own. The Last One by Alexandra Oliva https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/27245997-the-last-one and The Rook https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/10836728-the-rook. I really loved both and just added The Rook to my spooky London list. ;) Also Melissa F. Olson's Scarlett Bernard books are also favorites and have been free on kindle in the past or with prime so you might have one of those available.

Thank you! I'd forgotten I had the ebook of Olsen's Dead Spots which will work perfectly. I read The Rook last year.  So very good!  Will be worth a reread when October comes round. I may just finish spelling out the first two flowers by the end of the month.    I've been very good and haven't added any new books, even free ones to my e piles or physical stacks.  

 

However Miss Amy contributed to my books stacks this past week with three writing books as well as Bolton's Now You See Me.  Squee worthy moments when I opened the packages.  I was quite delighted.  Thank you again, darlin!

 

I've been writing more and reading less. Working on rewrite of current WIP.  Both James and I have the wonderful fever flu so we've been lazing about.  Word glitched on me this morning and managed to lose almost a whole chapter that I spent the past week working on. Don't ask me how that happened. I have no clue as I'd been saving it all along.  :svengo: Grrr!  Hubby and James had no sympathy and reminded me that I should be backing up daily to usb drive like they do.   :boxing_smiley: Ah well! Maybe the rewrite of the rewrite will be even better.  :tongue_smilie:

[Rachel]

I’ve been in a bit of a reading slump, I keep starting books and quickly losing interest.

 

I did finish listening to “Up From Slavery†by Booker T. Washington. I knew little about him and really enjoyed learning about his work. The book was pieced together from his writings so bits of it were repetitive.

 

I about halfway through “Rethinking Schoolâ€. Even though I’m not really the intended audience, I keep highlighting and making notes.

 

We are continuing the Little House books as our family read aloud. We are at the beginning of winter in “The Long Winterâ€. I’m hoping by the time we finish it will be spring in real life!

[Ali in OR]

I've been reading two great books this week--nothing finished as I've got two going at once and much Olympic coverage to watch. I'm trying to finish A Gentleman in Moscow before it's due back at the library on Wednesday. I'm loving it and I think it follows nicely after reading War and Peace last summer--lots of references, even familiar names like Count Rostov, and the one-eyed cat called Kutuzov. Count Rostov is the "gentleman" born into the aristocracy of Tolstoy's Russia who watches its transformation into Stalin's USSR from his house-imprisonment in the Metropol hotel. But so much life happens in the small world of the hotel. Lovely book.

 

I'm also reading Colson Whitehead's The Underground Railroad which I have picked for our book club for next month. It fits nicely on my treadmill (A Gentleman in Moscow is too thick), so I've been reading that during my 30 min walks in the morning. Also very good. I'm having a good reading year so far.

[tuesdayschild]

Posting first and coming back to read the rest of the thread another day... Robin and Sandy posted some very distracting leads  :tongue_smilie:

 

I’ve restarted my sip reading of  The Zookeeper’s Wife – beautifully written.

 

Completed:

·        Suggestible You ~ Erik Vance  (2) N/F  Psychology. 

It’s always interesting to read a book by an author whose worldview doesn’t align with my own.  Good for growth, but not a book I’d recommend to my IRL reading buddies.

·        Knit Together ~ Debbie Macomber Audio (2) N/F Christiain/Inspirational

While not a favourite listen for me, this would appeal to Macomber fans. 

·        In Sheep’s Clothing: Understanding & Dealing with Manipulators ~ George K. Simon 

Audio (3) N/F Psychology.  Despite the first part of the book being rather dry, the later portion was interesting due to the collection of case studies mentioned.

·        The Bettencourt Affair ~ Tom Sancton  N/F  Audio (2)  Paris, France

I went on and completed the audiobook by myself – too many adult relationship issues for my newly minted 16 yr old, and,  Ds just wasn’t interested.  The Bettencourt Affair  ended up being a drag  through listen – it just seemed to go on and on and could have easily been wrapped in a long magazine article - so I started skipping through the chapters, which didn’t seem to leave me with any deficit towards the needed content to make the details in the last chapter add up.

 

New to my ‘being read’ book basket:

·        Farmers, Your Store for 100 Years ~ Ian Hunter. 

This book would only be of interest to other Kiwis J

·        The Time Keeper: A Novel ~ Mitch Albom  

Library book,  so I want to get this read and returned.  I’m hoping I keep enjoying it despite the fact the storyline chops and changes between eras, dimensions, and characters.

·        Landmarks of Britain ~ Amy Williams   Revised ed.

(I tried to find a book on different UK counties, they are not to be had for love nor money from our local library, this was the best I could do.)

 

Should be finished this week:

·        Casualty of War: Bess Crawford Bk 10 ~ Charles Todd  WWI.  Suffolk, England

The series, as a whole, is okay though I’d probably enjoy it more as relaxed summer holidays listening.    I still have bk8, and bk9, when it’s available, to complete.  The titles I’ve enjoyed the most out of the series so far are; A Duty to the Dead: Bess Crawford Bk1 , An Unmarked Grave: Bess Crawford Bk4 , and,  A Question of Honor  Bk5   

·        The Ghost Map: The Story of London's Most Terrifying Epidemic - and How It Changed Science, Cities, and the Modern World ~ Steven Johnson.

Not sure where to place this on the Brit trip yet.   Others may like to note, Johnson pens every adjective he could find relating to human waste.

 

I’m going to try and finish the above titles before beginning anything else new.  Like a pp, I shouldn’t be adding anything new to the pile of books I’m read; but, it is nice to have a golden era or cosy mystery, or both, on the go so I’m going through

·        Footsteps in the Dark ~ Georgette Heyer (relisten), and,

·        The Alington Inheritance. (Miss Silver, Bk: 31) ~ Patricia Wentworth.  Audio

 

ETA: The forums seem to scramble copy and pasted posts.

Edited February 19, 2018 by Tuesdays Child

[PeacefulChaos]

Quoting a couple from last week's thread...

 

Started Ozark, Ozark last night and read about two places in the state that I absolutely must find and visit. One of them is a beautiful spring, the other an unfinished castle. 

I also picked up my E book at the library today. The Eye of the World--Robert Jordan. It might be a tad ambitious to finish all of that by the end of February.

Where is the unfinished castle?  I'm curious lol.

 

 

Black Panther: A Nation Under Our Feet, Volume 1  by Ta-Nehisi Coates

 

 

 

This is interesting to me.  I'm not sure I love the idea of Coates taking on a comic book hero.  It seems like an odd pairing.

 

In other news, I've made zero progress this week.  :lol:  I still want to finish You Shall Know Our Velocity and the other 3 I have here to finish up Chrysanthemum, and finish Rose by the end of February.  Luckily Rose is really short, if I can just sit down and read these lol!  

 

[Loesje22000]

I finished Howards End and On the Beach last week.

I loved Howards so much more then a Passage to India.

On the Beach was quite different from other Nevil Shutes I read before, so I became a little disappointed.

 

Wednessday dd had her exitexam Geography, and I thought to be clever to put my Cambridgshire book on my tablet to read while waiting there. I had not realised the dictionary function would work only with WiFi so I didn’t finish the book. I hoop to do so soon. But Howards End seemed to fit Surrey so I took a wrong bus ;) to visit at least a county...

 

I started reading a lent book with Bonhöffer quotes.

[Negin]

I haven't gotten much reading done since I've either been too busy and/or too tired. As soon as I put my head on the pillow, I fall asleep within minutes.

 

I read Relish: My Life in the Kitchen - 3 Stars - I love food and I also enjoy graphic books. This graphic memoir is a fun and light read about cooking and enjoying food. Unlike her first book, “French Milkâ€, which had quite a bit of complaining, this one seems more mature. Lucy Knisley shows deep appreciation and passion for life’s blessings. Each chapter ends with a recipe, none of which I have tried.

 

 

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.

 

[Penguin]

This Week:

 

Last night, I started the reread of The Wife, Volume 2 of Kristen Lavransdatter. I think that I will prefer the second two books. Adult Kristen is more interesting than Teen Kristen. Who knows, maybe the series will end up back in my favorites again by the time I am done.

 

My plan is to not start any new fiction until I finish both the Kristen Lavransdatter trilogy and Elena Ferrante’s Neapolitan Novels (a quartet).

 

I might start a reread of Walden. Honestly, I am not sure that I ever read the whole thing. And DS is starting it this week for his AP Lang class.

 

In Danish:

 

I am on page 50 of Brødrene Løvehjerte (The Brothers Lionheart). The story is just starting to form, but Astrid Lindgren continues to impress me.

 

Long Term Read:

 

I am on page 400 of The Arabian Nights. I have been reading this book since December 2016 and the end is in sight. Woot! I plan to read ten pages per day until I am done. I’d like to start the next volume (Sinbad and Other Stories from the Arabian Nights) immediately thereafter, but I can’t find it. :toetap05:

[MamaBearTeacher]

I finished The Unlikely Pilgrimage of Harold Fry and have started The DaVinci Code which I have never read.

[mumto2]

I finished Howards End and On the Beach last week.

I loved Howards so much more then a Passage to India.

On the Beach was quite different from other Nevil Shutes I read before, so I became a little disappointed.

Wednessday dd had her exitexam Geography, and I thought to be clever to put my Cambridgshire book on my tablet to read while waiting there. I had not realised the dictionary function would work only with WiFi so I didn’t finish the book. I hoop to do so soon. But Howards End seemed to fit Surrey so I took a wrong bus ;) to visit at least a county...

I started reading a lent book with Bonhöffer quotes.

 

 

I think many of us who use the library extensively for the book will find ourselves occasionally in a different county from our bus. I have several books that are part of long hold chains which I suspect won't appear at the right moment. ;) Glad you enjoyed Howard's End!

 

 

 

 

 

Posting first and coming back to read the rest of the thread another day... Robin and Sandy posted some very distracting leads [/size] :tongue_smilie:

 

I’ve restarted my sip reading of  The Zookeeper’s Wife – beautifully written.

 

Completed:

·        Suggestible You ~ Erik Vance  (2) N/F  Psychology. 

It’s always interesting to read a book by an author whose worldview doesn’t align with my own.  Good for growth, but not a book I’d recommend to my IRL reading buddies.

·        Knit Together ~ Debbie Macomber Audio (2) N/F Christiain/Inspirational

While not a favourite listen for me, this would appeal to Macomber fans. 

·        In Sheep’s Clothing: Understanding & Dealing with Manipulators ~ George K. Simon 

Audio (3) N/F Psychology.  Despite the first part of the book being rather dry, the later portion was interesting due to the collection of case studies mentioned.

·        The Bettencourt Affair ~ Tom Sancton  N/F  Audio (2)  Paris, France

I went on and completed the audiobook by myself – too many adult relationship issues for my newly minted 16 yr old, and,  Ds just wasn’t interested.  The Bettencourt Affair  ended up being a drag  through listen – it just seemed to go on and on and could have easily been wrapped in a long magazine article - so I started skipping through the chapters, which didn’t seem to leave me with any deficit towards the needed content to make the details in the last chapter add up.

 

New to my ‘being read’ book basket:

·        Farmers, Your Store for 100 Years ~ Ian Hunter. 

This book would only be of interest to other Kiwis J

·        The Time Keeper: A Novel ~ Mitch Albom  

Library book,  so I want to get this read and returned.  I’m hoping I keep enjoying it despite the fact the storyline chops and changes between eras, dimensions, and characters.

·        Landmarks of Britain ~ Amy Williams   Revised ed.

(I tried to find a book on different UK counties, they are not to be had for love nor money from our local library, this was the best I could do.)

 

Should be finished this week:

·        Casualty of War: Bess Crawford Bk 10 ~ Charles Todd  WWI.  Suffolk, England

The series, as a whole, is okay though I’d probably enjoy it more as relaxed summer holidays listening.    I still have bk8, and bk9, when it’s available, to complete.  The titles I’ve enjoyed the most out of the series so far are; A Duty to the Dead: Bess Crawford Bk1 , An Unmarked Grave: Bess Crawford Bk4 , and,  A Question of Honor  Bk5   

·        The Ghost Map: The Story of London's Most Terrifying Epidemic - and How It Changed Science, Cities, and the Modern World ~ Steven Johnson.

Not sure where to place this on the Brit trip yet.   Others may like to note, Johnson pens every adjective he could find relating to human waste.

 

I’m going to try and finish the above titles before beginning anything else new.  Like a pp, I shouldn’t be adding anything new to the pile of books I’m read; but, it is nice to have a golden era or cosy mystery, or both, on the go so I’m going through

·        Footsteps in the Dark ~ Georgette Heyer (relisten), and,

·        The Alington Inheritance. (Miss Silver, Bk: 31) ~ Patricia Wentworth.  Audio

 

ETA: The forums seem to scramble copy and pasted posts.

Knit Together appears to be interesting but I thought you were talking about her knitting patterns. I actually used one of the ones at the back of her books once and itg turned out great!

 

A book on England by county would be hard even for me to find I think. The details blur so often. My village has been part of two counties throughout history and the one that we are currently in changes it name regularly. :lol: The dissatisfied people in our area currently would love to move ourselves to the other county which would give us a new borough and better services, maybe. ;). Seriously, if I head out my door I can be in a different county in 5 minutes by walking and go around all the obstacles on the way.

[Critterfixer]

 

I've been writing more and reading less. Working on rewrite of current WIP.  Both James and I have the wonderful fever flu so we've been lazing about.  Word glitched on me this morning and managed to lose almost a whole chapter that I spent the past week working on. Don't ask me how that happened. I have no clue as I'd been saving it all along.  :svengo: Grrr!  Hubby and James had no sympathy and reminded me that I should be backing up daily to usb drive like they do.   :boxing_smiley: Ah well! Maybe the rewrite of the rewrite will be even better.  :tongue_smilie:

:grouphug: Oh, I have been there! I don't back up material as often as I should either. 

[Critterfixer]

Quoting a couple from last week's thread...

 

Where is the unfinished castle?  I'm curious lol.

 

We can't find it! The author gave a few clues, but so far we haven't been able to track it down. Story has it that a speculator made a lot of money convincing folks that there was silver in the hills. He decided to build a castle in the mountains, but it was never finished and just left in place. So now I've got a mystery. I'm going to put my friend who studies state history on it.

[marbel]

Just popping in to say hey, and to say how much I appreciate all the work the Brit-tripping team has put into this.  I'm having so much fun!  I seem to be jumping between the detective and rebel buses, but I still feel such kinship toward Bertie.

 

I had very little reading time over the weekend and this week doesn't look promising.  I am moving forward slightly in all my books.  I skipped one or maybe even 2 days of my chapter-a-day goal on War and Peace, but I was a little bit ahead, so I'm still on track.  

[aggieamy]

 

Currently reading Daily Life in the Twelfth Century, Based on the Observations of Alexander Neckam in London and Paris. Interesting and informative; but definitely for the general reader (not that I'm a medievalist) and frustratingly speculative or under-informative in many places. Also reading Pilgrim's Progress, for upcoming Bedfordshire, and for Lenten reading, Augustine on the Psalms. Plus my unfinished books from previous weeks. Oh why am I adding more books . Especially since reading time is compromised by Winter Olympics viewing. Though very averse to explicit sex and violence in my reading and viewing, I could not take my eyes off the street brawl that was the US vs Soviet, sorry Russian, sorry OAR, hockey game. A better person would have been reading St. Augustine.

 

 

 

LOL. That's the story of my life really.

 

I’ve been in a bit of a reading slump, I keep starting books and quickly losing interest.

 

I usually get the book doldrums about this time of year. It helps me to pick up a favorite book and reread it. Sometimes you just need a "win" to get back on track.

 

I finished Howards End and On the Beach last week.

I loved Howards so much more then a Passage to India.

On the Beach was quite different from other Nevil Shutes I read before, so I became a little disappointed.

 

Wednessday dd had her exitexam Geography, and I thought to be clever to put my Cambridgshire book on my tablet to read while waiting there. I had not realised the dictionary function would work only with WiFi so I didn’t finish the book. I hoop to do so soon. But Howards End seemed to fit Surrey so I took a wrong bus ;) to visit at least a county...

 

I started reading a lent book with Bonhöffer quotes.

 

I read On the Beach last year with my book club. We were a divided group on who loved it and who hated it. I thought Nevil Shutes was a great writer with the exception of the scene with the baby.

 

Sad spoilers in white: I had to look up after reading it if he had kids. The scene where the parents and the baby were dying and they put the baby in the crib and were just like "oh he's okay. He's just over there dying peacefully" made me want to set fire to the book and to Nevil Shutes. No. That's not how it works with parents. We hold our children tight when they have a stubbed toe. We're sure not going to set them down to die.

 

Just popping in to say hey, and to say how much I appreciate all the work the Brit-tripping team has put into this.  I'm having so much fun!  I seem to be jumping between the detective and rebel buses, but I still feel such kinship toward Bertie.

 

I had very little reading time over the weekend and this week doesn't look promising.  I am moving forward slightly in all my books.  I skipped one or maybe even 2 days of my chapter-a-day goal on War and Peace, but I was a little bit ahead, so I'm still on track.  

 

I'm glad you're having fun with it. I like how some people are sticking with the bus and the schedule and the rebels are well ... rebelling.

 

I have to admit that the Detective Bus left yesterday for Huntingdonshire and I'm still in Cambridgeshire desperately trying to solve a final mystery. I blame Sandy. She keeps posting books that I want to read immediately. The problem is I don't read as fast as she does!

[aggieamy]

 

 

We are going back in time with Dorothy Hartley's Food in England: A Complete Guide to the Food that Makes Us Who We Are.

 

 

 

and Kate Colquhoun 's Taste: The Story of Britain through it's Cooking

 

 

 

 

 

as well as An Comunn Gaidhealach Recipes for the Highlands and Islands of Scotland. 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Then there's a new look at the old and the new with The British Table by Colmen Andrews.

 

 

 

 

For a brief history of each country, plus their contemporary food and traditions, check out The Spruce's The Food and Cooking of England as well as Scotland.    Then check out Goodread's Popular British Cooking Books.

 

 

 

*sigh* I love when it's Foodies Week on BaW. I've requested so many cookbooks from my library based on your list. (The ILL people are not happy with me but they can get it over it because I pay taxes!)

 

If I find any particular wonderful recipes I will post them here!

Edited February 19, 2018 by aggieamy

[Kareni]

A classic that is currently free for Kindle readers ~

 

Ruth by Elizabeth Gaskell

 

"A tragic affair blooms between a working-class orphan and a wealthy rake in this classic novel of Victorian England.

Although Ruth Hilton is kind, life does not treat her kindly in return. An orphaned young seamstress, she works long hours at a sweatshop in a small English town. When she is sent to a fancy ball to repair the ladies’ dresses, she catches the eye of a gentleman, Henry Bellingham.
 
Falling for Henry leads to the loss of her job and her home, and Ruth quickly finds herself raising a child alone. Overcome with grief and shame, she must now make her way in a world where society has turned its back on her and all she can rely on is hope.
 
A moving novel from the author of North and South and Mary Barton, Ruth offers a unique look at British life during the mid-nineteenth century."

 

Regards,

Kareni

[mumto2]

I'm glad you're having fun with it. I like how some people are sticking with the bus and the schedule and the rebels are well ... rebelling.

 

I have to admit that the Detective Bus left yesterday for Huntingdonshire and I'm still in Cambridgeshire desperately trying to solve a final mystery. I blame Sandy. She keeps posting books that I want to read immediately. The problem is I don't read as fast as she does!

Well, I am sitting in Cambridgeshire with you. Stacks of books from all over England around me. I lack organization....... I haven't even pick my Huntingdonshire book yet let alone sourced it! Off to do that.....

 

Oh, and for British food don't forget the incredible Mary Berry. I just watched one of her shows the other day and just adore her. http://www.maryberry.co.uk/recipes

[Mothersweets]

All this talk of cookbooks and recipes reminds me of an absolutely wonderful program I watched on youtube called The Victorian Kitchen -https://www.amazon.co.uk/The-Victorian-Kitchen-DVD/dp/B000H8RW3I It was done by the BBC back in 1989 and it showed was it was like working below stairs in the kitchen of a English country manor house. The cook was a lovely woman named Ruth Mott who had started work as a scullery maid in the 20s or 30s and worked her way up to head cook and she knew how to do EVERYTHING. It was so fun to watch. There was also a young woman who washed all the dishes (and so many pots and pans!) using the old fashioned soaps and scrubbers - her hands were a mess by the end!  although I think Ruth had a recipe for fixing that, too. It was beautifully presented and just so fascinating! I bought the accompanying book, too.

 

There is a sister program called The Victorian Kitchen Garden that is delightful, as well! https://smile.amazon.com/Victorian-Kitchen-Garden-anglais/dp/B000063BLK/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1519083406&sr=8-1&keywords=the+victorian+kitchen+dvd

 

If you can find either one on youtube they are definitely worth watching. :)

SaveSave

Edited February 19, 2018 by Mothersweets

[tuesdayschild]

 

 

I think many of us who use the library extensively for the book will find ourselves occasionally in a different county from our bus. I have several books that are part of long hold chains which I suspect won't appear at the right moment. ;) Glad you enjoyed Howard's End!

 

 

 

 

 

Knit Together appears to be interesting but I thought you were talking about her knitting patterns. I actually used one of the ones at the back of her books once and itg turned out great!

 

A book on England by county would be hard even for me to find I think. The details blur so often. My village has been part of two counties throughout history and the one that we are currently in changes it name regularly. :lol: The dissatisfied people in our area currently would love to move ourselves to the other county which would give us a new borough and better services, maybe. ;). Seriously, if I head out my door I can be in a different county in 5 minutes by walking and go around all the obstacles on the way.

I picked it up due to the knitting hook in the title... love knitting.

I'd read two of Macomber's Shirley, Goodness and Mercy books years back and wondered what this inspirational title would be like.

I enjoyed the portions where she talked about her journey from dyslexia to published writer; and, the circumstances surrounding her choice to embrace Christianity.

 

interesting URL county dilemma!

Grin. U.K towns and counties are at mystery level for me - thank goodness for Google.

 

The British cookbook Robin linked, detailing food and Counties looks interesting. Love cookbooks!

 

PS: Typos have to stay - my phone doesn't allow rewrites.

[tuesdayschild]

Appreciating all the new, to me, titles, and links to books.

[Mom-ninja.]

Does the Unofficial Harry Potter Cookbook count for Brit food week?  :D

 

Finished The Transall Saga today with my kids. Sorry, but I found this book oh so boring. Very glad it's over. 

 

I'm in the middle of The Catcher in the Rye. First time reading it. 

[tuesdayschild]

 

Rabbit Trails: Lucy Boston Period Home  Ely Cathedral

 

 

Robin, thank you for all the book suggestions and links...

wondering if you could relink the Boston Period Home one, ignore the request if it's a drama - human nature being what it is, of course we'd really like to see what you'd found there now that the link is broken  :laugh:

 

(I unearthed 12 grand  period homes on that site, so all was not lost.)

Edited February 20, 2018 by Tuesdays Child

[Soror]

I've not read much in a couple of weeks, having a hard time getting into the books I've got around. I've given up on Rubin's book, I'm just not in the mood.

 

I did read Wonder yesterday, it is the book for ds' book club this month and I've never read it, great book. I did a speed read of a Health/Weight-Lifting book this weekend too but there was a lot of skimming involved so I'll not count it :) 

 

So, that is 9 for the year, so I'm still on track for a book a week although my personal goal was 2 a month :) 

 

I do plan to finish Nature Fix this week before I have to return it. I finally got the new Brene Brown book in via ILL but we'll see if I like it, I didn't care for the others I tried, although I like the general idea they were just too flowery maybe, I'm not sure how to describe my thoughts.

 

 

9. Wonder

[mumto2]

Robin, thank you for all the book suggestions and links...

wondering if you could relink the Boston Period Home one, ignore the request if it's a drama - human nature being what it is, of course we'd really like to see what you'd found there now that the link is broken :laugh:

 

(I unearthed 12 grand period homes on that site, so all was not lost.)

ETA.....Actually my new link is refusing to work when I try and use it. The article is from 21 July 2010 Period Living. Seems to google with Lucy Boston Period Living.

Edited February 20, 2018 by mumto2

[LuvToRead]

I finally finished "Out of the Ruins" for my "O" in rose by Karen Barnett.  I am hoping to finish "Death in a White Tie" by Mgaio Marsh today and finally leave London.  Someone upthread mentioned their bus made a wrong turn.  I think I may be on the bus that breaks down a lot!    I have started "Sidney Chambers and the Shadow of Death" by James Runcie for Cambridgeshire. I am hoping to get my hands on a British foodie book, but that will depend on my library access.  I am trying to spend less on books (well, less overall really) this year.  I have one who just turned 16 and with the increase in insurance and college looming closer and closer, we are trying to tighten our belts a bit.

[Raifta]

A fun post ~

The Best Things Found Between the Pages of Old Books  by Sarah Laskow

 

Have you ever found something of interest between the pages of a book? 

 

I found three five dollar bills once; I've also found the occasional receipt, boarding pass, bookmark, and tissue.

 

 

I recently came across a large trifold flyer for Amazon.com back when it was a very new company and only sold books.  DH actually took it to work for his 'museum of old computer related things'.

 

The ladies here helped me through that dilemma last year.  You need to create a shelf marked 'Abandoned' or "DNF" or whatever you want to call it, and then you mark it as "exclusive" which you can do, after you create it, by hitting the (Edit) link next to the Bookshelves title when you're in the MyBooks view on a desktop computer (there's a bunch of things that are hard or impossible to do in Mobile view).  Then put the book on that shelf.  Because it's "exclusive" it will then remove it from Currently Reading without you having to delete it entirely.  hth! :)

 

Thank you!  I had made an Abandoned shelf but had just resigned myself to having that book show up in the 'Read' section as well.

This week I read Seven Days of Us, by Francesca Hornak.  Relatively light novel about a British family quarantined together for a week after the older daughter returns from treating a Ebola-like epidemic in Africa.  Decent read.

 

I also finished listening to the audiobook of Born a Crime, by Trevor Noah.  I have to thank Erin for recommending this one -- what a remarkable book, and I'm so glad I listened to Noah reading it.  

 

DH is actually reading  Born a Crime right now after I left it on his desk.  I haven't seen him read an actual book in ages.  Of course it's due back at the library today.

 

 

 

I'm still firmly on the Rebel bus - my goal is just to read books set in England and let the chips fall where they may in terms of what counties are covered.

 

Finished Blackout by Connie Willis over the weekend.  I liked it.  Didn't love it - possibly because I wanted the historians to spend more time enjoying themselves in the past (OK, maybe not enjoying themselves - but soaking in the experiences) and less time fretting over how they were going to get back.  Towards the end when the storylines started to converge I enjoyed it more.  Looking forward to All Clear, which concludes the story.

 

Finished reading Wonder by R.J. Palacio to the kids.  They were big fans, I was more 'meh'.  The book switches from POV between several characters and I felt that some of those sections were unnecessary and I felt that overall the book was pretty trite and predictable. 

 

Starting reading two new books to the kids - The Old Country by Mordicai Gerstein, which was next on The Shelf and My Side of the Mountain by Jean Craighead George, which I unearthed when we went through one of the bookshelves of kids books recently.

 

For myself, I am reading All Clear by Willis (see above) and The Cat Who Went to Paris by Peter Gethers (the next book on The Shelf).

[RootAnn]

Ugh. I've been MIA for awhile. Still slowly making my way through SWB's Rethinking School, so I'm glad to see that others are still reading it here.

 

Just finished Sir Arthur Conan Doyle's The Sign of Four (audio - from my dusty Audible shelves). I also picked up & quickly finished Misty Copeland's Life in Motion after seeing her dance as the Firebird in a live performance on Friday night. I wish I would have read the book before I saw the ballet performance as it would have meant more to me. I'm not a ballet person, but her story was interesting. I did have a different interpretation of some of the comments other people made to her - I saw some of the comments as being color-blind ("We don't think of you as a black person" i.e., "We don't see your color - just you." vs. her interpretation of "We don't see you as one of those BLACK people! You are so much BETTER than one of THEM."), but I understand that having gone through what she did, she has a much different perspective on it.

 

I will probably pick up another book this week, but am 75% through Rethinking School - making notes & thinking through the thought experiments as I go.