mlbuchina
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Posts posted by mlbuchina
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I've finished 360 Degrees Longitude. :001_wub:
I'm around 100 pages into Ring, and it is reminding a little of John Dies at the End in it's quirkiness. I don't know if it's just the translation, or if the author just writes this way, but the choppiness of the sentences is distracting, and the flow of the story is a little off for me because of it. Other than that, I'm enjoying the story so far. It is definitely not super scary, or anything like that, so far. We'll see how the rest of it plays out.
I love all the skins and covers. I don't have any skins, but these are my covers:
This one is for my basic Kindle,
and this one is for my Galaxy Tablet.
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Beauty and the Beast: Of Love and Hope by Lee Holdridge and Ron Perlman
That poem is on this CD! It's been a favorite for years!
I have that CD! Ron Perlman's voice, definitely swoon worthy. At my wedding, the bridesmaids and groomsmen came down the aisle to "The First Time I Loved Forever". :) I bought the sheet music so the pianist would have it.
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I thought it WAS the creepy little girl, until Carol confessed. I like your theory, and wonder how they will bring her back, too. It needs to hury up and come back on already. LOL
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More etsy fun for bibliophiles:
https://www.etsy.com/shop/Frostbeard?ref=l2-shopheader-name
Dumbledore's Office, The Shire, Oxford Library, Sherlock's Office, etc...
(Wonder how the candles smell???)
I love scented candles! I must have Cliffs of Insanity, Don't Panic, and Wibbly Wobbly Timey Wimey. :D
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Well, Winter's Tale is not grabbing me. I put it down and picked up a discarded library book that I found in the thrift store: Emily Dickenson is dead. I think it is a murder mystery. I don't care. It doesn't have anything to do with winter, which I am tired of at the moment.
I read one book for winter, and that is enough for me. The books I've got in my stack now are travelogues in the Caribbean, or around the world. I have some from Japanese authors for the around-the-world challenge, but those aren't calling to me as much as the Caribbean books are. :lol: I could so easily fly south for the winter, if I had the money.
I need to do a catch up post here!
This week I'm up to:
1. A Woman of Independent Means
2. The Mysterious Affair at Styles
3. Working it Out - Abby Rike (former Biggest Loser contestant)
4. Outlander - Diana Gabaldon (reread-trying to time a reread of the series for the release of book 8)
5. Mint Juleps and Justice - Nancy Naigle (Kindle First book and I did not enjoy it very much)
Still working on
Autobiography of Ben Franklin
Dragonfly in Amber - Diana Gabaldon
I've gotten through Voyager, but I don't think I'm going to make it by the time the book comes out. I have so many other books I want to read that I've never read before, and they keep getting in the way of my re-read.
Please share! If not here then pm me and we can dialogue that way. I love hearing what lines and images and necklaces of words move folks.
In middle school, we had to do a poetry project where we looked for examples of different styles of poetry to put in a hand made collection with hand made illustrations. I still have mine, and will leaf through it every once in a while, remembering. There is one poem, by William Blake, I chose for my project that has never left me. It pops up randomly in my mind from time to time, and always makes me smile.
Love to faults is always blind.
Always is to joy inclined.
Lawless, winged, and unconfined,
And breaks all chains from every mind.
I'm not a huge poetry fan, although I might could be if I knew more about it, but I do love e. e. cummings. My favorite poem by him is "somewhere i have never traveled, gladly beyond".
Actually, thinking on poetry brings to mind probably my most favorite of all, "Sea Fever", by John Masefield. It sings to my soul.
I must go down to the seas again, to the lonely sea and the sky,
And all I ask is a tall ship and a star to steer her by,
And the wheel's kick and the wind's song and the white sail's shaking,
And a grey mist on the sea's face, and a grey dawn breaking.
I must go down to the seas again, for the call of the running tide
Is a wild call and a clear call that may not be denied;
And all I ask is a windy day with the white clouds flying,
And the flung spray and the blown spume, and sea-gulls crying.
I must go down to the seas again, to the vagrant gypsy life,
To the gull's way and the whale's way, where the wind's like a whetted knife;
And all I ask is a merry yarn from a laughing fellow-rover,
And quiet sleep and a sweet dream when the long trick's over.
I typed all that out just so I could hold the words in my hands. I love it.
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No headaches here at all from the LEDs. I love them.
This is good to hear.
I have photosensitive epilepsy, and the CFLs give me seizures. :( It's the frequency at which the light flickers. It's too fast for the eyes to see, but it causes headaches and seizures in some people. I haven't tried the LEDs yet. If they cause the same problem, I'm going to be in trouble.
I'm so sorry to read this, Mergath. I do hope you won't have this problem with LEDs. If we do end up with problems, I guess we can always go back to kerosene lamps and candles. :lol: (But more like: :glare:)
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I intended on stocking up but never got around to it. :glare: That said, we have a fixture with 4 bulbs. Two have been replaced with LEDs since they burned out. I can't believe how bright and clean they look compared to the regular incandescent bulbs that look so yellow and dingy.
I hate the bright and clean. I like the yellow and dingy. LOL.
The compact florescent bulbs give me headaches, but I don't know if LEDs do. Guess I'll have to wait and see, as we stocked up on incandescents, too. :-)
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mlbuchina, I meant to mention that This Is Where I Leave You has plenty of references to 80s songs & movies. :thumbup: Figured that is info you (& any other Gen Xers) need to know. :lol:
Well, now there is no way I can't read it now. :lol:
I don't generally write in my books. I don't break spines, either. I have books I've had for years, that I've read multiple times, that look like I just bought them. I'm weird like that. The only exception is my Bible. I buy a Bible with a lot of white space in the margins specifically for note taking. Thankfully, I don't buy new ones often, as I will sit and transcribe all my notes over to the new one. I do love my Kindle for underlining, though. I don't use the note function, but I underline a lot. I like to see what other's have underlined, and wonder what was going through their minds that made them decide that particular line needed to be highlighted.
Speaking of underlining, I'm enjoying 360 Degrees Longitude so much, I wish I had my own copy so I could underline and take notes in it!
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I think this is similar to me. When I rate a book, I'm (in a way) rating it for the genre it's in. So, for the first Harry Potter book, I gave it 5 stars. Do I consider it to be on par with the books I normally rate 5 stars? No. But for a YA book, I consider it head & shoulders above the rest. I do somewhat take into consideration a rating regardless of genre. A 4- or 5-star book, to me, is one that I totally enjoyed/loved/learned from & would definitely recommend. 3-stars are fine -- decent reads but nothing earth-shattering/eye-opening/memorable (to me); it still might be something I recommend, esp. if I know the other person likes that style of book. 2-stars & below are books that are 'meh' or worse; not entirely satisfied that I spent my time reading it (vs. something better) & probably not one I'd recommend.
All you Don Quixote people, you are making me feel like I've got to go on a Dairy Queen run (& I don't even ever eat at Dairy Queen). I must be indoctrinated by Dairy Queen (the power of corporations in our society, eh? :tongue_smilie: ) because that's what I always think of first when I see your DQ posts, then I remember you're talking about Señor Quixote.
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I rate books on whether I like them or not. I don't compare it to others, just a basic didn't like, liked it, really liked, couldn't put it down system.
Dairy Queen ice-cream is my favorite. If I'm going to have ice-cream, I want soft-serve. I don't care to much for the kind you buy at the store. The girls love it so much, they got DQ gift cards in their stockings this year. LOL
I just have to say, I love you GIF of Dean. :)
*sigh* Dean. :001_wub:
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I finished one book this week, The Wind-Up Bird Chronicles. I agree with everyone else. It wasn't the greatest. Here is my Goodreads review:
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I liked it. I don't get it, but I liked it. Having read 1Q84 first, as in my first ever Murakami book, I knew going in this wasn't going to be a hugely plot driven book, but would definitely take its time meandering around one. I was right. For me, there are still way too many unanswered questions that I just wish I knew the answers to. I guess if I had a dry well I could climb down into to ponder them, I might come up with an answer or two on my own. Since I don't, I'm just stuck with them. Such is life.I have started a couple of books this week: 360 Degrees Longitude: One Family's Journey Around the World, by John Higham, In a Sunburned Country, by Bill Bryson, and Ring, by Koju Suzuki.
I am loving 360 Degrees. It is a dream of mine to take the family on a trip around the world, and as that will probably never happen, I am enjoying living vicariously through this family. It is inspiring me to try to plan some smaller excursions for our family, though.
In a Sunburned Country is an audio I downloaded to listen to as I clean the house. I find I get a lot more accomplished when listening to a book. :D I really enjoy Bill Bryson, and this is no exception. His storytelling style is so fun and engaging.
Ring is my next book for Japan for the Around the World challenge. I have never seen the movie adaptation, The Ring, that came out quite a few years back, but from what I understand, the book is more of a murder mystery and less a horror. Although, I don't know if I have much confidence in that description, as the author has been described as the "Stephen King of Japan." We'll see how it goes.
