Robin, my Bingo Present also came yesterday!! :hurray: I teach art at our little co-op, so it's just perfect! Thank you so much, it was so generous of you to "award" us prizes :001_wub:

Definitely yes to Emma! I'll have to read King Lear again to get a better feel. I did not feel sympathetic to Regan and Goneril. I sympathized for Cordelia and her honesty. I'm an only and that poses it's own interesting parental challenges? but I admire Cordelia's love and honesty. Watching my dh's sibling's interactions with his parents, well it leaves me a bit sour on telling people what they want to hear :glare: Thanks! I'll have to look into it! I read and enjoyed this a couple years ago! It was certainly interesting! The Grandy Sophy is certainly my favorite but Cotillion and Venetia are other favorites, as well as Sylvester!

It seems that December is my "catch-up" month as I try to complete the BaW Bingo and my A-Z Challenge. This is only the 2nd time trying a Reading Bingo for a year and the 1st try at A-Z. I needed a translated book for Bingo, and though I thought about going with a Gabriel Garcia Marquez book, I couldn't find one that was short enough to fit my goals. I decided instead to revisit Murakami's The Strange Library, hoping the second time through would give me a little better insight. Unfortunately, if there is a hidden meaning or theme, I'm still missing it. The language Murakami uses to describe the world he has created is a treat. It's still an odd little book though. So I'm now wondering what a normal sized Murakami is like. Would I like it? It's definitely a stretch outside my fantasy/Flufferton box.

Rose - I'm in the middle of listening to Emma. I hope to finish it by the end of the year to round out my Austen reads. I've always enjoyed Emma, not as much and P&P or S&S, but probably right behind them. I'm not sure if it's the reader but Emma's snobbish-ness is really blatant this time around. More than I have ever noticed before. It has really put me out of humour with her lol. I thought I wasn't going to be able to find a "K" book that would interest me or that I'd want to read, when King Lear popped up on the list. A Shakespeare I haven't yet read. Perfect! I went into it cold, something I always tell me kids not to do with Shakespeare, but after the initial "getting used to the language & flow" was over, I was drawn in. Knowing that it was one of the tragedies, well, that gave away that most characters would die. By the time I got to the 5th Act, however, I stopped reading the little summaries at the beginning of the scene and allowed the story to unfold. Though I knew it was probably pointless, I still found myself wanting to see King Lear and Cordelia survive. Once things settle down a bit, I would like to find a version to watch. (I had a quote but forgot to mark it and can't remember it) King Lear becomes my "Play" for Bingo and my "K" book for the A-Z challenge. The Best Christmas Pageant Ever was my book published in Birth Year. Right now I'm rereading The Strange Library for my translated book. And John Steinbeck's The Pearl should be waiting for me to pick up at the library for my Nobel Prize Author. And I'll be one short of the BINGO Blackout. I have decided that I'm not going to try finishing The Odyssey before the end of the year but that would have been my Epic.

I found this so fascinating that I shared with my dh. I, too, am reading lighter and faster reads this month!! I had a personal goal of reading A-Z, and then the Bingo here on the BaW. I fear I will fall 1 short on the Bingo, though. I am fairly certain I will not finish The Odyssey by Dec 31st and may give up on it entirely. I enjoyed watching this! Thanks for sharing! Gone with the Wind has been one of my favorite movies for as long as I can remember. I read the book in 8th grade, and Skyeler read it in the past couple years. Funny enough, I have never done a reread of it! Reading your comments makes me want to revisit it as an adult. I love Scarlett O'Hara! What strength and determination she possesses! As a young teen, I never cared for Melanie, but I bet as an adult I would appreciate more of her qualities.

Thanks! I'm trying to finish up my Bingo and my A-Z! 4 left on Bingo and 4 left on A-Z challenge! That's 8 books in one month! I don't know if I can do that!

BaW Bingo Question -- Is the Noble Prize Author any work by that author?

I pulled The Best Christmas Pageant Ever off the shelf to give to my Pastor's wife to read (she had never even heard of it!!), but just couldn't pass it on without rereading it myself! I finished it last night and decided that I will read it every December! It is so funny and sweet and poignant and makes me look at Mary and Joseph and the Wise Men with fresh eyes :) I love the part where the mom has to tell Imogene the story of Baby Jesus' birth! What a wonderful little book!

Lol! If they don't convert, they just don't know what they are missing!! Do you have a link??? :lol: Thant sound utterly tedious!! I listened to an audio book while painting the grout in my tiny little downstairs bathroom. Also a tedious job, Ugh!! :grouphug:

Rosie, no one wants to think about FINANCES near CHRISTMAS!! :lol: :lol: Or after Christmas...or at tax time...or during summer break...hmmm...I guess I NEVER want to think about finances :P :lol: I am just the opposite!! So far I can only listen to books I know really well! I'm a daydreamer and NOT auditory, so I'll be off in my own little world and then realize that I missed Gandalf's great line or Elizabeth Bennett's witty one :rolleyes: I don't have good retention with the audio books. But I'm trying to improve that a little.

I was able to finish listening to Northanger Abbey while packing last week. That makes 5 out of 6 Jane Austen books I've managed to listen to in 2016. And it's been so fun! Henry Tilney must be one of the more patient heroes of an Austen novel. Even Mr. Knightley loses his temper with Emma. Catherine Moreland manages to be naive while at the same time feeling that other people just might not be acting right. She needs some more confidence in herself as she is actually a better judge of character than she thinks. I'm hoping to finish Emma before the end of the year! I had hoped to get more reading in last week seeing it was Thanksgiving Break but filling in for Skye at work really took up some time :) I'm glad that I picked an easy, fluff read for the week! Venetia by Georgette Heyer was a perfect book for break. It was a reread, but still totally enjoyable! This time I really felt Edward's condescension! Yuck! Anyway, this book ranks up there with The Grand Sophy, Cotillion, and Sylvester as favorite Heyer's. And Venetia makes 52!!!!! This is the first time I've hit 52 before December :hurray: To be fair, I have done 10 audio books this year, and I counted the three children's banned/challenged books that Stacia and I read as one book. I always feel like "listening" to a book doesn't count :blush: :lol: I've started my Christmas book for my IRL book club, and I need to start Anne of Avonlea this week too for our co-op class. I don't know what I'll read for fun! Here's my 52 list... *01. Frankenstein by Mary Shelley (classic - the Arctic, Switzerland, Germany, England, Scotland - 18th century) *02. Snow Treasure by Marie McSwigan (children's book - historical fiction - Norway - 20th century) *03. Things Fall Apart by Chinua Achebe (BaW rec - Nigeria - 19th century) *04. The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde by Robert Louis Stevenson (classic - reread - England - 18th century) *05. Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince by J.K. Rowling (fantasy - reread - England) *06. Lost Empire by Clive Cussler (Zanzibar, Tanzania, USA, Madagascar, Indonesia - 21st century) *07. The Original Miss Honeyford by M.C. Beaton (BaW rec - England - 19th century) *08. Bab: A Sub-Deb by Mary Roberts Rineheart (BaW rec - dusty - USA - 20th century) *09. A Room with a View by E.M. Forster (classic - BaW Feb. author - Italy and England - 20th century) *10. Beauty by Robin McKinley (fairy tale) *11. The Storied Life of A. J. Fikry Gabrielle Zevin (USA - 21st century) *12. The Goose Girl by Shannon Hale (fairy tale) *13. The Bobbsey Twins Toy Shop by Laura Lee Hope (children's book - USA - 20th century) *14. Death by Darjeeling by Laura Childs (BaW rec - USA - 21st century) *15. Be Joyful by Warren Wiersbe (non-fiction) *16. Queen of Sorcery by David Eddings (fantasy - reread - audio) *17. The Hawk and the Jewel by Lori Wick (reread - England - 19th century) *18. The Night Villa by Carol Goodman (dusty book - England & Italy - 1st & 21st century) *19. Magician's Gambit by David Eddings (fantasy - reread - audio) *20. Castle of Wizardry by David Eddings (fantasy - reread - audio) *21. Mere Christianity by C.S. Lewis (non-fiction) *22. The Darling Dahlias and the Cucumber Tree by Susan Wittig Albert (USA - 20th century) *23. The Willow Valley Kids: The Treasure Hunt by Jean Pennington (children's book - USA - 20th century) *24. Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows by J.K. Rowling (fantasy - reread - England) *25. Over Sea, Under Stone by Susan Cooper (fantasy - England - 20th century) *26. Enchanter's End Game by David Eddings (fantasy - reread - audio) *27. Jaws by Peter Benchley (reread - USA - 20th century) *28. Jackaby by William Ritter (BaW rec - USA - 19th century) *29. The Lost World by Michael Crichton (reread - USA, Costa Rica - 20th century) *30. Pride & Prejudice by Jane Austen (classic - reread - audio - England - 19th century) *31. Meg by Steve Alten (reread - Pacific Ocean & USA - 20th century) *32. The Cursed Child by J.K. Rowling (fantasy - England) *33. Lady Almina and the Real Downton Abbey by The Countess of Carnarvon (non-fiction - England & Egypt - 19th & 20th centuries) *34. Sense & Sensibility by Jane Austen (classic - reread - audio - England - 19th century) *35. The Mystery of History Volume 4 by Linda Lacour Hobar (non-fiction - 18th, 19th, 20th, 21st century) *36. The 6th Extinction by James Rollins (USA, Brazil, Antarctica - 21st century) *37. Women's Ministry in the Local Church by J. Ligon Duncan and Susan Hunt (non-fiction) *38. A Wrinkle in Time by Madeleine L'Engle (reread - USA - 20th century) *39. Nasreen's Secret School & The Librarian of Basra by Jeanette Winter and Walter the Farting Dog by William Kotzwinkle (children's picture book - Iraq & Afghanistan - 20th & 21st century - banned/challenged ) *40. The Judas Strain by James Rollins (USA, Italy, Christmas Island, Turkey, Iran, Cambodia - 21st century) *41. Mansfield Park by Jane Austen (classic - reread - audio - England - 19th century) *42. Thrice the Brinded Cat Hath Mew'd by Alan Bradley (England - 20th century) *43. World War Z by Max Brooks (China, USA, Japan, Canada, Russia - 21st century) *44. Squashed by Joan Bauer (YA - USA - 20th century) *45. New Spring by Robert Jordan (fantasy - reread - audio) *46. For Darkness Shows the Stars by Diana Peterfreund (YA - England(?)) *47. Persuasion by Jane Austen (classic - reread - audio - England - 19th century) *48. Illuminae by Amie Kaufman and Jay Kristoff (sci-fi - YA) *49. Anne of Green Gables by L.M. Montgomery (classic - reread - Canada - 19th century) *50. The Unexpected Mrs. Pollifax by Dorothy Gilman (Mexico, USA, Albania - 20th century) *51. Northanger Abbey by Jane Austen (classic - reread - audio - England - 19th century) *52. Venetia by Georgette Heyer (reread - England - 19th century)

