Book a Week in 2011 - Week Sixteen

[Robin M]

Happy Sunday! Today is the start of week 16 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 - O is for Owl. Continuing poetry theme for national poetry month by highlighting nursery rhyme Owl and the Pussycat by Edward Lear.

 

Happy Sunday! What are you all reading this week?

 

 

 

 

Link to previous week

[Robin M]

Happy Palm Sunday! The fiction book I'm reading is a historical fiction novel, #2 in a series by Ben Kane "The Silver Eagle." Excellent series. My treadmill nook book is a new author for me Anne Marsh's Bond with Me. Kind of a dark, sexual paranormal (very r rated)

 

Still working on A Thomas Jefferson Education, Started reading Holy Yoga by Brooke Boon and still on week 8 of The Artist's way. Working on tasks from previous week making image file and image collage.

Edited April 18, 2011 by Mytwoblessings

[Narrow Gate Academy]

I'm still behind for the year, but I finished two excellent books this week: #11 - The Hawk That Dare Not Hunt by Day by O'Dell and #12 - In the Hall of the Dragon King by Lawhead. Click the titles for my reviews.

 

Other Books for 2011

 

10. Silver on the Tree by Cooper

9. The Grey King by Cooper

8. Greenwitch by Cooper

7. The Dark Is Rising by Cooper

6. The Lark and the Laurel by Willard

5. Over Sea, Under Stone by Cooper

4. Watership Down by Adams

3. Otto of the Silver Hand by Pyle

2. Lose 200 Pounds This Weekend by Adler

1. The 5000 Year Leap by Skousen

[edithcrawley]

I finished "Love in the Time of Cholera" by Gabriel Garcia Marquez earlier this week, and am now reading "The Diviners" by Margaret Laurence.

 

"Love in the Time of Cholera" [Possible SPOILERS, highlight text with mouse to read] was ok, but not great, I found Fermina to be rather one dimensional, and Florentino a bit obsessive. I was rather confused at the beginning when I thought that the main character (Urbino) had died, as I wondered who kills off their main character in the first 40 pages? The book seemed a bit long to me, Florentino's saga seemed very repetitive. He really didn't seem to do much in the book except for mope around a lot and sleep with many women.I did like the author's description of the places and people, I may try reading another one of his books soon. I was surprised at how recently the book was written, as for some reason, I thought that the author had been dead for a long time, but apparently not.

[Ali in OR]

I finished Pamela Aidan's These Three Remain, the third in her Fitzwilliam Darcy series. I enjoyed them all very much and probably this one the most. Also read Amy Chua's Battle Hymn of the Tiger Mother. I did not disagree with everything she writes, but I do think she doesn't realize what is truly important in life. And it's weird to me because she has had some of the same experiences that I have had that really made a difference in how I see the world. I have a child who is severely handicapped, she has a sister with Downs syndrome. My sister was diagnosed with leukemia last year, her sister battles a difficult strain of the same disease. Life is short. Relationships are a blessing. Why exactly is it so important that your child be the very best violin player out there? Why can't your daughter play the violin as much as she wants to, to the point that she determines that the benefits outweigh the costs, and no further? There are hints at the end that maybe Chua is catching on, but she doesn't really want to let go of being a tiger mother.

 

I've picked up another from my pile of 10-20 year old books--Under the Tuscan Sun by Frances Mayes. I will definitely be making the lemon cake recipe at the end of the book (I peeked at the recipes first). And I'll probably see if the library has the DVD--would love to see their property in Italy.

 

 

2011 Reading List

 

23. Battle Hymn of the Tiger Mother-Amy Chua

22. These Three Remain-Pamela Aidan

21. Chocolat-Joanne Harris

20. Where the Red Fern Grows-Wilson Rawls

19. Duty and Desire-Pamela Aidan

18. An Assembly Such As This-Pamela Aidan

17. Left Neglected-Lisa Genova

16. Classics in the Classroom-Michael Clay Thompson

15. True You-Janet Jackson

14. The Samurai’s Garden-Gail Tsukiyama

13. Hotel on the Corner of Bitter and Sweet-Jamie Ford

12. God’s Middle Finger-Richard Grant

11. Kristin Lavransdatter-I: The Wreath-Sigrid Undset

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

[Stacia]

I have just started Well-Schooled in Murder (for my book club).

 

"Love in the Time of Cholera" [Possible SPOILERS, highlight text with mouse to read] was ok, but not great, I found Fermina to be rather one dimensional, and Florentino a bit obsessive. I was rather confused at the beginning when I thought that the main character (Urbino) had died, as I wondered who kills off their main character in the first 40 pages? The book seemed a bit long to me, Florentino's saga seemed very repetitive. He really didn't seem to do much in the book except for mope around a lot and sleep with many women.I did like the author's description of the places and people, I may try reading another one of his books soon. I was surprised at how recently the book was written, as for some reason, I thought that the author had been dead for a long time, but apparently not.

 

I agree w/ much of what you wrote. Prior to my reading it, I had it highly recommended to me by various people. So many people I know raved about how much they loved the book. Then, when I started reading it, it seemed eerily familiar. Turns out, I had tried reading it years before (when I finally remembered that fact, lol). It's odd that I forgot that I had once started it (because I usually remember that type of thing). Anyway, I did read it the second time I tried it. I ended up not really liking it much at all. :glare: Urbino was my favorite (the most interesting to me) character, lol. Too bad he wasn't in the book much. :tongue_smilie:

 

Books read in 2011:

The Weed That Strings the Hangman's Bag

People Die

Three Ways to Capsize a Boat

The Perfect Man

The Abyssinian

Food Rules

Empress Orchid

Sister Pelagia and the Red Cockerel

A Voyage Long and Strange

All the Names

When We Were Orphans

Her Fearful Symmetry

Meeting Faith: The Forest Journals of a Black Buddhist Nun

The Guinea Pig Diaries

13, rue Thérèse

The Transformation of Bartholomew Fortuno

Twelve Fingers

Fatu-Hiva

Apartment Therapy

Haroun and the Sea of Stories

The Broom of the System

[prairiegirl]

I finished "Olive Kitteridge" by Elizabeth Stout (very dark but good read) and "Peace From Broken Pieces" by Iyanla VanZant this week.

 

I am going to be starting "The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lack" by Rebecca Skloot but I'm not sure if this is going to take or not.

[Kareni]

In honor of the owl theme, here's a link to an owl bag that a friend (who is crafty) and I (who am not) made for my daughter's birthday. My daughter has a collection of owl things.

 

I recently read and enjoyed Chasing Fire by Nora Roberts. The main characters of the book are fire jumpers, a profession about which I previously knew nothing.

 

In the last month or so, I've been on a historical romance kick; I've probably read at least thirty or so. My favorites thus far include:

 

Lisa Kleypas' Wallflower and Hathaway series

 

Courtney Milan's books -- her heroes have faced unusual issues (depression, illiteracy perhaps due to dyslexia, Asperger's syndrome)

The Madness of Lord Ian Mackenzie by Jennifer Ashley in which, I believe, the hero is a high functioning autistic savant

 

Regards,

Kareni

[Storm Bay]

I finished "Love in the Time of Cholera" by Gabriel Garcia Marquez earlier this week, and am now reading "The Diviners" by Margaret Laurence.

 

 

How are you liking Margaret Laurence?

[edithcrawley]

How are you liking Margaret Laurence?

 

Well, it took me about 50 pages to get into the book and start to enjoy it. It has been pretty good so far, though I'm wondering if all of the random stories that are told about the ancestors actually matter to the plot or if they are just there.

[Rosie_0801]

I finished with the Genotype Diet, which is an updated version of the blood type diet. It was fun.

 

I also read a kids' chapter book, Billy's Nett-Nett by Jim Poulter. The style of speech in the books is truly awful (a little too much like how I spoke as a child of the 80's,) but the books themselves are going to be quite valuable for us despite that. We also own the first in the series, and I've just noted he's written more, so I'll have to search them out. A nice chap; we met him at a local market last year.

 

 

:)

Rosie

[Storm Bay]

Well, it took me about 50 pages to get into the book and start to enjoy it. It has been pretty good so far, though I'm wondering if all of the random stories that are told about the ancestors actually matter to the plot or if they are just there.

I can't remember if I read this particular book of hers, but I have read a few of them, since my mother has a lot of Canadian authors. I used to like readng her books, but tried to reread one a few years ago and couldn't get into it again for some reason. When I was that young I didn't care of things mattered to the plot or not, just if I liked the book or not, but I did finish books I started then. Perhaps if I'd given the reread 50 pages I'd have gotten into it again.

[Mom22ns]

I just finished Mary, Bloody Mary. I enjoyed the perspective.

[ladydusk]

I *finally* finished One Thousand Gifts by Ann Voskamp. I liked it, but didn't love it. Review at the link. I'm hoping to work on The Abolition of Man and finish Ten Ways to Destroy the Imagination of Your Child this week.

 

My 2011 Reviews:

 

1. Her Daughter's Dream - Francine Rivers

2. Island of the World - Michael O'Brien (AMAZING!)

3. Mennonite in a Little Black Dress - Rhoda Janzen

4. Cinderella Ate My Daughter - Peggy Orenstein

5. Devil's Cub - Georgette Heyer

6. Keeping a Nature Journal - Clare Walker Leslie and Charles E Roth.

7. Politically Incorrect Guide to Western Civilization (Audio Book)- Anthony Esolen

8. Excellent Women - Barbara Pym

9. The Abyssinian - Jean-Christophe Rufin

10. In the Company of Others - Jan Karon

11. One Thousand Gifts - Ann Voskamp

[luvnlattes]

I didn't post my update for week 15. That week I read The Gendarme which was okay, and The Detroit Electric Scheme which I really liked. I posted their reviews on my blog today.

 

For week 16 I read Protecting the Gift by de Becker which was great and started Still Alice by Lisa Genova mid-week. Yesterday we went and watched Soul Surfer at the theater. I cried. Then I came home and read a bunch of Still Alice. It also made me cry. I was wiped out by bedtime!

 

Tomorrow I'll move on to Alone Together: Why We Expect More from Technology and Less from Each Other by Sherry Turkle. Hopefully, it won't make me cry!

[luvnlattes]

I am going to be starting "The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lack" by Rebecca Skloot but I'm not sure if this is going to take or not.

 

I loved that book. It was one of my favorites so far this year. I hope you like it!

[Mommyfaithe]

I just finished reading Moccasin Trail to my kids. That was a wonderful story!

 

I am reading Hearts in Atlantis by Stephen King and The Art of the Public Grovel by Susan Wise Bauer. I am also still plugging away at History of the Ancient World....also by SWB.

Faithe

[laughing lioness]

I finished I Remember Nothing by Nora Ephron. Funny, witty woman.

I'm reading 1000 Gifts by Voskamp. The message is great but I. can.not.stand.her.writing.style. I am probably the only person on the planet who thinks that but I can barely get through a chapter at a time. It is that irritating and distracting.

Am also reading Love and Respect. Fantastic.

[Robin M]

In honor of the owl theme, here's a link to an owl bag that a friend (who is crafty) and I (who am not) made for my daughter's birthday. My daughter has a collection of owl things.

 

I recently read and enjoyed Chasing Fire by Nora Roberts. The main characters of the book are fire jumpers, a profession about which I previously knew nothing.

 

 

Regards,

Kareni

 

 

What a cute bag. I'm not sewing creative at all. Tempted to try though.

 

OMG! Chasing Fire - how did I miss the release of that. Ordering it immediately. :)

[Negin]

I have just started Well-Schooled in Murder (for my book club).

Stacia, I plan on reading more of her books later. Read the first two so far and I like them. :)

 

I started a book last week. One of those supermarket paperback type mysteries. I gave it more than 10%, got bored, and then gave up. My 10% rule. :D

 

Just started and so far I like, Faceless Killers.

