Stacia, Looking forward to hearing more about Boxer,Beetle. I really wanted to love the Teleportation Accident and couldn't seem to get very far. I still want to read it....maybe something else by him would be a better plan!

This one has me a bit curious. It is in my e library but currently maxed out there. I will check it out when space becomes available.

Not sure how I found this one (maybe a Goodreads recommendation) but it arrived in my interlibrary stack today. I felt really clever when I clicked on Stacia's link.

Hunter -- I am marking your thread and will find my copy in the next day or so to see what the directions for that section are. I haven't looked at that section so no idea. Dd has done the second book and we plan to work through the rest except for book 1. For most units Dd happily read both the regular and honours selections but there were a couple of units where she didn't care for the first book (Walden) and did not read both.

I started with the first one "The Merchant's House" which is the first in the series and very good. If that one isn't available start with the earliest one possible. I know that I always advocate reading in order but there is definitely a worthwhile backstory throughout this series so worthwhile with this series, imo. I think you would really like this series. The history is woven in really well and the author is passionate about her historical research and it shows. Well written and interesting. No urge on my part to skip boring bits.

Sorry Kareni. I know I mentioned the Kate Ellis part of today's event a few days ago. I truly enjoyed the 3 books by her that I read so followed her discussion of her books and methods of research .....easily. What struck me the most was how utterly involved she is with her characters, she absolutely adores most of them. Her characters are good friends of hers that she knows very well. Another fascinating tidbit she shared was a flow chart / mind map from one of her books. All on a 20 by 11 piece of paper including the red herrings which are shown as fish shapes. :lol: The other author was half of the writing team that is AD Garrett. She writes psychological forensic crime novels. That was her description, I think. Anyway the portion of her book that I have read is very definitely not fluffy. She read favourite parts and ended with literally the last page I read before stopping. Her readings were great leaving me on a cliff hanger so I need to try to finish now. ;)

Glad I still have my library copy.....I returned a few and held that one back for some unknown reason. I loved the last few pages of that book. Olivia left behind was very appropriate.

Stacia , I am so glad you enjoyed Boy, Snow, Bird. I loved it! I think I have six books started right now. I can't seem to pick one and finish it! One is by an author that I am going to meet later today that I can't seem to get through. Rather embarrassing. It isn't a dreadful book just not something that interests me right now. I did enjoy the other author's books. Read several. I feel like I used to when my homework wasn't done (which did not happen often) which is very unsettling. Yesterday we did a field trip to a Harry Potter film location site http://www.malhamdale.com/Harry%20Potter%20Malham%20Cove.htm with a friend's family. We have had this planned for awhile. My friend finished chemo last year at this time and could barely walk 10 yards. A year later she managed 6 miles with some serious terrain issues. Yeah!!!! Dd took several photos and I will try to post a few real life ones later today or tomorrow. The top of the rocks are really all cracked with gaps of 6 to 8 inches in between with about a 2 foot drop downwards. Huge drop with a sheer cliff at edge. We all walked across, even the dog. Only the Harry Potter film crew came to Malham, The actors used a green screen so movie magic in action.

There are a few of us still here from this old thread and a couple new ones too!

I remember hunting for this book when you were reading this and not being able to find it. I just checked the library where I get most of my kindle downloads and they now have it! I have it on the list and will get it eventually. Yeah!

Praying :grouphug:

When I saw this bookhttp://austenprose.com/2012/03/07/jane-vows-vengeance-a-novel-by-michael-thomas-ford-a-review/ in my e library I had to download it after our discussions regarding Abraham Lincoln Vampire Slayer (hunter) last week. I started it last night and it is fun to read. All I can say is I wish I could find the other two at a library. ;) I am afraid I will jinx myself but I haven't had problems posting beyond the fact my old fire quit letting me post on WTM mid last week. Still works everywhere else, so ??????? ETA Just realized I should have told those who don't want to click that the title of my find is "Jane Vows Vengeance". The series apparently is based on the fact that Jane Austen and some other famous figures like Byron are living among us as vampires. Jane owns a bookstore in the US and has apparently written a best seller......She is telepathic with dogs......that is as far as I got.

Dd read it when she was 15. Heart of Darkness was part of the Excellence in Literature book (volume II) she was working through and because of recommendations here we added in Things Fall Apart. We didn't watch Apocalypse Now with the books. If you haven't read Things Fall Apart I recommend reading it first. I found it fascinating and the contrast to Heart of Darkness was actually what made that particular literature unit worthwhile. Imo

PH -- Glad you are back. We missed you! I went looking for my sample of the study guide for History of the Ancient World without the answers but all I could find is this onehttp://peacehillpress.com/samples.html for the teacher's guide, first five chapters. ETA -- The sample guide is on that list.

:grouphug: :grouphug: :grouphug:

I forgot to add yesterday that I dug my copy of History of th Ancient World out of the garage on Saturday . Not as disrespectful to books as it sounds we store everything in the garage thanks to filling it with shelving units and giant plastic boxes. I love Robin's idea of doing the guide simultaneously. Somewhere I have a sample pdf for the first few chapters, plan to start with that and see if I enjoy doing it. I have some potential 15th century books on hold already but plan to go hunting for more ideas when I have a chance. We are getting to the point in history that I really enjoy reading about.

:grouphug: Julia I will be praying for you and your mom.

I got started read Boy, Snow, Bird again after I posted and kept going through the end. I plan to give it 5*. Well written, thought provoking, made overall sense at the end, and I had problems putting it down. Well worth reading.

Happy Mothering Sunday to everyone here, not just to those of us living in countries that celebrate according to the Church calendar. I haven't read anymore of Boy,Snow, Bird but plan to return to it soon. I started Beautiful Ruins on my kindle and am enjoying it.http://www.nytimes.com/2012/07/08/books/review/beautiful-ruins-a-novel-by-jess-walter.html?_r=0. The e library kept recommending it to me so I finally gave in and checked it out. :lol: Not too heavy and it is set a least partially along Italy's Mediterranean coastline so good location. I was able to read An Infamous Proposal by Joan Smith last night while the family was having a television marathon. It was a wonderful, well written, fluffy that I loved partly because I could be with my family while reading it. Dd has it now. I also finished my kindle library book during the night "Autumn Bones" by Jacqueline Carey. The second in her Agent of Help series . Both of these paranormals have been very good.

Assuming you enjoy Pillars I would recommend reading World Without End soon after. The same village and families a few generations into the future. For something a bit different I highly recommend Angelmaker by Nick Harkaway All of you might enjoy Alan Bradley's Flavia series. You must start with The Sweetness at the Bottom of the Pie. These are soon good. For the boys here are some random thoughts of things my ds has loved: Rangers Apprentice, Percy Jackson, Artemis Fowl, and the Eragon Series.

Definitely used as an adjective in UK. I feel a bit better now. It took me several years to figure out what people were talking about -- thought it was a brand name for awhile but never saw the corresponding store. :lol:

Odd picky question here--I don't remember the "American me" even knowing what Bespoke items are. This made me ????when in Boy , Snow, Bird, which is set in the mid twentieth century US, Boy is talking about ordering a Bespoke cake topper. Did the Bespoke term exist in the US then? Do people even use it now? My SIL is having a custom kitchen which she is very proud of installed in the US, haven't heard the term once from her.......in UK a friend told me about her Bespoke kitchen constantly during construction. Just pondering.......wondering if the British Nigerian author had an oops due to unfamiliar setting or if I (Midwest girl) never heard the term while living in US?

We normally try and dress up. Not necessarily suit and tie every time but not our normal. We normally have some highly rescheduled Sunday's and on those days we wear what we need to in order to be able to do both the activity and the service. If we can't do both and change clothing. Attending the worship service is what is important, as a dear friend of mine recently said "God doesn't care what you wear just that you are there!"

The emoticons at the start of Stacia's quote refuse to go quietly, I keep deleting and the stay. :lol: I just wanted to comment on the amazing things I learn hanging out here , a week ago I had no clue who Langston Hughes was and now when his poetry was referenced in my current book I knew exactly who he was. I also know a lot more about zombies ;) I am reading "Boy, Snow,Bird" rather slowly and Langston Hughes was just mentioned. Enjoying the book. It seems to be one where I take a few sips and need to sit back and ponder. I also now know why some of us have a snake on the cover, I don't understand the fairy tale pertaining to the snake fully. Hoping clarity comes as I continue to wind my way through.

:grouphug: I wish there was something I could do. Lots of :grouphug: