Book a week in 2011 - Week seven

[Robin M]

Happy Sunday! Today is the start of week seven in our quest to read 52 books in 52 weeks. Welcome to everyone who is just joining in, welcome back to our regulars and to all who are following our progress. Mr. Linky is all set up on the 52 books blog to link to your reviews. The link is in my signature.

 

52 books blog - f is for frost. A simple poem by Robert Frost because I am still not done with my Final and having computer connection issues and just generally stressing out.

 

A quick apology regarding the conversation from last week about labels. Read my response later and realized part of it sounded kind of arrogant. If you feel the need or it helps you to add a label to your reads, then do what makes you happy.

 

What are you reading this week?

[Robin M]

bumping to the top!

[edithcrawley]

This week I'll be reading:

What I loved by Siri Hustvedt

[dcjlkplus3]

Yesterday I spent the day reading The Red Pyramid by Rick Riordan.

I was technically prereading it for my daughter (even though I was pretty sure there wuld be no problems, we've read his other stuff). Totally loved it. It is a children/YA book, but long (400 pages or so) so I'm counting it.

Still working on Beloved and ready to start Her Mother's Hope by Francine Rivers.

[eaglei]

This past week I finished these light reading books:

 

#10 - Choosing to See: A Journey of Struggle and Hope, by Mary Beth Chapman with Ellen Vaughn

 

#11 - The Glamour of Grammar: A Guide to the Magic and Mystery of Practical English, by Roy Peter Clark. This book was recommended on one of last year's Book-a-Week threads. Our library just got it, and I thoroughly enjoyed it. Short chapters, succinct writing, excellent examples.

 

#12 - This Time Together: Laughter and Reflection, by Carol Burnett. This book, too, was recommended on this board - I think earlier this year. I enjoyed the Carol Burnett show when I was growing up and was delighted to see the good book review from a Hive person - and to immerse myself in this very quick-reading anecdotal collection. Her writing is as warm and personable as she appeared to be on her program.

 

Today, I began reading:

 

#13 - America By Heart: Reflections on Family, Faith, and Flag, by Sarah Palin. So far so good.

[Ali in OR]

I read The Housekeeper and the Professor in one or two days. Loved it! That could become a book club pick for me when it's my turn. I am now reading the first book in the Kristin Lavransdatter trilogy and I'm enjoying that too, though it's not quite as fast a read. My grandmother immigrated from Norway when she was 3, so I'm very interested to see a little of how my ancestors may have lived. Both of these books I read about here...I enjoy this thread and seem to be placing more books on hold at the library every week. Keep 'em coming!

 

 

2011 Reading List

 

10. The Housekeeper and the Professor-Yoko Ogawa

9. A Lucky Child-Thomas Buergenthal

8. Three Cups of Tea-Greg Mortenson

7. Run-Ann Patchett

6. The Red Queen-Philippa Gregory

5. Agnes Grey-Anne Bronte

4. The Daughter of Time-Josephine Tey

3. Mythology-Edith Hamilton

2. Phantom Toll Booth-Norton Juster

1. Her Fearful Symmetry-Audrey Niffenegger

[Negin]

I have no idea how many books I've read so far this year. I keep telling myself that I should go back and figure that out. But I don't really want to get fixated on the numbers.

This week, I finished How to Really Love Your Teenager. I don't really like reading parenting books these days. They tend to make feel as if I'm doing a not-so-good job :confused:. I'm just more into fiction these days. There were some very good bits of advice in the book, however. And I am taking notes.

I'm just over halfway through Room. I honestly don't know what to make of it. At first, I didn't like it at all. Now, I'm liking it more and more. Shows the incredible love that a mother has for her son despite some really horrible circumstances. I'm wondering what the ending will be like. Endings are everything for me.

 

[hsbaby]

I read The Lightening Thief with the kids last week. I also finally got around to reading The Help....finished it in less than a day, just could not put it down!! I anticipate finishing Jane Eyre tonight (finally!). It has taken me almost two weeks to get through Jane Eyre. I thought I would enjoy it a lot more than I have. At this point I am just finishing it for the sake if finishing it. Oh well. This week I will be reading The Lost Boy by David Pelzer about his life growing up in the foster care system.

 

2011 reading so far:

1. Incidents in the Life of a Slave Girl

2. Switched by Amanda Hocking

3. Torn by Amanda Hocking

4. Ascend by Amanda Hocking

5. Hollowland by Amanda Hocking

6. The Hotel on the Corner of Bitter and Sweet by Jaime Ford

7. One Second After by William Forschten

8. Escape by Carolyn Jessup

9. The Lightening Thief

10. The Help by Katherine Stockett

11. Jane Eyre by Bronte

Edited February 13, 2011 by hsbaby

[kokotg]

This week I finished Colum McCann's Let the Great World Spin, which was awesome (review in blog). And I finished listening to Euna Lee's account of her (and Laura Ling's) captivity in North Korea in 2009, The World is Bigger Now. I read Laura Ling's account a few weeks ago, and this one was...very different. Sort of painful to listen to a lot of the time; Laura Ling made being held prisoner in North Korea sound like a fun party in comparison with Lee's take on it. I mean, the substance of their experience was largely the same, but the way they reacted to it (or at least the way they recounted the reactions) was very different.

 

This week I'm reading Frank Schaeffer's Crazy For God: How I Grew Up as One of the Elect, Helped Found the Religious Right, and Lived to Take All (or Almost All) of It Back. I heard an interview with him on Fresh Air awhile back...I'm kind of a religious memoir junkie, and I'm particularly interested in this one as it's by someone who was raised very conservative/evangelical and rejected it without rejecting Christianity entirely (he's Orthodox now).

 

I haven't done a list on these threads yet, so here it is:

14. The World is Bigger Now: Euna Lee

13. Let the Great World Spin: Colum McCann

12. Zeitoun: Dave Eggers

11. Noah's Compass: Anne Tyler

10. The Irresistible Henry House: Lisa Grunwald

9. All I Did Was Ask: Terry Gross

8. Ender's Game: Orson Scott Card

7. Somewhere Inside: Laura and Lisa Ling

6. Gathering Blue: Lois Lowry

5. After This: Alice McDermott

4. The Giver: Lois Lowry

3. Nothing to Envy: Ordinary Lives in North Korea: Barbara Demick

2. Franklin and Eleanor: Hazel Rowley

1. Sleepwalk With Me: Mike Birbiglia

[coffeefreak]

I got a Kindle yesterday so I'm reading a TON of things!:lol:

 

Here's what's DONE:

1. Vision in White

2. Bed of Roses

3. Savor the Moment - all by Nora Roberts/ part of her "Wedding Quartet" series

4. Sizzling 16 - Janet Evanovich

 

 

Here's what I'm working on:

5. Surprised by Joy - C.S. Lewis

6. The Screwtape Letters - C.S. Lewis

7. Emma (OK, so I've been working on this since last year, but I'm determined to finish it this year :))

8. The Organized Homeschooler

9. Honey for a Teen's Heart - LOVING this one!

10. Wicked Appetite - Janet Evanovich

 

Does my Kindle User's Manuel count?:D J/K!

Blessings!

Dorinda

[laughing lioness]

I finished The Book Thief and UnPlanned last week. Reviews are here and here. I LOVED The Book Thief. It was so utterly creative.

 

I'm reading Son of Hamas by Yousef right now. I looks like I'm doing a "Memoir" mini-challenge this year! ;)

[Murmer]

I just finished The Friday Night Knitting Club. It really enjoyed it especially that it didn't end the way I expected. I am interested to see what the second book in the series does.

 

Next up is Breaking Dawn, I am a bit late to the Twilight thing and not overly impressed but I do want to find out how it ends.

[Jane in NC]

I had a number of distractions last week which cut into my reading time, but so it goes...

 

Oh my! Susan Howatch is a beautiful writer! Although I am not terribly far along in Glittering Images, I am enchanted by the quality of the writing, the banter of interesting ideas, and the warm and fuzzy feeling of being in Salisbury. Even better: this is the first in a series! Be still my heart!

 

I am also reading a nonfiction selection, The Children's Blizzard, by David Laskin. This is more than a tale of weather. The author tells the story of the immigrants to the Great Plains, their struggles and hardships, and how lives were forever changed on a single day in 1888.

[TheCoffeeChick]

I finished The Forgotten Garden by Kate Morton last week. In one word - WOW!

 

I absolutely loved it - it is not typically what I read, but I already put her others on hold at the library.

 

Tonight I'll finish up the James Patterson book (fluff, but it's my brain candy) I'm finishing and then I'll start on I Love You, Miss Huddleston by Philip Gulley

[JennW in SoCal]

I started and finished 2 books this week.

 

I really enjoyed Anne Bronte's Agnes Grey. It was a short and lovely work, not nearly as stark in feeling as Jane Eyre or Wuthering Heights, but equally feminist, and full of wealthy, hateful characters.

 

La's Orchestra Changes The World caught my eye at the book store because I manage a small community orchestra and thought I'd enjoy a book about a similar group. I didn't hesitate to buy it as it is written by Alexander McCall Smith, who is an amateur bassoonist in addition to being a delightful writer. It is a very sweet book, unhurried and cozy. There isn't as much about the orchestra as I had hoped, but I appreciated the role it played in the story line, and I thoroughly enjoyed reading it.

[luvnlattes]

I finished Outliers this week and really enjoyed it. My review is on my blog. I've been pondering what outliers there could be among all us homeschooling moms here. What niche will our countless hours of teaching and curriculum planning/research make a few of us perfect for? It's fun to consider! :)

 

Today I started You on a Diet by Michael Roizen and Mehmet Oz. So far I don't enjoy these authors' writing style much. I often feel like I'm reading something edited for a television sound bite. But I am interested in the topic so I'm hoping to tough it out. I especially want to read the chapters titled "The Science of Appetite," "How Food Travels through Your Body," and "The Dangerous Battle of Inflammation in Your Belly."

[Sparkle]

I read Bertie Wooster Sees It Through and started How Right You Are, Jeeves, both by P.G. Wodehouse (love his books). And I'm about 2/3 of the way through The Professor by Charlotte Bronte.

[K in MI]

We finished Silas Marner as a read-aloud. While ds didn't enjoy it as much (it isn't adventure like White Fang and Call of the Wild), he did like it. I had never read it, so it was a treat for me.

I finished Doctor of the Heart.

This week, I'm reading Heaven is for Real; I haven't decided yet what ds and I will read together.

 

List so far:

1 -- Tales of An African Vet

2 -- Hunger Games

3 -- Catching Fire

4 -- Mockingjay

5 -- Rogue Wave

6 -- The 7

7 -- Call of the Wild

8 -- Ask the Animals

9 -- White Fang

10 - Doctor of the Heart

11 - Silas Marner

[Storm Bay]

 

La's Orchestra Changes The World caught my eye at the book store because I manage a small community orchestra and thought I'd enjoy a book about a similar group. I didn't hesitate to buy it as it is written by Alexander McCall Smith, who is an amateur bassoonist in addition to being a delightful writer. It is a very sweet book, unhurried and cozy. There isn't as much about the orchestra as I had hoped, but I appreciated the role it played in the story line, and I thoroughly enjoyed reading it.

 

I liked this book when I read it, too. It's different than his other books.

 

I am reading Escaping the Endless Adolescence.

[Robin M]

My final is done, submitted and now I can breath a sigh of relief. My next and last class starts march 7th so have some free time to read. I'm about to start In The Woods by Tana French for A-Z challenge. I'm currently reading novella E-book Devil's Eye by Kait Nolan, #2 in her Mirus series. Also working my way through "the Artist's Way" by Julia Cameron.

