I have been posting on the BaW threads since it first started, I believe, in 2009. I fell away during the last two years but I feel a yearning to come back. When I first started with BaW, I didn't even make 52 books for the first few years but I kept plugging along, increasing my numbers as time went on. I read 109 books during 2016. I had an amazing reading year last year so I don't want to better my number but rather continue reading thought-provoking and diverse books while still falling back on comfort reads when the need arises. I am currently reading Dark Matters by Blake Crouch and All is Grace by Brennan Manning

Okay, on to my reading. I finished The Ragamuffin Gospel by Brennan Manning. I am finding myself, not in a crisis of faith, but in a changing of that faith, if that makes any sense, and Manning's writings are meeting me on this path that I am finding myself on. I also finished a memoir by Canadian Olympian, Clara Hughes. The book is entitled Open Heart, Open Mind. I was disappointed with it. Hughes has been very vocal about her struggle with depression so I thought she would delve deeper into that struggle in her book. But the book just waxed effusively over her Olympic accomplishments and glossed over the struggles. I guess I needed it to be a bit deeper. My daughter and I finished Call of the Wild by Jack London. This is the last time that I will read of Buck with a child and it makes me quite sad. I love this book and I also love how each of my kids have been struck deep by the Buck's story. Riah and I have now moved on to the third Flavia book (she loves, loves, loves Flavia!) I started Girls Waits With Gun by Amy Stewart. I had a rough day yesterday and in the middle of the roughness, I thought I would ditch the book but in the middle of the night when I couldn't sleep, I decided to give it another try. :confused1: We'll see what happens. I am also reading Sabbath by Wayne Muller. My beloved and I are going out tonight to celebrate Valentine's Day by having dinner with another couple, I am so looking forward to this.

Happy Valentines Day, everyone! Karen, thank you so much for your thoughts on romance novels. I used to read romance novels when I was a teen and in my 20's. I was heavy on Sandra Brown and Danielle Steel, there were others but their names do not come up at the moment. But once I reached my 30's, I pulled away from romance and dived into other genres. I agree with you, though, romance does get a bum rap. I have just read the Wk. 6 posts on Passage to India and my brain is spinning. I am going to attempt to put my thoughts into words here. Pam, I totally agree with you that reading about cultures and countries enlighten those of us who do not have regular interactions with different cultures. This is why I loved Passage so much; I was able to be put into Aziz' shoes and empathize with his position. This has helped me in preparing for the Syrian refugees that are coming to our town. I am one of many volunteers who are helping a family move to Canada. They will, hopefully, be coming within the next few weeks so we are busy preparing for their arrival. Reading Passage has helped me to slow down and think about what all of this means for this family. Rose, I felt the same way about Part 2. Forster spent so much time molding the male characters, both British and Indian that little time was spent on the female characters. I liked Mrs. Moore in the Mosque but she kind of fell apart in the subsequent pages. The whole attack in the Caves section fell short for me. It could have been fleshed out a lot more but we really only saw it through Aziz' eyes. I did not like how Forster formed Adela. She was irritating, always changing her mind and not being capable of knowing her own mind and thoughts. The attack on her didn't seem to change that either. She still didn't know what she wanted. As I said in last week's thread, I am fascinated by the mystery vs. muddle theme throughout the story but I saw that theme in the context of culture and country. In light of yesterday's discussion, I am not seeing that theme in religion as well. I need to think more about this, though. Stacia, I am happy for you that you loved the new Oyemi book. There is nothing worse than disliking a new offering from a beloved author.

I just turned 53 and my hair is shoulder-length, layered with bangs. I caved last year and started highlighting my hair as the gray was starting to give me that washed out look. My hair is long enough that I can still put it up in a ponytail or bun.

My kids went to a youth retreat on Friday and just got back an hour ago so I had 48 hours of silence. It was delightful and perfect for lots of reading. I finished A Passage to India yesterday and I do believe that this is one of my favourite books of all time. The theme of mystery vs. muddle that was strung through most of the book resonated deeply with me. I am interested in reading other Forster books but I need to give it some time. After India, I thought that I needed a fluff book to offset the heaviness. I chose wrong. I picked A Woman with a Secret by Sophie Hannah but it was not an enjoyable fluff book. I thought the writing was poor and the storyline upsetting. Note to self: never read her books again. I just found out that Hannah is the author of the new Agatha Christie mystery and that she was chosen by the people who run Agatha Christie's estate--that boggles my mind. Seeing that I didn't get my fluff book, I decided to try again. I went real fluff this time: Devil's Food Cake Murder by Joanne Fluke. I have also started The Narnia Planet by Michael Ward

I don't really have time to read these threads on my computer but I don't like to post on my phone so I lurk on my phone. But there was just too much for me to say this week that I can't just sweep it under the proverbial rug. Also, the multi-quote thing-y messed up for me so I will do my best to reply sans multi-quote. Jane, I want to thank you for introducing me to Forster. I had heard of him before, of course, but always in passing and I had never read any of his books. After reading your blurb about him and his books, I zipped on over to ibooks and downloaded A Passage to India. Oh. My. Goodness! What a beautiful writer! I am so into this story that we didn't do school this morning so that I could just moon over all of his descriptions (Shh! Please don't tell anybody!) Thank you again for such a gift! Chris, I totally understand your worries about reading deep. I have been there many a time but, oh, I have become such a different person because I sucked in my breath and forged on. I know how much this hurts, but I want to encourage you to keep on at your own speed. If you need a break then read some fluff, or a different genre, then when you feel stronger, go back to it. We are all here as your personal cheering squad. Angela, my prayers are with you as you welcome your little one. Melissa, I am so thankful that your primary care doctor has his wits about him. I am praying for you and hugging you in my heart. Stacia, I know that life is not the greatest right now but please know that I am hugging you tightly in my heart as well. I have recently read Life After Life by Kate Atkinson (absolutely loved it!), Lake House by Kate Morton (it started out good but there were so many sub-plots and I was discouraged by the ending) and Our Souls at Night by Kent Haruf (what a beautifully written story! The lack of punctuation through me for a loop, though. Does he write all of his books like that? ) As I gushed above, I am deep into A Passage to India. As well I am reading A Ragamuffin Gospel by Brennan Manning and Eragon by Christopher Paolini.

I have been lurking for the past month, being content in just reading all of the comments but when I read the comments on Kate Atkinson's book, I knew that I had to play along. :drool: I finished my first Atkinson book last night, Life After Life, and I absolutely loved it! This book have given me so much to think about. The story showed how a certain choice or happening can change the whole trajectory of life's happenings. Also, the writing was really good. I am eager to read more from her. I didn't realize that she had wrote the Jackson Brodie mysteries. I had seen one episode of the series a few years ago but didn't realize it was based on her detective books. So Life After Life is my first book read in 2016, I am in the middle of Jesus Feminist by Sarah Bessey (I am deliberately going slow through this one) and am hoping to start In A Dark, Dark Wood by Ruth Ware tonight. I'm not too sure if I am going to like this. It looks like it might be an icky one. The kids and I are reading Tale of Two Cities as well.

Oh my goodness! I am finally here! My computer had a virus so it needed to go to the computer hospital for a week and then when I got it back I had to sign into all of my forums but this one would not let me in. For some reason, though, it let me in today. Heather, :grouphug: , your family is in my thoughts as you travel down the path of recovery. Stacia, :grouphug: , I'm sorry that life is stressful right now. May you find the right book that will allow you to fall heart first into the story and get lost in it for just a little while. I have made a radical book decision for me. I have decided not to obtain any more library books until maybe Christmas so I can focus on pre-reading the kids' books and on the gazillion books I have lurking in my basement. We'll see how long I stay with this decision. :laugh:

I have read The Graveyard Book and The Ocean at the End of the Lane. I've finished the first short story and quite liked it so I will push onward with some trepidation.

Well, The Magician's Lie was called back to the library without grace of a renewal so I will have to grab it back later on. I think I will now read Neil Gaiman's Trigger Warnings. I am not a huge Gaiman fan so I'm not sure if this one will get finished either.

When I was younger, much younger, I inhaled Stephen King's books. I didn't read his first ones but I did enjoy Christine, Pet Cemetery and Misery. Oh, how I loved Misery! But then it all got a bit old so I haven't read a King book in a long, long time. I did read 11/22/63 and I enjoyed what I read but it was just soooo long that I couldn't finish it. It was good, though, quite different from the King books that I am used to. I read Stella by Starlight, a middle grade book written by Sharron Draper. It is set in 1932, in the south, complete with the Ku Klux Klan. I quite liked it. There have been a few middle grade books released lately that have been enjoyable. I am getting ready to read The Magician's Lie by Greer Mcallister and am still in the middle of Gulliver's Travels.

I don't know what happened but my complete post is down below.

Happy Belated Birthday, VC!!! Stacia, I hope The Martian ends your reading slump.

Happy Anniversary, Robin! Hope you have a delightful evening. Jenn, my kids and I have not seen the Into the Woods play but we have seen the movie and we love it! I would love to see the play to compare the two but I don't see that happening any time soon. Mumto2, I have the Judy Blume book waiting for me here on my library pile. I didn't think that I would like it but I wanted to try it, just in case. Now that I have read your thoughts on it, I won't try too hard to carry on if I don't like it. I am currently reading Gulliver's Travels (I do not know what is wrong with me but I am having problems understanding this, maybe I have been reading too many fluff books) and A Small Indiscretion by Jan Ellison--this is yet another fluff book of which I am still not sure what is going on. It is about some mistake the main character made when she was younger. This book jumps around so much that it is hard to keep track of where you are in the storyline but I keep reading cause I need to know the mistake and how it all plays out in the end. Oh, and the girls and I finished The Evolution of Calpurnia Tate--absolutely loved it! The next book, The Curious World of Calpurnia Tate is coming to us as I type but I hear it is not as good as the first one.

Thank you for the St. Cyr recommendation. I will put that on my ever-growing TBR list. I am not a fan of either Treasure Island or Kidnapped. I'm glad that I am not alone.

Idnib, :grouphug: I am sorry. I finished 'Dangerous to Know' by Tasha Alexander. This is the fifth book in the Lady Emily Hargreaves mysteries, I quite enjoyed this book and will be trying to find more of the series. I am now reading 'Saving Grace' by Jane Green. I have just begun it but the main character is emotionally abused by her husband which hits a bit too close to home so I'm not sure if I will be able to finish it. Eliana, enjoy your time with your people, especially the littlest one.

Thank you all for your kind words. They are much appreciated. Jenn, I am so sorry that you have traveled this path as well.

Hi Everyone! It has been awhile since I have been here. We have had a family crisis (an extended family member was murdered by her husband.) We have spent the first half of this day with family and I am feeling unspeakably sad right now. My first thought when I came on the computer was to come to this thread. \Reading everyone's posts about books, reading, their lives, have been so comforting to me. Thank you. In the spirit of this thread, I am currently trying to read 'Dangerous to Know ' by Tasha Alexander. It is a good book but I am a bit distracted right now and am having troubles in keeping up with it. Please forgive me for tossing nastiness into this safe place but I so needed this safe place right now.

We will be attending a family funeral on Saturday and just got back from clothes shopping. My husband will be wearing black jeans and a light blue button down jeans, my 14 yr. old ds will be wearing jeans and a short sleeve button down shirt--it's black. My girls will be wearing black dresses and I will be wearing a navy skirt and top. We are going casual but it is respectful casual. This seems to be how they do it here.

I have a read few good books lately: Inside the O'Brien's by LIsa Genova Girl on the Train by Paula Hawkins Good Girl by Mary Kubica How Dante Saved my Life by Rod Dreher The House of Silk by Anthony Horowitz A Presumption of Death by Jill Patton Walsh

:grouphug: Eaglei :grouphug: Lifting up you, your son and the rest of your family in prayer.

We started watching a few months ago. We watch it on DVD that we borrow from the library. When the content is too mature, we either fast forward it or we move on to the next episode. I'm not too happy that my 12 yr. old is watching it but it's hard to say no when every one else is watching it so I just stay close by with the remote.

I think the reason the author asked that the discussion stop was because it was infringeing on copywright. The discussion was such that I didn't need to buy the book, I had to just read the blog posts and follow the discussion--too much information was given in the blog posts. The book was discussed on AO and the author was fully aware of those discussions so it wasn't that she was against having people talk about her book. I love The Living Page, it was very inspirational to me. One thing to keep in mind as with all homeschool method/philosophy books is that you don't have to do everything in the book. Take what resonates with you, what you think you can physically handle and start with that. If that works out well then add on with something else that interests you. If you can only handle that little bit then, that's okay, The author is not saying that you have to do everything in the book. Just take what you think you can handle and leave the rest. I don't think this would be a good starter book for someone who is not well versed in CM. I think it would be better to learn more about the 20 principles and then work your way towards the keeping aspect of CM. Anyway, most of these notebooks are for older children.

We love watching Castle, and The Mysteries of Laura. Covert Affairs is another possibility for future watching.

The past year and a half has been a very stressful one for me. I decided that 2015 was going to be the Year of Healing. I have been trying to find various things that lend to my healing--emotionally, physically,creatively and spiritually. Here are some of the things that I have been doing since the beginning of the year: teaching myself how to play piano ( this has been a slow process but I am still doing this) zentangling--surprisingly, this has been very comforting picking a literary mentor--This year, I have chosen to read all/most of the books written by C.S.Lewis. I am finding this to be exhilarating and soothing all at the same time. I am so enjoying my time with Jack. reading the Psalms--I start off my day with reading a Psalm--again, comforting exercising--I try to exercise a half an hour a day. This doesn't always happen but on an average I am getting 4--5 days in. I usually do strength training alternately with yoga. I try to do it first thing in the morning but lately it is getting done right after school I am trying to eat more vegetable dishes and have discovered new uses with cabbage, sweet potatoes and squash. So far, I am enjoying my year of healing, it is turning out to be a positive experience.