 

[ladydusk]

I'm reading 1000 Gifts by Voskamp. The message is great but I. can.not.stand.her.writing.style. I am probably the only person on the planet who thinks that but I can barely get through a chapter at a time. It is that irritating and distracting.

 

Hm. Maybe I think I'm supposed to like her writing style and see some sort of deficiency in myself, but really think like you do. Maybe that's why I had such a hard time finishing and couldn't rate it highly? I know I've felt that way about her blog ... Anyway, I just wrote my review of One Thousand Gifts yesterday ...

[Lizzie in Ma]

Tons of stuff on my To Do list so I was hampered this week in my reading.

I read this one....

 

The Wave, In Pursuit of the Rogues, Freaks and Giants of the Ocean. Susan Casey

Part Surfer Magazine and part scientific journal this book was a grand read from start to finish. Susan Casey hangs with the greatest surfing talents out there and moreover,listens and learns from them managing to convey their respect and awe of the ocean they challenge.

She regales with tales and solid facts from salvage captains, surfers, photographers, scientists of all types. Combining meteorology, climatology, oceanography along with riveting stories of high seas adventures and derring-do I enjoyed this book more than I would have imagined

 

And started Harry, A History, by Melissa Anelli and almost every page had me longing to begin the series anew and go home to Privet Drive. So last night, I began to re-read, Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone.

[thescrappyhomeschooler]

Not finished with week 15 book, yet. May finish and start another, but too soon to tell, yet.

[Jane Elliot]

I finished the Hunger Games trilogy and actually enjoyed it a lot more than I thought I would. I thought Mockingjay was the best of the three. 22yod will be visiting this week, and I'm looking forward to discussing the series with her as she is the one who talked me into reading it.

 

This week I'm hoping to finish "They Say / I Say": The Moves That Matter in Academic Writing .

 

Books Finished in 2011:

1. Glamorous Powers - Susan Howatch (4/5 stars) 1/7

2. City of Man: Religion and Politics in a New Era - Michael Gerson and Peter Wehner (5/5 stars) 1/15

3. That Distant Land: The Collected Stories - Wendell Berry (4/5 stars) 1/27

4. Incidents in the Life of a Slave Girl Written by Herself - Harriet Ann Jacobs 1/28

5. The Scarlet Pimpernel - Baroness Emmuska Orczy RA (4/5 stars) 2/2

6. The Warden – Anthony Trollope (4/5 stars) 2/5

7. Death of a Red Heroine – Qiu Xiaolong (3.5/5 stars) 2/9

8. Listen – Rene Gutteridge (3/5 stars) 2/21

9. Trusting God - Jerry Bridges (5/5 stars) 2/27

10. Remembering – Wendell Berry (4/5 stars) 3/2

11. Island of the World – Michael O’Brien (5/5 stars) 3/25

12. The Great Divorce – C.S. Lewis 3/26

13. The Hunger Games – Suzanne Collins (4/5 stars) 4/3

14. Catching Fire –Suzanne Collins (4/5 stars) 4/8

15. Mockingjay – Suzanne Collins (4/5 stars) 4/15

Currently Reading:

16. "They Say / I Say": The Moves That Matter in Academic Writing– Graff and Birkenstein

17. Gone With the Wind – Margaret Mitchell RA

[laughing lioness]

Hm. Maybe I think I'm supposed to like her writing style and see some sort of deficiency in myself, but really think like you do. Maybe that's why I had such a hard time finishing and couldn't rate it highly? I know I've felt that way about her blog ... Anyway, I just wrote my review of One Thousand Gifts yesterday ...

 

She writes poetry. Which I do, too. Poetry is fine when it is short and to the point, then the tropes tell. But in narrative it is just.laborious, confusing and irritating.

 

Habibi by Nye is written by a poet and lyrical. So lovely it brings you to tears.

 

I've read 3 books by Zondervan this year and my burning question for the company is this: Where the heck are your editors and why aren't they doing their jobs? 2 of the books were so shallow they were worthless. This book has some meat but so heavily laden with trope I have a hard time knowing what the heck she is saying.