 

So far for a - z challenge have finished

 

Anna Karenina - Leo Tolstoy

Beatrice and Virgil - Yann Martel

Cinders - Michelle Davidson Argyle

Delirious - Daniel Palmer

Eats, Shoots and Leaves - Lynne Truss

Forsaken by Murder - Kait Nolan

Green - Ted Dekker

Heatwave - Richard Castle

[Joy at Home]

I'm still reading Fall of Giants, Winds of War, and added Franklin and Winston. It's fascinating reading about the relationship between these two leaders during WWII. Great read!

 

Happy reading,

lisa

[prairiegirl]

I am still reading 'Young Romantics' by Daisy Hay. This is an interesting look into the lives of Percy and Mary Shelley, Keats and Byron. I am finding this book quite fascinating.

[fairytalemama]

You guys are making my hold list at the library longer and longer! I asked the guy at the circulation desk how many books I could have out at a time and he said 100. I asked how many I currently had checked out. He said 89!!!

 

I finally wrote my review on The God Delusion. I also finished Summer at Tiffany (review coming soon!). This week I'm starting on A Reliable Wife.

[Virg]

I have just started Hitler, A Biography by Ian Kershaw

 

I will catch up! Why I picked a 969 page book out of the library to do it with though I don't know. That was not what I went into the library looking for! :)

 

Book a Week in 2011

1. Everything She Ever Wanted by Ann Rule

2. Captive Queen by Alison Weir

3. Church History in Plain Language by Bruce L Shelly

4. The Queen's Fool by Philippa Gregory

5. Hitler, A Biography by Ian Kershaw

[Alice]

I read The Mysterious Benedict Society and the Prisoner's Dilemna last week. A fun read. I'm also working on One Thousand Gifts by Ann Voskamp and I started Cakewalk by Kate Moses. And I'm about to pick up War and Peace again. I was enjoying it quite a bit last year but then got sidetracked and stoppped reading.

 

Books Read in 2011:

1) Crooked Leter, Crooked Letter by Tom Franklin

2) Little House on the Freeway by Tim Kimmel

3) The Mysterious Benedict Society and the Perilous Journey by Trenton Lee Stewart

4) The Commoner by John Burnham Schwartz

5) The History of the Medieval World by Susan Wise Bauer

6) My Reading Life by Pat Conroy

7) The Mysterious Benedict Society and the Prisoner's Dilemna by Trenton Lee Stewart

[jenL]

I finished Dragonfly in Amber yesterday, and I'm nearly done Heaven is for Real.

 

Here's my list so far...

1) The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks by Rebecca Skloot

2) The Art of Racing in the Rain by Garth Stein

3) Crazy Love by Francis Chan

4) Outlander by Diana Gabaldon

5) Dragonfly in Amber by Diana Gabaldon

 

Still not sure why I'm picking books of 900+ pages, but I must say I'm thoroughly enjoying my Gabaldon choices! Voyager is coming up next! :D

[Daisy]

I'm reading Ah-Choo: The Uncommon Life of your Common Cold by Ackerman. It is really funny AND informative. It would make a great jr high/high school read for health.

[dangermom]

I read People of the Book by Geraldine Brooks, and At Home by Bill Bryson. Both were very good.

 

Hm, right now I'm reading The Subjection of Women by John Stuart Mill--that's taking forever--and We've Got Issues by Judith Warner. It's about kids, mental disorders, and psychiatric care, and it's excellent. I would really recommend it.

[Jilly]

I read The Hunger Games and Gone. They are both young adult books. I am trying to find some books that my twins would enjoy now that they are getting older, but I feel like I need to pre-read everything to see if they are appropriate. I enjoyed both books, but I am glad I pre-read them. Gone would freak my kids out.

[thescrappyhomeschooler]

Well, I attempted something a little more cerebral this past week, and failed at getting it read. So, I'm moving back to the fluffier side until my life calms down a little (when that will be, I don't know.)

 

I started The Mask of the Black Tulip by Lauren Willig on Friday, so I'm reading that simultaneously with last week's Tragic Sense of Life.

 

List so far:

 

The Girl Who Played with Fire by Stieg Larsson

Charlie St. Cloud by Ben Sherwood

One Amazing Thing by Chitra Banarjee Divakaruni

Dream Angus by Alexander McCall Smith

The Neddiad by Daniel Pinkwater

The Castaways by Elin Hilderbrand

[Violet Crown]

Finished last night:

 

8. Henrik Ibsen, A Doll's House and Other Plays (The League of Youth, A Doll's House, The Lady From the Sea); Peter Watts, Tr.

 

Penguin published all of Ibsen's plays in a series of collections. This one is a mix of a major work, a very early political drama, and a strongly symbolic prefeminist play. The latter two are not nearly so strong as A Doll's House, but nevertheless worth reading; and there's a satisfaction in seeing the development from Ibsen's technically skilled, but less emotionally powerful, early work to his mature writing.

 

I am still reading through The Sot-Weed Factor, recommended to me by dh, which is very good but eight hundred pages long.:tongue_smilie:

 

7. Allan Bloom, The Closing of the American Mind*

6. Edmund Burke, Reflections on the Revolution in France

5. Graham Greene, A Burnt-Out Case

4. Aeschylus, The Oresteia (Agamemnon, The Libation Bearers, The Eumenides); Robert Fagles, Tr.

3. Camara Laye, The Radiance of the King

2. St. Augustine, Sermons for Christmas and Epiphany

1. Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, The Memoirs of Sherlock Holmes

0. Suetonius, The Twelve Caesars; Robert Graves, Tr.

 

*not completed

Edited February 14, 2011 by Sharon in Austin
translator credit

[Robin M]

Just discovered the awesome James Scott Bell has self published an e-book called Watch Your Back. A novella and three stories of suspense. It's available on kindle and nook. I just downloaded it from barnes and noble for 2.99. Check out his blog here and then check out the book.

[Imprimis]

My book this week was Sarah's Key by Tatiana de Rosnay.

 

An emotionally heavy story about the unfathomable Ve'l d'Hiv' roundup in Paris on July 16, 1942.

 

Shocking and sad.

[Peela]

Just finished Shamanic Wisdomkeepers by Timothy Freake. Beautiful.

[Negin]

I finished Outliers this week and really enjoyed it.

:iagree:

 

Today I started You on a Diet by Michael Roizen and Mehmet Oz. So far I don't enjoy these authors' writing style much. I often feel like I'm reading something edited for a television sound bite. "The Dangerous Battle of Inflammation in Your Belly."

I also agree w/you re: the Dr. Oz/Roizen books. I often pick them up and put them back down. I don't agree with them oftentimes. I also really don't like the writing style. Not one bit.

The Inflammation book looks very interesting. Thanks for posting that. :)

 

I'm reading Ah-Choo: The Uncommon Life of your Common Cold by Ackerman. It is really funny AND informative. It would make a great jr high/high school read for health.

Thanks for this suggestion. Added it our wish list. :D

 

My book this week was Sarah's Key by Tatiana de Rosnay.

An emotionally heavy story about the unfathomable Ve'l d'Hiv' roundup in Paris on July 16, 1942.

Shocking and sad.

I often saw this book at Costco during our last visit to the U.S. I almost got it. But then I was scared to. Topics like that really, really sadden me. But maybe I could handle it. I loved "The Book Thief" and that wasn't exactly a walk in the park either.

[laundrycrisis]

This week I will finish The Ascent of Man and will read Story of a Soul.

[NanceXToo]

Alexa (age 10) and I have now finished the following books together so far this year:

 

1. The Phantom Tollbooth

2. Skellig

3. Ida B and Her Plans to Maximize Fun, Avoid Disaster and (Possibly) Save the World

4. The Gawgon and The Boy

5. Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets

6. The Girl With the Silver Eyes

 

(We also read "Ben and Me" for school reading).

 

We are currently reading: Tuck Everlasting

 

On my own so far this year, I have read:

 

1. Rose, by Martin Cruz Smith (although I was halfway through it already at the start of the year so it doesn't really count, probably)

2. Flowers for Algernon by Daniel Keyes

3. The Virgin's Lover by Philippa Gregory

4. The Year of the Flood by Margaret Atwood

5. Mary, Bloody Mary by Carolyn Meyer (Young Royals series, YA)

6. Beware, Princess Elizabeth by Carolyn Meyer (Young Royals series, YA)

7. Doomed Queen Anne by Carolyn Meyer (Young Royals series, YA)

 

and I'm currently reading:

 

Patience, Princess Catherine by Carolyn Meyer (Young Royals series, YA) and Deconstructing Penguins: Parents, Kids and the Bond of Reading by Lawrence and Nancy Goldstone.

 

On her own, Alexa, age 10, has read:

 

Five or six different Nancy Drew Files books

All three books in the "Wright On Time" series

Streams to the River, River to the Sea, A Novel of Sacagawea

Thunder Rolling In The Mountains

 

...I am SO pleased with how much reading we've BOTH been doing, and really enjoying doing this challenge WITH her. :)

[Lizzie in Ma]

Halfway through Book Two of the Mortal Instruments series by Cassandra Clare.

They are YA fantasy and they are decent and engaging though they are not a favorite and I don't see myself reading them again.

[Jane Elliot]

This week I finished Death of a Red Heroine which was recommended on these boards when I asked for books to help me learn about Chinese thought and culture. I definitely did learn a lot about China, especially as it was in the early 90's, and I enjoyed the mystery along the way. The author wove a lot of Chinese poetry into the story, which was interesting, but generally went over my head (maybe lost in translation?) He also quoted Confucius a lot, and I did enjoy that. (Caveat: This book had more s*x in it than books I normally read, and I'd feel uncomfortable not mentioning that fact here.)

 

I'm not sure what I'll read this week. I'm still recovering from five days at a speech tournament. One of the kids at the tournament did a hilarious humorous interpretive from P.G. Wodehouse that put me in the mood for more, so maybe that's what I'll do. Wodehouse is one of my favorite ways to relax.

 

I so enjoy seeing everyone's lists!

[Guest]

Last week I read: Math Wars (if you liked Liping Ma's book and books on math philosophies, this was an interesting one), The Way They Learn (good read on personalities and teaching to differences), and Curiosities of the Civil War (interesting book full of obscure facts about the Civil War). All positive reviews HERE.

 

This week I am continuing C.S. Lewis' The Magician's Nephew.

[fairytalemama]

I finished Dragonfly in Amber yesterday, and I'm nearly done Heaven is for Real.

 

Here's my list so far...

1) The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks by Rebecca Skloot

2) The Art of Racing in the Rain by Garth Stein

3) Crazy Love by Francis Chan

4) Outlander by Diana Gabaldon

5) Dragonfly in Amber by Diana Gabaldon

 

Still not sure why I'm picking books of 900+ pages, but I must say I'm thoroughly enjoying my Gabaldon choices! Voyager is coming up next! :D

 

How did you like The Art of Racing in the Rain? It looked really unique so I was going to try to get my book club to read it.

[Imprimis]

 

 

 

I often saw this book at Costco during our last visit to the U.S. I almost got it. But then I was scared to. Topics like that really, really sadden me. But maybe I could handle it. I loved "The Book Thief" and that wasn't exactly a walk in the park either.

 

You know, I read (and loved) The Book Thief last year, and while the subject matter, like that of Sarah's Key, is disturbing and haunting, I found Sarah's Key left me feeling even more sad and incredulous (if that's possible!) that such atrocities took place.

 

Perhaps because it focused on the French Government's complicity in these barbaric acts---the roundup happened in Paris, and was carried out by the French police, and detailed some very horrific scenes involving children----Sarah's Key was a more difficult read for me.

 

I certainly think it was a worthwhile read---I had no knowledge of the Vel' d'Hiv' roundup before reading this book.

[Negin]

You know, I read (and loved) The Book Thief last year, and while the subject matter, like that of Sarah's Key, is disturbing and haunting, I found Sarah's Key left me feeling even more sad and incredulous (if that's possible!) that such atrocities took place.

Perhaps because it focused on the French Government's complicity in these barbaric acts---the roundup happened in Paris, and was carried out by the French police, and detailed some very horrific scenes involving children----Sarah's Key was a more difficult read for me.

I certainly think it was a worthwhile read---I had no knowledge of the Vel' d'Hiv' roundup before reading this book.

Thank your for your really helpful feedback.

I know this may be too much to ask. Does the ending have some form of closure, or does it leave you frustratingly hanging, if you KWM? For me, endings are everything. They don't have to ride off gloriously in the sunset. But there does need to be some form of closure (and obviously, preferably, but not always, a slightly positive/uplifting one). It's not that I only like happy books. I've loved many with very sad themes:

The Book Thief

A Thousand Splendid Suns

The Kite Runner - to name a few

So ... is it too much to ask if you think I'll like it? ;) Don't worry, if I don't, I won't hold it against you or anything. :lol:

Thank you again. :grouphug:

[Hunter's Moon]

GAH!!!

 

I've only read three books.

 

I'm finishing up two, and then I've got to start two more to catch up.

:willy_nilly:

 

I'll probably spread out the catching up over a few weeks.

[sadiegirl]

I finished The Forgotten Garden by Kate Morton last week. In one word - WOW!

 

I absolutely loved it - it is not typically what I read, but I already put her others on hold at the library.

 

Tonight I'll finish up the James Patterson book (fluff, but it's my brain candy) I'm finishing and then I'll start on I Love You, Miss Huddleston by Philip Gulley

 

I just finished reading The Distant Hours by Kate Morton...you should add this to your list to read! LOVED IT...wish she had more for me to read as I have read 3

[TheCoffeeChick]

I just finished reading The Distant Hours by Kate Morton...you should add this to your list to read! LOVED IT...wish she had more for me to read as I have read 3

 

It's on hold right now - hopefully it'll be ready on our library day this week. I hope it's as good as The Forgotten Garden.

[sadiegirl]

My book this week was Sarah's Key by Tatiana de Rosnay.

 

An emotionally heavy story about the unfathomable Ve'l d'Hiv' roundup in Paris on July 16, 1942.

 

Shocking and sad.

 

Did you like this book? My mom and I read this book about a year ago and it really had a profound effect on both of us. I have her latest book on my nightstand. Mom said it was good but hard to beat Sarah's Key. That story stayed with me much longer than most books I have read over the years.

[sadiegirl]

:iagree:

You know, I read (and loved) The Book Thief last year, and while the subject matter, like that of Sarah's Key, is disturbing and haunting, I found Sarah's Key left me feeling even more sad and incredulous (if that's possible!) that such atrocities took place.

 

Perhaps because it focused on the French Government's complicity in these barbaric acts---the roundup happened in Paris, and was carried out by the French police, and detailed some very horrific scenes involving children----Sarah's Key was a more difficult read for me.

 

I certainly think it was a worthwhile read---I had no knowledge of the Vel' d'Hiv' roundup before reading this book.

[coffeefreak]

GAH!!!

 

I've only read three books.

 

I'm finishing up two, and then I've got to start two more to catch up.

:willy_nilly:

 

I'll probably spread out the catching up over a few weeks.

 

It's OK! Go look at my list and you'll feel right on track. Just keep on keeping on:auto:

 

Dorinda

[JennyD]

Last week I read: Math Wars (if you liked Liping Ma's book and books on math philosophies, this was an interesting one), The Way They Learn (good read on personalities and teaching to differences), and Curiosities of the Civil War (interesting book full of obscure facts about the Civil War). All positive reviews HERE.

 

This week I am continuing C.S. Lewis' The Magician's Nephew.

 

I am going to put Math Wars on hold at the library. (ETA: They don't have it. Bizarre!)

 

This week I started The Creation-Evolution Debate: Historical Perspectives, by Edward Larson. It's a short book -- the author is a professor of law and religion (who won the Pulitzer for his book about Scopes) and this was a series of lectures he gave a few years ago. A good read.