I've got quite a few travelogue type books (mostly about living in the Caribbean, so sick of the cold!), and other Japanese authors in my TBR stack this week, so we'll see what the week brings.
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I finished Haruki Murakami's Wind Up Bird Chronicle last night and have to say I wasn't too thrilled with it. Upon finishing, my response was an inarticulate groan and my hubby got to hear me rant. Which didn't bother him, because he loves buying me books that make me rant. There were too many rabbit trails that didn't lead anywhere and too many unanswered questions. At the end I found myself going online searching out answers and seeing what other folks were saying and about half felt pretty much the way I did. The other half - well loved it because it was Murakami. I loved 1Q84. Wind Up, while intriguing and interesting, and kept me reading, was a disappointment at the end.
All the dropped story lines was the biggest thing that I didn't like about the book. I think reading it has made me decide I really enjoyed 1Q84 after all. :lol:
Finished two books last week:
The Thirteen-Gun Salute by Patrick O'Brian. I am still in love with this whole series.
Pretty Good Number One: An American Family Eats Tokyo by Matthew Amster-Burton. The food descriptions were fabulous as well as how he described living in such a different society. Really made me want to visit Tokyo!
I was looking for a travel type book for Japan earlier today. Thanks for listing this!
I read The Taming of the Shrew, which I liked more than Much Ado About Nothing, but didn't love it. And I'm about half way through The Wind-Up Bird Chronicle, which I like about as much as 1Q84: I am impressed by the structure, and I like many of the ideas, but I also get bored. I'm not ready to give up on it.
For the 12th century I got Yvain: The Knight of the Lion on the Kindle - haven't started it yet.
Better than Much Ado???? Sacrilege!! LOL Much Ado is my favorite, but I haven't read The Taming of the Shrew, so who knows. It could end up being my favorite. (No, not really. :D ) My only experience with Taming of the Shrew is a Moonlighting episode. Now that was funny.
Ack, I'm trying to read too many books at once again (and just requested another from the library). I need to actually finish something!
I am finding this to be a problem, too. I think I have about five going at once right now. I think it has a lot to do with it being a new year, and I'm all excited about the new challenge. As the year goes on, I'll settle down and stick to my one or two at a time pace.
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My dh is 7 months older than me.
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I was able to finish two books for the first week of the new year. Yay!
I finished up reading The Last Unicorn that I had started at the end of December. It was wonderful. The story was simple enough, and very familiar since I have seen the cartoon movie an upteen number of times. However, the writing, or lanuage, of the story was beautiful. I'll share some quotes, but it is hard to pick as I could underline almost the whole book.
"I have been mortal, and some part of me is mortal yet. I am full of tears and hunger and the fear of death, although I cannot weep, and I want nothing, and I cannot die. I am not like the others now, for no unicorn was ever born who could regret, but I do. I regret."
"The magician stood erect, menacing the attackers with demons, metamorphoses, paralyzing ailments, and secret judo holds. Molly picked up a rock."
"I am what I am. I would tell you what you want to know if I could, for you have been kind to me. But I am a cat, and no cat anywhere ever gave anyone a straight answer."
"As for you and your heart and the things you said and didn't say, she will remember them all when men are fairy tales in books written by rabbits."The need to clean up all the Christmas stuff allowed me to be able to get the second book in. I downloaded the audio of The Winter Ghosts by Kate Mosse, and listened to it all day as I put my house back together. I really didn't know anything about it as I started listening, and, overall, it was a little on the boring side for me. I did enjoy the story of coming to grips with loss, and the story of how that happened, but the book was just OK for me. If I were reading it, and not listening to it while working, I would have probably put it aside. I do still want to read her book Labyrinth, though.
I have started The Wind-Up Bird Chronicle, and I am loving it! I'm 35% in according to my Kindle, and I am getting to a point where I don't want to put it down. I've started sneaking in reading while my dc are doing school work...
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Right, first thing is not to start with The Scarlet Letter. A good approach is to start by reading aloud The Wonder-Book and Tanglewood Tales to children; that will correctly calibrate your Hawthorne irono-meter. Because he has a very dry ironic wit, and generations of high school students (and too often their teachers) badly misread him as a result.
Then some of his short stories. "Young Goodman Brown" and "The Maypole of Merry Mount" give Hawthorne's views on Puritans and their ideological successors, another essential aspect for The Scarlet Letter.
