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prairiegirl

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Everything posted by prairiegirl

  1. I have never read a Terry Pratchett book but due to all of the chatter here about his books I have had one of his books on my TBR pile for a very long time. I feel that I have waited too long. I am saddened by this news because I know that it has effected many here. I agree, Angel. It ended too abruptly. It was as if he got tired of writing it and so he ended it as quickly as he could. I was also disappointed by the ending. I didn't expect it to end like that. That being said though, I still enjoyed the book.
  2. If I am to wake up at 5:15 so I can have some time to myself then I have to wake up with an alarm. If I don't mind waking up later then I can wake up at 6:30 naturally.
  3. We are reading the second book of the Wingfeather Saga and my youngest and I are reading The Little White Horse.
  4. I am reading Flavia as well. I was a bit afraid of this book as Flavia leaves all that is familiar to her but I am absolutely loving it! Never before have I enjoyed a series for so long.
  5. I have read Daughter of Time and although I finished it, I did not like it. It was way too confusing for me. This experience has caused me to stay clear of other Tey books. As I am typing this out a light bulb has clicked on. My kids and I are doing our own reading challenge that my sister found online Anyway, one of the challenges is to read a book by an author who has the same initials as me--J T--Josephine Tey! I hope her other books are better. Robin, strictly on the cover art, I vote for Euphoria by Lily King. I have that book on my TBR list and I picked it solely due to the cover. I finished The Great Divorce by C.S.Lewis (loved it!) and The Miniaturist by Jessie Burton (there were some icky parts but, on the whole, I quite enjoyed it.) I am in the middle of :"An Experiment in Criticism", :"I Shall Be Near to You" by Erin McCabe and am planning to get "The Narnian" by Alan Jacobs from the library tomorrow or Tues so I can start on that then.
  6. Heather, I am glad that you are enjoying As You Wish. We watched The Princess Bride yesterday, it was fun to watch it knowing the backstory to some of the scenes. I enjoyed The Luminaries but there were so many characters with as many backstories that it was difficult to keep it all straight. I was hoping to read Wolfe Hall before the PBS special but, alas, it isn't going to happen.
  7. We are having a school break this week. The girls and I are happily doodling away with our zentangles. Yes, I bought the book and a few more besides. So now I, who does not have a creative bone in my body, am creating these cool looking doodles. I am enjoying my time zentangling. My oldest is becoming hooked on these as well. I have decided to take a literary mentor for the rest of the year. C.S.Lewis is my author of choice. I have always been a bit intimidated with Lewis, I have attempted to read his non-fiction a few times in the past but came away not knowing much more than I did when I started the book. I am hoping that my brain is a bit bigger now and understanding will have increased. I am almost finished The Great Divorce and am in the middle of An Experiment of Criticism (wonderful book!) I am enjoying my time with Jack. I also tried to read Delicious by Ruth Reichl but I got to page 100 and wondered why I was continuing on with it so I ditched it and am starting "The Miniaturist' by Jessie Burton.
  8. I read 3 books this weekend: 10. Nora Webster by Colm Toibin. Well written story of a recent widow and her children set in Ireland during the 1960's 11. As You Wish by Cary Elwes Delightful. I actually laughed out loud in a few places. 12. The Murder Bag by Tony Parsons. Crime novel. I quite liked this one. My current fiction choice is Ettiquette and Espionage by Gail Carriger. Shukriyya, I am sorry that you are in the middle of a reading slump/droubt. I have had my share of them over the years and they are icky. I hope yours ends sooner than soon.
  9. Stacia, yes, the woman in Still Life is on Downton Abbey. We are huge Downton fans here. I was watching the clip you linked to, and when the girl spoke those few words, both of my girls (they weren't watching) yelled, "That's Anna!: Yeah, we really like Downton. MaeFlower, I have read a few negative things about The Miniaturist so I was happy to read that you liked it. It is on its way to me now so I am looking forward to getting into it.
  10. Ooooh! I like the Pinterest idea. I will have to look into doing that as well. Thanks for the idea.
  11. I finished The Weight of Blood by Laura McHugh. I feel confused by this book. It started out really good but a little short of halfway through it began sliding downhill. About halfway through, each chapter was written from a different character's point of view but it was written in third person but two characters shared their story in first person. That seemed bizarre to me. It seemed as if the author spent all of her time and effort on the first half of the book and then realized that her contract was just about up so she had to slap things together to make a story. The ending didn't even make much sense. I was disappointed by the ending. I am now reading Nora Webster by Colm Toibin and am enjoying this one immensely. Books I have read so far: Burial Rites--Hannah Kent The Lost Husband --Katherine Center Leisure, the Basis of Culture--Josef Pieper Age of Miracles--Karen Thompson Walker The Inferno--Dante The Anatomy of a Disappearance--Hisham Matar Breathing Room--Leanna Tankersley Imitation of Christ--Thomas a Kempis Weight of Blood--Laura McHugh Currently reading: Grace Revealed by Jerry Sittser Saint Benedict by Julian Stead The Order of Things by James Schall Woman in White by Wilkie Collins The Purgatorio by Dante Nora Webster by Colm Toibin
  12. I remember that! I think that that particular troll was the woman whose 12 yr. old dd got pregnant plus she also was a woman whose husband died--was it from cancer?-- and she also pretended to be a friends of the woman whose husband died. she was probably a few other personas as well but I don't remember them all. I was new to the forums back then and I couldn't believe all of the drama that I found here.
  13. I am not a big fan of grilled cheese unless it is dressed up with an extra like tuna or salsa, then I enjoy them. I finally finished The Imitation of Christ (lovely book, one that I will revisit many times in the future) and am now embarking on a rabbit trail about the Benedictine Monks. Right now I am reading Saint Benedict by Julian Stead. Looking forward to this literary aside.
  14. Openhearted, if there is a swear word every now and then in what I am reading it does not bother me but if it is all through the book then I cannot continue to read it. The book that comes to mind is Eleanor and Park. I could not get past the second page due to the language. It distracted me from the story and I just didn't want those words in my brain. I do not consider myself conservative but, for some reason, excessive swearing/bad language bothers me. And, yes, I do say the words in my head. Jane, I didn't realize (though I probably should have) that Grantchester was based on a book. I have watched the first episode and enjoyed it immensely. The title is now going on my TBR list. Thanks for the heads up. Wonderchica, I second Stacia's recommendation of the Flavia books. I enjoy her immensely. I would also suggest the newly released Girl on the Train. I haven't read it yet (it is on my hold list) but I have heard that it is similar to Gone Girl. Also Silent Wife (can't remember the author) comes to mind. I couldn't finish it but it is also put in the same category as Gone Girl. As far as my reading I have finished "The Breathing Room" by Leeana Tankersley (Christian non-fiction.) This was a much needed read for me right now. Loved this book. I have also finished The Inferno and am starting The Purgatoria. I am in the middle of "The Weight of Blood" by Laura McHugh as well as "Notorious" by Alison Brennan. I read and enjoy the author's blog but have never read her books so I decided to try one now. I don't think I will read anymore of her books. I have also started "A Grace Revealed" by Jerry Sittser.
  15. :grouphug: to you. I hope that you can get good meds that will clear up the yuckiness inside of you. I keep hearing good things about As You Wish. I have it on hold and it is one its way to me now. I am also hearing about Moriarty. It is on my TBR list, just itching to move up to the hold list.
  16. lol I thought of Nine Tailors, too. I didn't know there was a movie. I will have to look for it. Mumto2, :grouphug: to you.
  17. lol I thought of Nine Tailors, too. I didn't know there was a movie. I will have to look for it. Mumto2, :grouphug: to you.
  18. I read The Eyre Affair quite a few years ago but I didn't finish it. It didn't really make much sense to me but I hadn't read Jane Eyre yet. So maybe I will try it again, maybe it will make more sense this time around.
  19. The bright side of feeling under the weather is that lots of books get read. I finished "The Anatomy of a Disappearance"-- a boy's father disappears, the book deals with the aftermath. I really enjoyed it. I am now reading "Weight of Blood: by Laura McHugh--this is turning into another good book.
  20. Thank you for the hugs and the well wishes. I had my ultrasound yesterday so now we wait. I am a Pride & Prejudice girl through and through. I have read it a number of times and each time I grow to love it a bit more. Sense & Sensibility comes in second with Persuasion at a distant third. My dd is reading Mansfield Park this month and my plan was to read it along with her but a few pages in and I gave it up. I keep hoping that I will pick it back up but it hasn't happened. I am hoping to get on the zentangles bandwagon as well but I only allow myself one Amazon order a month and I already had a January order earlier this month so I have to wait until Feb to get started. So it is micron pens that I use? Can I get them from Amazon as well? I put aside Marilynne Robinson for now. Her writing and style and my nausea just didn't go well together. So now I am reading 'The Anatomy of a Disappearance by Hisham Matar. I am loving the story and his writing. I was a bit disappointed with a turn in the story. I knew that it was going to happen because this is a contemporary book but I was hoping against hope that the author would surprise me. He didn't. I am wondering how this turn will affect the rest of the story. But it is still a wonderful book.
  21. I haven't been able to keep up with the thread as it is birthday week here (2 kids have birthdays this week) and I have been waylaid by some nasty stomach pain. They think I either have galbladder problems or its an ulcer. I have an ultrasound tomorrow. I really hope they figure out what the problem is cause the pain and nausea is messing up my plans for the week. Anyway, I wanted to comment on Marilynne Robinson's books. I have read the first two and am currently reading the third one, 'Home.' I see a great difference between her first one and the two proceeding ones. Housekeeping was full of poetic language. It was beautifully written but towards the end it became too much. It was poetic overload. The story was quite depressing and dreary. That said, though, I think Housekeeping is my favourite of the three that I have read. The other two books--Gilead and Home--seem to be more down to earth as far as written language goes. I am quite looking forward to "Lila." There is more I want to respond to but I have to finish a birthday meal and I think I need to go to bed after that.
  22. Jenn, :grouphug: thinking good thoughts for a quick recovery. Shukriyya, that zentangle is truly beautiful. And I am one who liked Ahab's wife--I liked it quite a bit. Jane, I enjoyed your bird pictures. Stacia, I agree with your theory of reading numerous books by the same author in a short period of time. It doesn't work for me either. I always need some breathing space in between books. There are other posts that I wanted to comment on but I forget what they are (darn multi-quote and getting old.) I like how others are listing their books of what they are reading and what they have finished so I think I will copy them. Books Currently Reading: Imitation of Christ by Thomas a Kempis The Order of Things by James Schall Breathing Room by Leeana Tankersley The Inferno by Dante Home by Marilynne Robinson Books Finished: Burial Rites by Hannah Kent The Lost Husband by Katherine Center Leisure: The Basis of Culture by Josef Pieper The Age of Miracles by Katherine Townsend Walker (a twist on dystopian, I loved this book--great writing)
  23. Well, I finished The Lost Husband by Katherine Center today. I did not realize when I ordered the book that it was ChickLit. Ugh. It was tolerable but that was about it. I am now reading The Age of Miracles (cannot remember the author.)
  24. I have my first ditched book of 2015: The Historian by Elizabeth Kostova. I so wanted to like this book but this is my second attempt at it and I am willing to admit that this book is not for me. sigh I have moved on to The Lost Husband by Katherine Center. I am a few pages in and I am of the thought that this might be my second ditched book of 2015. :cursing: Sophia, welcome to the group. Do not worry what others are reading, just read what comforts or excites you. And enjoy. Shukriyya, both of those zentangles are beautiful. Please tell your ds that I am impressed. I sheepishly admit that I have not been keeping up with the zentangle talk. I am going to have to go back through the past two weeks to catch up on this. This looks like fun and something that my dd might like. My youngest and I are off on our weekly road trip to the reading therapist. It is a 5 and a half hour drive (return trip) so I am all ready to go with Dante (I sit in the car for an hour while she sees the therapist,) a salad, Pringles (there has to be some perks to this long, boring drive) and some podcasts queued and ready to go. I hope everyone has a wonderful day.
  25. I have The Children's Act on my TBR list but I don't have high hopes for it. With the exception of Atonement, McEwan's books are okay but not earth-shattering. I loved reading Olive Kitteredge. I see that there is a movie based on the book but I don't think I will watch it. To me, Olive is only to be read, not watched. I finished Burial Rites by Hannah Kent yesterday. I loved it! It is based on the true story of a servant girl who murdered her employer in Iceland in 1828. It was quite well-written. I am now reading The Historian by Elizabeth Kostova. I read it a few years ago but couldn't finish it. With all the talk about it here on the thread, I have decided to try it again.
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