I had this out from the library in October, but it went back without me reading it. I will await your review to see if I should check it out again. I've only read one Gaiman - The Graveyard Book - so I'm not super familiar with him. This had me smiling!! I remember the days when Aly was 2 & 3. I would say the same thing to my mom!

I'm so glad you linked this!! I just bought it for dh for Christmas :)

For my book club's November's Mysterious Book I read The Unexpected Mrs. Pollifax by Dorothy Gilman. I thought it was a cozy mystery, and though there was a little bit of mystery, I'm not sure it was a mystery. In fact, I'm not sure what I would categorize this book. I enjoyed it nonetheless! Mrs. Pollifax was hilarious, and I loved her character with her propensity to not only look for adventure but to persevere when the going got rough. This book also fulfilled my "U" book :) I'd read more Mrs. Pollifax if the time allowed. Mrs. Pollifax was my 50th book of the year! I'm excited about that :) I started Venetia by Georgette Heyer last night. It's a reread but I'm still loving it :) My girls and my nephews and the bunny went to my parents for the week (we will join them later), so it's been a quiet two days. That'll all change in about an hour, though. I'm babysitting the kids Skye nanny's for while she's gone, and they are coming to spend the night tonight with Miss Angel. Fun times!

Hugs for the migraine! I hope he recovered and was able to enjoy the movie! I started having migraines young so I sympathize. And we saw Fantastic Beasts last night. We all thoroughly enjoyed it! I enjoyed Cousin Kate! Definitely creeped me out a bit, though :laugh: I'm going to reread Venetia over Thanksgiving break. I need a fluff read and it will fulfill my "V" spot in the A-Z Challenge

I enjoyed this one too!

Karen, my older dd bought this for a friend's baby girl last Christmas! It is just darling!

I almost gave it up after over 200 pages. Then I realized that I at least wanted to know what happened or if they were just going to float around in space forever, and it was going quickly, and (more importantly) it was the "I" book I had picked for the A to Z challenge. :lol: I didn't mind the format, though it really doesn't allow for any flow of the book or deep character development...hmm, maybe that means that I did mind the format. I did read it as a kid, and boy did I identify with Anne's imagination! :laugh: I was so pleasantly surprised that I still felt the magic of it as an adult!

I was trying to find an "I" book for the A to Z Challenge, and though I ran across a couple good options, I decided to try Illumine by Amie Kaufman and Jay Kristoff. I bought this for Skye last year for Christmas, but she hasn't read it yet. It was a long book at 599 pages, but the formatting was unique so their wasn't really 599 pages of reading. I give it kudos for imagination. The storyline picked up about a third of the way through when a virus was introduced. The format, while unique, made it hard to attach to the characters, that and I didn't feel a large amount of character development. Overall, though, it was just ok. The last 20 pages or so ended up salvaging the book. Though most of the really bad language was blacked-out in a redacted form, there was still plenty left which was off-putting. I don't like to see that in a YA book. I'm not sure I get the praise that this book received. I finished Anne of Green Gables by L.M. Montgomery last night. I wish I had had the time to really savor this. Though it's a reread, it has been awhile and it's such a joyful read. I adore Anne! Aly and her friend are reading this for co-op (we are going to go through the whole series), and I am looking forward to sharing and discussing the books with them! So many quotes and morals! Just delightful!