The Blithedale Romance was my last read-aloud to Great Girl. Why don't they teach that one in high schools? That scene near the end, where Zenobia, um, turns up (don't want spoilers) was greeted by Great Girl with cries of "Awesome!" And the novel shows the reader that Hawthorne's distrust of ideology wasn't limited to the Puritans.
By the way, did you know that Hawthorne's daughter, Rose, became a nun (a thing that just wasn't done in their society) and founded the first cancer hospice? We have a children's book about her that my girls really liked.
My general feeling on books that have withstood the test of time with which I don't connect is that I am the one who is missing something. Your post confirms this so perhaps my perseverance may yet be rewarded.
Thank you so much for offering a kernel of hope.
Violet Crown actually makes me want to give Hawthorne another chance. Few people could do that. :)
As someone who has never read Hawthorne at all, this is a great introduction. Thank you, Violet Crown!
Thank you, Violet! This is going into my English literature files.
:iagree:
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http://www.myfoxny.com/Story/24356855/texas-library-offers-glimpse-of-bookless-future
This just seems like a novelty to me, but then, that's what they called TVs when they first came out, too. I have a Kindle, and love it, but it doesn't take the place of an actual book in my affections. I would not be comfortable in this "library", but maybe that's my age talking?
Thoughts?
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Like this?
To get it to show up, under the video on youtube, there is a 'share' button. Click that & copy & paste that link here. Those are the ones that will show up in your post.
Great link, btw! ;) :D (And I do believe they would fit in the 'dandy' category too, so still slightly on-topic, right?)
Yes, thank you! Yes, very dandy-ish. :hat: Is a tall hat considered dandy?
To all the new members -- don't freak out by all the 70s music silliness! While we aren't a bunch of blue stockings, we are normally a somewhat more erudite and thoughtful bunch.
And for the record, pardon the pun, I have a very soft spot for the BeeGees. Saturday Night Fever was part of the soundtrack of my freshman year in college! Walking down the hall in the girl's dorm, one song or another was blasting from almost every room. (Those were the days before walkmans and boom boxes!) Of course I wound up marrying the guy who wore a "disco sucks" t-shirt :laugh:
I don't care very much for the movies Saturday Night Fever and Staying Alive, but their soundtracks are great. Now I'll be singing "Staying Alive" for the rest of the night! :lol:
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Stacia, just letting you know that my dd10 has left her MP3 player hooked up to her radio, and Ordinary World is on right now. LOL No way these kids will get through life without a proper education in all the greatest music. :lol:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dDLiVwpv89s
ETA: How come my youtube links don't put the video in the post? What am I doing wrong? #sadpanda
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This is our reaction to the Bee Gees pic:
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We need this:
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And in book related news, I have finished book number 2 for the year. I'll wait for tomorrow's thread to post more about it. :D
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I started the series when it first came out when I was in grad school. I gave it up at about K. I may have to revisit the series when it's complete.
You're not calling us old, are you??
Regards,
Kareni
Never! But the books...
No Way!! He's still as sexy as every! :D
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I'd like to read When Helping Hurts and Foreign to Familiar before I head to Thailand on the 17th.
I'm also part of a book club that is trying to work its way through Don Quixote… in the end, I think I may have to go the abridged version route lol… :D We're supposed to finish that by the end of January. :lol:
When Helping Hurts looks intriguing. I have been wanting to begin, or join in with, missions for a long time now, but can't seem to find anything. I'd like to be local right now, and involve the girls. Many things available seem to not want younger children involved, though. I look forward to hearing how you liked it, and if it helped.
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Loved, loved this book (SFOC) though I read it years ago. I haven't read any of his other books though.
I'm hoping to finish up my Isabel Dalhousie mystery this weekend. I've got 'Snow Country' by Yasunari Kawabata on my 'to read' list as well.
Do you all have several books going at once?
I put Snow Country on my list while browsing Goodreads for more books for Japan. If you get to it before me, let me know what you think of it.
I don't usually read more than one book at a time, but since joining this thread, I have gotten in the habit of starting quite a few. If one grabs me, I'll read it till it's done then move to another.
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Well, if we can share dog pictures now.... :D
This is my Bassett named Willerbee. He's very smart you see.
Aw, I can't see the puppy. :(
Rod the Bod!!! I remember my mom and her BF calling him that now that you have said it. Bwahaha!!!
Stacia, I do remember you posting those graphics about Murakami's books, and I do think it is apropos for The Wind-Up Bird Chronicles. LOL
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The Planet of the Apes was a bit odd but you just weren't cool if you didn't watch it at my school. My BF had to come to my house and spend the night because her mom wouldn't let her watch it. My parents had no clue what we were watching....we had a great time.