K, done venting. I needed that. Thanks for giving me a safe place to air my grievances and all that.:001_smile:

[Jane Elliot]

I'm reading 1000 Gifts by Voskamp. The message is great but I. can.not.stand.her.writing.style. I am probably the only person on the planet who thinks that but I can barely get through a chapter at a time. It is that irritating and distracting.

Am also reading Love and Respect. Fantastic.

 

No, you're definitely not the only person on the planet who thinks that. I saw all the raves about her book and read some samples, but I can barely even get through her blog posts for all the reasons you list here and below. It's nice to know I'm not alone.

 

Love and Respect is really good. I usually don't find books on marriage helpful, but that one was a notable exception.

[Imprimis]

I finished the non-fiction Under the Tuscan Sun by Frances Mayes this week. Loved it! Her writing is so descriptive and her love and reverence for Tuscany and its way of life comes across nicely.

 

An American couple falls in love with Italy, buys a 13th century property near Cortona, and spend their summers and winter breaks there lovingly restoring, planting, eating, and taking in the timeless beauty of the area.

 

Let me just say, it is now my dream to find a gorgeous place in a far away countryside and live there part-time or even full-time. :::sigh:::

 

Mayes has written two sequels: Bella Tuscany and Every Day in Tuscany, which I plan to read sometime as well.

[Mom-ninja.]

I put the Harry a History on my list to read. I'm such a huge Potter fan.

 

I'm almost finished with Scientist in the Crib and I love it. It's a great non-fiction book.

 

I started to read Raising a Thinking Preteen but stopped. It's the same parenting stuff I've read before.

[Mom-ninja.]

Who saw the article about Greg Mortensen and parts of his book not being true?

[Stacia]

Who saw the article about Greg Mortensen and parts of his book not being true?

 

I've been following the other thread on this board about it & have read some of the articles. I haven't watched any of the tv clips or listened to the radio reports, though.

 

I find it interesting that Krakauer withdrew support for Mortensen many years ago, esp. because Krakauer has had similar experience in those areas of the world, has worked w/ aid groups there, etc.... (Fwiw, I am a big fan of Krakauer's Into Thin Air book.)

 

I think there are a lot of issues going on w/ all this & it may be some time before the 'truth' is determined, if it ever can be determined.

 

I tried reading Three Cups of Tea a couple of years ago. It was so poorly written, I couldn't get through it. :001_huh: I quit reading partway through.

[slug hollow]

Week 15 was a total loss for me (readingwise) due to the worlds longest running family cold.

Last week I finished Warrior Queen. It was ok, not remarkable.

 

I also read a P.K. Dick short story Skull I found it pretty fun in the classic sci fi short way.

 

I'm so glad to be moving on from the sickies & ready to start a new book.

[Mom-ninja.]

I've been following the other thread on this board about it & have read some of the articles. I haven't watched any of the tv clips or listened to the radio reports, though.

 

I find it interesting that Krakauer withdrew support for Mortensen many years ago, esp. because Krakauer has had similar experience in those areas of the world, has worked w/ aid groups there, etc.... (Fwiw, I am a big fan of Krakauer's Into Thin Air book.)

 

I think there are a lot of issues going on w/ all this & it may be some time before the 'truth' is determined, if it ever can be determined.

 

I tried reading Three Cups of Tea a couple of years ago. It was so poorly written, I couldn't get through it. :001_huh: I quit reading partway through.

 

I read it a couple months ago. Now I feel jipped.

 

 

slug hollow, my little one is sick with a cold. I've been up quite a bit these past days.

[Medieval Mom]

I just finished The Last Four Years (Wilder). I definitely did not like this last book as well as the earlier eight; but that is to be expected, as Wilder herself had not fleshed it out for publication.

 

I'm still reading a Tamar Myers mystery, but, frankly, I'm spending most of my "spare time" planning 3rd grade and Spring Cleaning! :D

 

ETA: I hope to begin The Children of the New Forest (Marryat) this week.

Edited April 21, 2011 by Medieval Mom

[Robin M]

Chasing Fire by Nora Roberts arrived. Everything else gets set aside when that happens. Happily reading!

[eaglei]

Here's what I finished:

 

#24 - Mount Joy, by Daisy Newman. Enjoyable. About a non-religious American college girl who loves Medieval history and embarks on a solo pilgrimage from Paris to go the Way of St. James in order to find meaningful answers for her life. What made this more compelling was that the author, in her later years, took this same journey and therefore wrote from personal experience.

 

#25 - The Great Stone Face, by Nathaniel Hawthorne. Surprised that our little library had this book, which seemed more like a short story to me. Rather predictable and I took issue with some of the mechanics of the writing; nonetheless, there is that something that makes you want to read to the end. Several quotes stood out, among them these two about different characters:

 

"Something had been originally left out, or had departed. And therefore the marvellously gifted statesman had always a weary gloom in the deep caverns of his eyes, as of a child that has outgrown its playthings or a man of mighty faculties and little aims, whose life, with all its high performances, was vague and empty, because no high purpose had endowed it with reality."

 

"His work had power, because they accorded with his thoughts; and his thoughts had reality and depth, because they harmonized with the life which he had always lived."

 

#26 - Heaven is For Real, by Todd Burpo with Lynn Vincent. The subtitle is, "A little boy's astounding story of his trip to heaven and back." All I can say is "WOW!" And "wow!" Parts of this story touched me to my very core and drew tears . . .

 

#27 - A Golden String, by Daisy Newman. This is a literary autobiography that included a smattering more of her own life. If you enjoy her fiction, this was a nice way to round it out, getting the back story of how the stories and characters came to be, and upon whom the characters were based.

 

Currently reading:

 

#28 - A Brand From the Burning, by Alcyon Ruth Fleck. I just started this book; it's one of the many books in my stack that I am slowly but surely peeling through. This promises to be fascinating. Taken from the title page, it is "a true story of the life of a Roman Catholic priest and of his conversion to the Seventh-day Adventist Church, where he is now a minister." (The book is c1960). I am not knowledgeable about the Seventh-day Adventists, so this will be introductory for me in that regard. I am also puzzled why he made the leap to Seventh-day Adventist (and just how big the leap was).

[Nan in Mass]

Nan in Mass Running List:

 

Light Thickens (Ngaio Marsh) - Macbeth theme, which is fun.

Tied up in Tinsel (Ngaio Marsh)

Final Curtain (Ngaio Marsh)

The New Global Student - again, just as annoying as ever but comforting while the youngest is in Japan

Grave Mistake (Ngaio Marsh)

Bloomability - young adult, nice

Sense and Sensibility - for the umpteenth time

A Rulebook for Arguments - this is a great book - it answered my questions about writing a persuasive paper

Study is Hard Work

Reader and Raelynx

Starfarers

Transition

Metamorphosis

Nautilus - 5 books of vacation fluff - Could do without the graphic bits, although they were easy enough to skip. The Starfarer series is a bit strange in spots and R+R was a bit too close to straight romance, but not so bad that I didn't finish it.

Creating Textures in Pen and Ink with Watercolor - guess there is a lot more black than I thought

Paying the Piper - more vacation reading

Imaginative Realism - Wow!

A Guide to the Birds of East Africa - Loved!

Paladin of Souls

Photo Finish

Drawing a Likeness

 

 

 

-Nan

[Mom-ninja.]

I'm ready to put St. Teresa aside and call it a day. I'm bored to tears. I just really don't want to read how to pray especially when it take almost an entire book. I actually had a better time reading Montaigne. At least he wrote about other things other than religion.

 

Do I really want to make myself suffer through it?

[Kareni]

Read and enjoyed Amanda Quick's latest in the Arcane Society/Looking Glass series: Quicksilver.

 

Regards,

Kareni

[Rosie_0801]

I'm ready to put St. Teresa aside and call it a day. I'm bored to tears. I just really don't want to read how to pray especially when it take almost an entire book. I actually had a better time reading Montaigne. At least he wrote about other things other than religion.

 

Do I really want to make myself suffer through it?

 

I didn't suffer through Montaigne, so if you quit St Teresa, we'll be even :tongue_smilie:

 

Rosie

[Robin M]

Link to week 17