Sorry, forgot to multi-quote! This does look like something I'd like! And Aly, too, if it's fairly clean! I'll put it on my list.

Argh! I didn't think of that!! Oh well, I only had two books published this year, and the Alan Bradley book has a number, and the other number book is the only book I picked because of the cover. I need a "K" for my A to Z challenge so maybe I'll get to King Lear ;)

:lol: I look pretty good for my age ;)

Needing a distraction from the mountain of laundry that is setting on the end of my sectional, I decided to check and see where I am on the BaW BINGO. I have three columns of BINGO! Across: Female Author - Squashed by Joan Bauer Published in 2016 - The Cursed Child by J.K. Rowling Number in the Title - Thrice the Brinded Cat Hath Mew'd by Alan Bradley Dusty - The Night Villa by Carol Goodman Picked by a Friend - The Storied Life of A.J. Fikry by Gabrielle Zevin Down: Published in 2016 - The Cursed Child Old Friend - Queen of Sorcery by David Eddings Over 500 Pages - Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince Banned - A Wrinkle in Time Nautical - Jaws and Down: Number in Title: Thrice the Brinded Cat Hath Mew'd Fairy Tale Adaptation - Beauty by Robin McKinley Free Space - The Lost Empire by Clive Cussler Mystery - Death by Darjeeling by Laura Childs 18th Century - Frankenstein I don't have A Book in my Birth Year, A Play (I might get to King Lear), Translated (was hoping Things Fall Apart was but no), Color in Title (will have this one by next Monday as I'm reading Anne of Green Gables), Noble Prize Author, and Epic. I'm surprised I haven't read an Epic!! Usually one of my favorites!

I've been skimming the conversations here for the past few weeks. October turned out to be quite hectic! It dawned on me that I'm already drawing near 52 books!!! I'm kind of excited about that! Here are my latest reads that I (think) I haven't posted. For my "what says Fall to you?" book I scoured Goodreads and came up with Squashed by Joan Bauer. It was absolutely delightful! A true young adult book about a teenage girl who grows giant pumpkins in Iowa. It's the story of her struggle competing for the biggest pumpkin in the adult competition, finding love, overcoming the death of a parent, and all the trials and joys that go with it. Truly it is hard to find a real young adult book anymore, as a large percentage have adult content masquerading as a young adult book. Anyway, this fit my Fall category better than I could have hoped for. I highly recommend it! The Jane Austen book I wanted to listen to next was unavailable so I downloaded Robert Jordan's New Spring. It's a shorter book, and I figured it would be a good filler until Emma came available. I ended up listening to it all the way through. Though I didn't care for how The Wheel of Time ended, I still like the characters and enjoyed visiting with them again! Aly and I finished our first biology read aloud, For Darkness Shows the Stars by Diana Peterfreund. It was suggested as a fiction book about the effects of genetic engineering. The book didn't get into the genetic engineering in depth, but there was still a small tie in. We both really enjoyed it. The storyline is a dystopian take on Jane Austen's Persuasion. There were just the right amount of differences to help it be its own story, though. Another highly recommended YA book, especially those who enjoy Austen's Persuasion. Since we were reading For Darkness Shows the Stars, I decided that my next Austen audio book would be Persuasion instead of Emma. Persuasion was one of the first audio books I ever listened to all the way through. It was fun to be listening to it as we were finishing up the other book. Like I've said before, listening to the Austen books has brought out some subtleties that I have overlooked in previous readings. One thing that stuck out to me this time, other than the vainness of Anne's father, was how homey the Harville's, the Croft's, and the Musgrove's were. It's no wonder that Anne desired to spend more of her time with them! Persuasion is #47 for the year! I thoroughly recommend Squashed! And For Darkness Shows the Stars was another good YA too! We were doing the A to Z Challenge in my Book Club, just for fun, and I'm getting close with that as well. I want to check out the BaW Bingo because I might have quite a few there, too! I'm pleased with my reading so far this year.

I'm sorry. So, so sorry. I'm not sure we can still be friends :svengo: :001_tt2: I have only watched a few older episodes. Dh is a fan of Tom Baker. I have found that your favorite Doctor is a very personal thing lol! David Tennant is an amazing actor, and I love him as the Doctor, but I personally think Matt Smith is the Doctor.