I am glad to know that you aren't sure what is going on either. I really wish I knew what cats are supposed to be symbolic of in Japanese culture. There was a cryptic cat sighting in The Tale for The Time Being too - on one of the trips to visit the grandmother at the monastery I think. I have googled -- they like cats, maybe lucky? I think there is more. Any ideas?
I have no idea about the cats, either, but cats were mentioned in 1Q84 as well. I just thought he had a thing for cats. LOL I like the idea of them being lucky.
OMG, 'You Light Up My Life' I haaated that a song and sang it constantly :lol: I'm taking a little trip down memory lane to a place where K-Tel flourished. I had a K-Tel record which I loved with things by 'Sonny & Cher' -- Gypsies, Tramps & Thieves springs to mind, Donny Osmond 'Sweet and Innocent' 'Maggie May' by Rod Stewart, 'Sealed with a Kiss' by Bobby Vinton and all kinds of other saccharine clutter on that old black vinyl. I loved that record and the little white plastic record player I used.
Okay, no more 70s music talk from me....back to books.
My mom and her BF love Rod Stewart. They used to say he was so sexy! :ack2: I do like a lot of his songs, though. LOL
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Oh, I love America! The girls love their song You Can do Magic.
I woke up this morning and discovered you had time traveled back to the seventies. Of all the nights to fall asleep.... The lists were fun -- I think I read them all, saw most of the movies (dh and I bought Logan's Run a couple of years ago since we had been huge fans, we already hd the Planet of th Apes :lol: ), and I know and like most of the songs. What fun!
I remember my dad watching Planet of the Apes on tv, and hating it. I wanted to watch cartoons! LOL
I suspect that you will be completely charmed by Lymond. I have the Dunnett companion books so that I can look up geographical, literary and historical references.
And I would love to have you for a knitting neighbor!!
Jane
OK, y'all have talked me into it. I've put this on my TBR list.
Knitting... Did someone say knitting? :bigear:
Well y'all were busy last night as I was tucked into bed with my book. Speaking of weird time travel...the melodramatic life in a socialist New England commune in 1850 is such an oddity. Perhaps something is lacking in my genetic makeup because I fail to appreciate Nathaniel Hawthorne.
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Speaking of fashion statements...Shall we discuss facial hair?
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I love facial hair, but only full beards and mustaches. I don't like one without the other, sole patches, goatees, or crazy long beards, though. Apparently, I'm very picky. :D
Is anyone keeping track of their books on Pinterest? My board is here: http://www.pinterest.com/ambercam/52-books-in-2014/
I'm going to go easy for January and read The Casual Vacancy and the Hunger Games Trilogy.
I never thought to keep a list on Pinterest. Neat! I'll be sure and follow your board.
You will love the Historian especially after Dracula last fall. One of my favorites. I have read it twice so far.....
Wind Up Bird is going along fine for me so I hope you will like it. I learned with 1Q84 to read Murakami in chunks. I try to read a couple of chapters each time I pick it up. I can't imagine sitting down an just reading that for hours. I am 21% done and have absolutely with no idea where the story is going but enjoying waiting for "it" because I am pretty sure "it" will be amazing.
I'm glad to hear that I'm not the only one to not have a clue where Wind-Up Bird is going. I'm 13% in, and am clueless, but I know that I'm enjoying this one more than 1Q84. I think it's because I know what to expect with his style now, and can just sit back and enjoy the ride.
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I'm not a huge Lord John fan either. I don't mind him as a minor character, but I have no real desire to read an entire series based on his character. I only have Prisoner because it has Jamie in it. I meant to read it in order with the series but I forgot so now it can wait until the end. How much of it is Jamie-centric? Does it get into how John married?
There is a lot of Jamie in it. Some of the scenes with him in them are heartbreaking. I'm only about half way through, and John isn't married yet. I don't know if it will end with that, or not.
I think one of the reasons I don't care for the Lord John books, is because they don't read like the Outlander series. They don't feel the same. I know that they are more along the line of mysteries, but it just seems that when she is in John's head, the tone of writing changes. Which would be appropriate, I guess, since he is a different character. But, I don't feel that way when she changes perspectives in the main series. Does that make any sense?
Book a Week in 2014 - BW3
in The Chat Board
Posted
If you mean mine, believe it or not, I got those at Wal-Mart. :D The brand is Verso.
I hate having a stack of books, and not feeling like reading any of them. Reading slumps are the worst. I'm glad you have one to continue with.
Thanks! I like them. :laugh: